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Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a specialized Google search which allows you to narrow to scholarly literature, including articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions. Some of these sources are available freely on the internet, while others are available throu

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Google Scholar Task Force

Private Academic Library Network of Indiana logo

This guide was created by a task force of PALNI librarians. 

Task Force Members:
Brooke Cox | DePauw University
Eric Bradley | Goshen College / PALNI 
Lisa Gonzalez | PALNI
Edita Sicken | Manchester University
Ruth Szpunar | DePauw University / PALNI

About Google Scholar

Image that says Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a specialized Google search which allows you to narrow to scholarly literature, including articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions. Some of these sources are available freely on the internet, while others are available through library databases and interlibrary loan.  There are benefits and drawbacks to using Google Scholar.  

Benefits    

  • Ease and effectiveness of searching
  • Looks and functions like a normal Google search
  • Broad index coverage of sources and full text accessibility
  • Features like citation analysis tools and researcher profiles

Drawbacks

  • Proprietary ranking system
  • No traditional tech support
  • Bibliographic/citation information is often incorrect
  • Lack of advanced search features
  • Weak in results for locally developed collections, grey literature, and systematic reviews
  • Strong English language bias

Syncing GG Resources with Google Scholar

You can sync Goshen College's library resources with Google scholar by using Library links. This feature in Google Scholar links to your college library to help find full text available from their journal databases and other subscriptions.

If you are on the Goshen College campus, books and journals owned by GC will be flagged with Available from Goshen in the margin.

If you are off campus, you can manually set this up with the instructions below. (You will also be prompted for your GC username and password if the journal is a licensed resource.)  

Begin at the Google Scholar home page.

  • Tap/click on the stacked lines in the upper right hand corner, and select Settings.
  • Select Library links
  • Search for Goshen College.
  • Select Goshen College -- Available from Goshen, then Save.

To retain the settings, you must have cookies turned on.  More information is available on the Google Scholar site.