Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Wednesday October 02, 2013

Library Hours: 7:30am to 12:00am

Eastern Michigan University Library

Google Scholar

Google Scholar builds upon the functionality of Google to bring you a discovery tool for scholarly material. It combines information from a number of scholarly databases and consolidates it into a single, easy search. While it looks and functions like Google web search, there are a couple of key differences that are worth noting.

Advanced Scholar Search

Unlike Google web search, Google Scholar sports an advanced search feature that more closely mirrors a library database. This feature allows you to quickly limit results in a number of ways, such as to a specific author, publication, or date range.

Google Scholar Advanced Search page

To access the advanced search feature, click on the arrow at the end of the search box and choose the search method that you desire.

Google Scholar search page

Research Tips:

It's worth noting that some of the options mirror the Boolean logic that you'd find in library databases. For example:

  • "with all of the words" = AND
  • "with at least one of the words" = OR
  • "without the words" = NOT

Additionally, typing a phrase in the "with the exact phrase" box is the same as putting quotes around your search terms.

For more information on using Boolean terms or other tips in your searches, please contact a librarian.

Results Page

By default, the Google Scholar results page lists results based on relevance.

Google Scholar results screen

You can change the order of your results or further refine your search using the options on the left side of the screen.

Using limiters on the left of screen to modify search.

Result entries contain the information that is required to cite the article, including:

  • the title of the article
  • the author or authors
  • the journal or book title
  • publication date
  • access information
  • the "Cited by" feature, which will take you to related articles that have cited the work.
  • information regarding how to access the full-text of the article.
Exploded view of Google Scholar results entry showing each field listed above.

NOTE: If accessing Google Scholar from off-campus, your library preferences must be set-up in order to receive the EMU FindText+ option and be connected to EMU's holdings.

Accessing Full-text Articles from Off-campus

If accessing Google Scholar from off-campus, you must ensure that your library preferences are set-up in order to receive the EMU FindText+ option and be connected to EMU's holdings. The easiest way to do this is to access Google Scholar from the library's databases page. See the Navigating to a Database tutorial for further information.

Alternately, you can select "Settings" from the Google Scholar homepage...

Settings link-Google Scholar homepage

then "Library Links." Type "Eastern Michigan University" into the search box and make sure to check the box in front of "Eastern Michigan University - Full-text @ EMU FindText+."

Library settings page

For further information or additional tips on using Google Scholar, click the "About Google Scholar" link at the bottom of the page or contact a librarian.