Overview
Google Scholar provides access to scholarly content freely available on the internet.
It can be a good starting point for your research.
What can I find on Google Scholar?
A wide variety of resources are available on Google Scholar including journal articles, ebooks, and conference papers. You will also find dissertations, theses, and unpublished versions of articles.
Where an article is available in full text, a link to the PDF, HTML, or DOC will appear on the right side of the screen. You will also find sources that require payment to view in full, as well as references to printed books and journals that are not available online.
Advanced searching
Use the Advanced search found on the menu icon (three small horizontal lines)on the left side for quicker searching to find specific author, publication, legal information etc.
Limitations of Google Scholar
Credibility
It is important to evaluate your sources from Google Scholar for credibility as not all publications will be peer-reviewed. Assess whether the source is a suitable for inclusion in your assignment as Google's definition of scholarly may not be the same as your tutor's definition.
Coverage
There is often a time delay before journal articles appear on Google scholar and you may miss out on relevant articles if you do not combine your search with other research sources.
Citing sources from Google Scholar
When viewing an article, click on the quotation mark to get an APA reference and/or download to EndNote or Zotero. Cited by shows journal articles that have referenced this article.
