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LIBR 2100 Course Materials [ORIGINAL]]

Overview of Google Scholar

Google Scholar is an Internet search tool which will "broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites."

Google. (2016). About Google Scholar. Retrieved June 5, 2016 from https://scholar.google.ca/intl/en/scholar/about.html.

Advantages of Google Scholar
  • searching across a variety of disciplines at once
  • searching a variety of academic and/or scholarly sources (books, theses & dissertations, articles, websites)
  • supports both keyword searching and natural language searching (unlike databases)
Disadvantages of Google Scholar
  • it's easy to miss Mount library content unless your Scholar settings are up-to-date
  • may include content that is not readily available, even via the library databases
  • not all content is peer-reviewed/scholarly; fact-checking is a must

 

Video: Basic Overview of Google Scholar

This brief introduction provides an overview of Google Scholar. Next, we provide a more in-depth video, and the remainder of the lesson walks you through Google Scholar's features with a sample research question.

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 5). Overview of Google Scholar [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/IirDQXHRnk4

Video: Accessing Google Scholar

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 5). Accessing Google Scholar at the Mount Library [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/EfibahxE2zg

Video: Connecting Google Scholar to the Mount Library

Lots of materials that require a library subscription will appear in Google Scholar search results. Never pay for articles! Most of them will be available from the Mount Library or via Document Delivery - at no charge. By activating Check Full Text @ MSVU, you will be able to link to Mount library databases from Google Scholar - using this approach will make your research life easier.

You can view the instructions at the Mount Library website's Help with Library Research Guide: Connecting to Mount Library full text journal articles from Google Scholar

Or view this video:

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 6). Connecting Google Scholar to the Mount Library [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/42aynrdenGQ

Natural and Phrase Searching with Google Scholar

A natural language search uses regular language, such as English, just as it is spoken or written. Another way to think of it is to search using complete sentences. E.g., What is the price of oil?

A phrase search is done to locate words in sequence (an exact phrase). E.g. “Truth and Reconciliation Commission”

Google Scholar can do both natural language and phrase searching. Think about how this impacts your search results.

Video: Natural and Phrase Searching

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 8). Natural language and phase searching with Google Scholar [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Qs7Z-FqZOic

Advanced Scholar Searching: AND

Advanced Searching in Google Scholar enables you to use the Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT.

Select the pull-down menu to open the Advanced Search tool in Google Scholar.

screenshot showing the location of the advanced search in Google Scholar
 

A box appears. With this box you can construct a search:

Screenshot showing the advanced search screen options

With all the words = AND E.g. homework AND impact

With the exact phrase = quotes: "Google Scholar searches for the words in the order written" E.g., elementary school children

With at least one of the words = OR

Without the words = NOT

Where my words occur anywhere in the article = Google Scholar will search for your words or phrases wherever they appear

Screenshot showing keywords appearing anywhere in the article search results

Where my words occur in the title of the article = Google Scholar will ONLY search the words and phrases in the titles of the articles and this will greatly reduce your results (remember that the words in the title are not always indicative of the content of the article...)

Screenshot showing keywords appearing only in the titles of the article in the search results

 

Notice that you can also limit the search by author, publication (abbreviated title) and/or publication date.

Video: Advanced Scholar Searching: AND

Watch this search in a video:

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 8). Advanced Google Scholar searching 1 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/jekShFkn2_o

Advanced Scholar Searching 2: OR and NOT

Select the pull-down arrow to choose the Advanced Search option in Google Scholar.

Image of pull-down which opens Advanced Search

You can use this Advanced Search to include additional concepts to refine your research question.

E.g., I want articles containing the words impact AND homework. I know I am interested in "elementary school children" To narrow this research question, I could ask: How does homework impact elementary school children's achievement? Another word for achievement is success. Achievement OR success. I do not want articles that discuss parents (I am interested in students and teachers, not the influence of parents.) so I ask Google Scholar to return results without the word parents.

