Google Tools

Google Scholar searches exclusively for scholarly articles, using Google’s familiar interface. Like regular Google, it can generate THOUSANDS of results -- but you may not have complete access to all of them. You should learn to use Google Scholar cautiously. Keep in mind that the library has hundreds of databases full of scholarly resources that are paid with your tuition. In most cases, the library databases will be sufficient for your research papers.

The Pros and Cons of Using Google Scholar

Pros: Google Scholar combines the ease of Google with access to scholarly materials. Google Scholar searches the Web for scholarly articles, abstracts and books, but not popular magazine, newspaper or Internet articles. It allows you to search multiple formats across multiple disciplines in one search.

Cons: Google Scholar doesn’t access everything in the library’s subscription databases, especially the most current information. Not everything is peer-reviewed, nor can you search or filter by peer-review status. Full- text versions of many items indexed by Google Scholar are not available for free through the Internet; however, many are accessible through the Rudisill Library website.

The Bottom Line: Google Scholar is a great place to begin your search, but should not be the only place you search. Think of it as a resource you can use in addition to the Rudisill Library catalog and databases.

L-R does not own every single article that appears on Google Scholar, so when you find an item of interest in a Google Scholar search, you may need to search for that particular item in our databases to get full-text access. 

Never pay for access to an article we may have in the library databases! Even if we don't own access to the article you are searching for, try using Interlibrary Loan BEFORE you pay for an article. If you are off campus, you will need to log in for off-campus access before you search our databases.

1. Go to scholar.google.com

2. Search for your keywords in the search bar. Your results page should look like this:

Notice how the results page has three columns:

On the left side, we see our "Limiters" or ways to narrow our search results or sort our results.

In the middle, our result list, with the title of the resource listed first in purple, the authors in green below, and a preview of the abstract.

On the right, links will take us (sometimes indirectly) to the full text of articles - this link will not always appear, even if you have full-text access through Lenoir-Rhyne University.

3. More than likely, you will need to search for the articles you find on Google Scholar in our library databases in order to get full-text access. Do you know what journal it was published in? Use the Journal Finder to locate it! Otherwise, try a searching in multiple databases using the Summon tool.