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Research and Instruction Librarian

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Karen Merguerian
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Schedule Appointment with Karen Merguerian(Opens in new window)
Contact:
6173732747
Subjects: Arts, Media, Music, and Design, Communication Studies, International Affairs and Area Studies, Middle East Studies, Music

Google Scholar, Databases and Research : Get started using Google Scholar

What is Google Scholar?

Google Scholar provides an easy way to search broadly for scholarly literature across a range of disciplines and topics. As with a general Google search, Google Scholar attempts to bring the more relevant results to the top of the results list.

Google Scholar Search

Before You Begin

Ask yourself:

  • When should you use Google Scholar, and when should you use a different search engine?
  • When would it be more productive to use a database that the Library subscribes to for students, faculty, and staff?

The major advantages and disadvantages of Google Scholar listed in this guide will help you find the answers to these questions, so that you can choose the most effective means to finding what you need for your scholarly research.

Advantages

Google Scholar can be useful when searching:

  • "Grey literature" such as conference proceedings
  • Across multiple disciplines
  • For multiple types of documents (articles, proceedings, books)
  • An indication of which articles are most-cited

Google Scholar can also help you quickly identify who is publishing in your area of research.

Disadvantages

Drawbacks to Google Scholar include:

  • not knowing when it's been updated
  • can't browse by periodical title
  • limited options for advanced searching
  • no suggestions provided for focusing searches (such as alternative keywords for a topic)

If you need advanced features or articles within a specific discipline or major, try one of the databases the library subscribes to. Our subject guides offer recommendations for searching the literature in your subject or discipline. 

Research and Instruction Librarian

Profile Photo
Karen Merguerian
She/hers
Email Me
Schedule Appointment with Karen Merguerian(Opens in new window)
Contact:
6173732747
Subjects: Arts, Media, Music, and Design, Communication Studies, International Affairs and Area Studies, Middle East Studies, Music
  • Next: Google Scholar Settings >>
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  • Last Updated: Aug 21, 2023 4:43 PM
  • URL: https://subjectguides.lib.neu.edu/googlescholar
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Article

Written content on a narrow subject and published in a periodical or website. In some contexts, academics may use article as a shortened form of journal article.

See also:

  • Green Paper
  • Grey Literature
  • Journal

Bibliography

A detailed list of resources cited in an article, book, or other publication. Also called a List of References.

Call Number

A label of letters and/or numbers that tell you where the resource can be found in the library. Call numbers are displayed on print books and physical resources and correspond with a topic or subject area.

Peer Review

Well-regarded review process used by some academic journals. Relevant experts review articles for quality and originality before publication. Articles reviewed using this process are called peer reviewed articles. Less often, these articles are called refereed articles.

Limiter

A search setting that removes search results based on source attributes. Limiters vary by database but often include publication date, material type, and language. Also called: filter or facet.

Dissertation

A paper written to fulfill requirements for a degree containing original research on a narrow topic. Also called a thesis.

Database

A searchable collection of similar items. Library databases include resources for research. Examples include: a newspaper database, such as Access World News, or a humanities scholarly journal database, such as JSTOR.

Scholarly Source

A book or article written by academic researchers and published by an academic press or journal. Scholarly sources contain original research and commentary.

  • Scholarly articles are published in journals focused on a field of study. also called academic articles.
  • Scholarly books are in-depth investigations of a topic. They are often written by a single author or group. Alternatively in anthologies, chapters are contributed by different authors.