Find articles

with all of the words homework impact

with the exact phrase elementary school children

with at least one of the words achievement success

without the words parents

where my words occur anywhere in the article

Screenshot of advanced search screen in Google Scholar


This search returns about 1,180 results. The words homework AND impact appear, as does the phrase "elementary school children." Either the word achievement OR success appears. The word parents does NOT appear. After examining a few articles I could narrow this further using fewer, more precise, search terms and phrases.

 

Video: Advanced Scholar Searching OR, NOT

Watch this search in a video:

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 8). Advanced Google Scholar searching 2 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/yZewRfg_wBM

Sort and Limit Scholar Searches by Date

Google Scholar enables you to focus on articles published recently, since a certain year, or within a range of years.

By default, Google Scholar sorts results by relevance (an algorithm that computes a combination of text matching, the number of times an item has been cited, and its source). 

If you need very recent materials, use the "Sort by date" link to view only the very newest items added to Scholar, typically those added within the last year.

Screenshot showing 'sort by date' option

Or, use the date limits on the left-hand menu to find results Since 2012 (or 2015 or 2016)

Screenshot showing Since 2012 date option

Or, select custom range and use the text boxes to enter a date range:

E.g., If I were interested only in the 10 years between 1998 and 2008:

Screenshot of Custom Range: 1998 - 2008

This date limiting can be important depending on the nature of the research (or the requirements of an assignment!)

Video: Sort and Limit Scholar by Date

This video demonstrates sorting and limiting Google Scholar results by date.

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 11). Sorting and limiting by date in Google Scholar [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/u_T68Vs5DyM

Saving your results: Google Scholar & RefWorks

How do you save your Google Scholar results to keep track of them? You can choose the system that works best for you (handwriting on paper is a system), BUT there are built-in Google Scholar tools that will help you save results. For us, at the Mount, it's good to know that Google Scholar works with RefWorks meaning you can import citations into RefWorks. This is done with the Bibliography Manager.

 

1. Bibliography Manager.

In Google Scholar choose Settings. The Settings option is located at the top of the page. You may have to click on the triangle icon to see it.

Screenshot of Google Scholar settings tool

Next choose: Search Results - Bibliography Manager. Show links to import citations into RefWorks. Save the settings.

Bibliography Manager Show Links to import citations into RefWorks

Now there will be an "Import into RefWorks" link underneath each search result. Select this link to open RefWorks and save this reference in your RefWorks account.

Import into RefWorks link appearing beneath a search result

RefWorks will open. Logging into your RefWorks account, you will find the Google Scholar result in the Last Imported folder in RefWorks.  The type of source (book, article, etc.) will vary in RefWorks - depending on what type of material you just imported from Google Scholar. Always check to see that it recorded correctly. Errors have been known to happen

 

 

Video: Saving Results: Google Scholar & RefWorks

This video demonstrates how to import Google Scholar results into RefWorks.

  • Update and save Google Scholar settings
  • Use the "Import into RefWorks" link to activate RefWorks

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 11).  Google Scholar and RefWorks [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ZKpjKlRNPHM

Saving Results: Google's My Library

This is optional. You do NOT need to create a Google account and use this feature to complete the course. Only do so if you wish to.

Underneath each search result is a "Save" link. Select this Save link and follow the prompts to login to your Google account.

Screenshot of Save link that appears beneath each Google Scholar result

Your result will be saved to My library which is available to you whenever you login to Google Scholar.

Screenshot of Google Scholar (logged in) showing My library with items saved in it

From the home screen of Google Scholar, I can use My Library whenever I am logged into Google.

Screenshot of Google Scholar home screen showing My library link

Video: Google's My Library

This video shows saving a search result into Google Scholar's My Library by logging in. You do NOT need to create a Google account to search Google Scholar or to complete this course. Do so only if you wish to.

