University Of Connecticut – Finding Information On Goolge Scholar
Using Google Scholar
Google Scholar [scholar.google.com] is different from Google. Google searches public web content – if your instructor says not to use Google, they probably mean they don’t want you to use content from the public web. Google Scholar, however, searches journal and conference papers, theses and dissertations, academic books, pre-prints, abstracts, technical reports and other scholarly literature.
Is Google Scholar right for my research?
Google Scholar is useful for:
- locating more information on partial citations. For example, Google Scholar can often find an article with just the title, and will provide the full citation and access to full text options once you have set up Google Scholar.
- discovering keywords that define your topic.
- helping a beginning researcher identify journal titles and authors connected with subjects of interest.
- finding “gray literature” like conference proceedings. It includes many articles that wouldn’t get included in other indexing services.
- highlighting highly cited works on the topic.
Google Scholar cannot:
- search with the accuracy of Library databases.
- sort/search by disciplinary field.
- browse by title.
Searching in Google Scholar is imprecise when compared with discipline-specific databases. If your research requires very comprehensive searching, or if you are not satisfied with Google Scholar’s results, use individual research databases.
Using Google Scholar
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/
On-Campus? Google Scholar will automatically display links for access to the full text of search results.
Off Campus? Set Scholar Settings (From scholar.google.com, click on the Menu icon in the upper left corner and select “Settings”) to configure Google Scholar to access UConn resources and enable exporting of citations to RefWorks.
If you do not see the word Settings, look for the cog icon.
Select Library Links from the Scholar Settings menu.
- Below the “Show library access links”
- enter UConn in search box and check the box next to “UConn – UConnFullText”
- check the box next to “Open WorldCat – Library Search”
UConn Law affiliates: check boxes for UConn Law – UConn Law Links and UConn – UConnFullText
UConn Health Center affiliates: check the box for LM Stowe Library at UConn Health (not UConnFullText – UConn Health’s authentication is not interoperable with UConn’s NetID)
Click SAVE to keep your changes. 
Bibliography Managers (Optional)
To show links to import citations into selected bibliography managers:
From the Scholar Settings page, scroll down the page to Bibliography Manager.
- under Bibliography Manager
Select “Show links to import citations into RefWorks. Other tools available are BibTeX, RefMan and EndNote.
Click SAVE to keep your changes.
You can also export citations directly from the Cite screen.
Finding full text
Results in Google Scholar will be displayed with one of several notations:
UConnFullText, [PDF], [HTML], [DOC] – or have no notation at all.
If a notation is displayed, click the link to access the full text.
If no notation is displayed, click on the double arrows “>>” under the citation to display UConn Full Text
UConn Full Text may provide ways to access to the article, OR a link to request a copy through Interlibrary Services if we do not have online access.
If the access link does not work, or if there is no link, take your request directly to Interlibrary Services. This service obtains scans or loans of materials from other libraries, and is available without charge to UConn faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students.
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NOTE: links to non-UConn resources may inform you that you will have to pay to see the full text. Don’t pay! You can generally obtain any Google Scholar result free through the UConn Library’s sources, such as databases, UConn WorldCat, the Library’sGeneral Search or by ordering the paper, article, thesis, book, etc. from Interlibrary Services.
USING CITED BY
The Cited by link under the Google Scholar citation is another way to expand your search and find more relevant articles. When you click on the Cited by link, you will find other publications that cite the article.
You can also search within the publications that cite the article. Select the checkbox that says “Search within citing articles” and add additional terms to narrow your search.
SEARCH LIMITS AND ADVANCED SEARCH
To refine your search results, use the limit options to the left of your search results.
To use Google Scholar Advanced Search options, click on the menu icon in the top left corner of the Goggle Scholar homepage.
Click on “Advanced Search”.
Advanced Search lets you search in the author, title, and publication fields, as well as limit your search results by date.
OTHER USEFUL FEATURES