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 11).  Google Scholar's My Library [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/uxe7E3zd08o

Finding a Specific Article with Google Scholar

Sometimes you see an article in a list of references and you are interested in finding it. Google Scholar is very good at finding a match (and even versions of the same article).

Here is the article to find:

Rønning, M. (2011). Who benefits from homework assignments?. Economics of Education Review, 30(1), 55-64.
 
Enter lots of the details about the article in Google Scholar
 
 
The article will be returned if Google Scholar finds it. Notice there are versions of the article.
 
Examining all the versions helps you make sure you are choosing the correct version of the article (it may have been published earlier and has been updated; it may be a different edition in the case of a book). Remember that setting Library Links in Google Scholar enables you to obtain articles the Library subscribes to at no charge.
 
Check for the correct version
 

Video: Finding a Specific Article with Google Scholar

 

This video demonstrates using Google Scholar to locate the following article:

Rønning, M. (2011). Who benefits from homework assignments?. Economics of Education Review, 30(1), 55-64.

  • Entering article information
  • Examining article versions
  • Selecting the correct version
  • Using Library Links to "Get Full Text @ MSVU"

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 11).  Finding a specific article with Google Scholar [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/C3mLnes9ecg

Related Articles in Google Scholar

When you have a result in Google Scholar, you can choose Related articles to find research similar to this that has been loaded into Google Scholar. This can be a useful way to connect to similar articles written about a topic (which may or may not be available via the suite of Library databases) when doing academic research.

Screenshot of a search result pointing to "Related articles" link

Selecting the Related articles link opens the list of articles that are similar to this one.

  • The original article appears at the top
  • Related articles appear in the list
  • Using Google Scholar Library Links helps me use Mount Library databases to locate the full text of related articles that are marked "Check Full Text @ MSVU"

The list of related articles. The original article appears first; related articles appear in the list. Using Google Scholar library links helps me use Mount Library databases to locate the full text of articles marked "Check Full Text @ MSVU"

 

Video: Related Articles in Google Scholar

This video demonstrates how to use Google Scholar's "Related articles" link to find similar research on a particular topic.

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 11).  Related articles in Google Scholar [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/eWt48YHl7kw

Cited by in Google Scholar

When you find an article that is relevant to your research topic, you can find other authors who have cited (referred to) this article. This can be (but is not always) a measure of the scholarly impact of an article.

Remember that this is authors found in Google Scholar that have cited your article; other articles citing your article may be found in other places such as the Library databases/Novanet Discovery and more.

When you have found a relevant article, beneath its result will appear a link entitled "Cited by." In the example below 872 other articles/authors which appear in Google Scholar have cited this article by Wigfield.

Screenshot of an article result with "Cited by 872" beneath it

Selecting the Cited by link shows the other articles/authors appearing in Google Scholar which have cited this one. 

The original article appears at the top and the citing articles appear in the list. If I have activated Library Links in Google, this can be an easy way to obtain those articles which have cited this one via the Mount Library databases. There may be other places which have the materials online, as well.

 

Screenshot of original article with the list of articles citing this one. Library links to Check Full Text @ MSVU, and sometimes the materials are available elsewhere online.

Video: Cited by in Google Scholar

This video demonstrates using the Cited by link to find other articles which have cited (referred to) an article of interest. This can be (but is not always) a measure of the scholarly impact of an article.

MountLibrary (2016, Jun 11). Cited by in Google Scholar [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/zNuzir2AdYg

Citation Chasing with Google Scholar

Citation chasing is a term used for finding recent articles on a topic when you have one known item of an older date.

  1. Search Google Scholar for the title and author of the known item
  2. In the results list, click on ‘Cited by’  under the item to view recent articles that cite the known item.
  3. Select the ‘Search within citing articles ‘ at the top of the results to see which of the articles relate to your area of interest. Enter your area of interest in the search box at the top of the page

screenshot demonstrating the steps for citation searching in Google Scholar