What is Google Scholar?
The advantages of Google scholar are many, it is a great way to find many scholarly and research-based articles and works from different authors and universities in the world.
Google scholar is a one stop shop for knowledge and it is free, you can gain access across many disciplines and sources, for example, peer-reviewed journals, books from authors from across the globe, article, article and thesis abstracts, abstracts from various renowned publishers, academic publishers, professional societies, repositories, colleges and universities and other scholar and knowledge-based organizations.
And the best part is that Google Scholar helps to identify the research which you need and want, it identifies the most suitable research that you want for your work across from millions of scholarly research materials. Using Google Scholar for learning online is the best way to write research papers and thesis.
How to search for information on Google Scholar?
There are many ways through which you can search for information on Google Scholar. If you have the name of the author all you have to do is write their name in Google Scholar and you will see the results.
f you do not have the name of the author whose work you are looking for then you can also search the Google Scholar via publication name. Along with that you can even broaden you research by searching for more categories on the ‘Advanced Search’ tab in the Google Scholar.
But there is something that you must know, whenever you are feeling determined to search for scholarly information which is really wide do not search for it in the Google Scholar, instead use the advanced search option in the Google Scholar. The main reason for this is the fact that you might end up getting a lot of search results which will surely confuse you.
What are the Google Scholar search results?
When you get your results from Google Scholar you will see that the results you get from making normal searches from the browser is completely different from that of the results Google Scholar gives you.
Here is a quick explanation of what those results mean. The linked title of the article you are looking for will directly go to the full article itself if it is available or an abstract if the longer version is not available.
‘Cited by’ this refers to the running count of many other articles that have cited the particular article that you are looking for and this is a really effective way of searching for more articles pertaining to your field of interest.
Library or outside database link: Some Google Scholar search results have links labeled ‘library search’ or would have ‘find it in (mention the name of the library here)’.
These search options indicate whether or not your local library has a copy either offline or online of the article or articles you are working for, if a database pertaining to any information organization has a copy or if a university from which you are trying to search for has a copy the Google Scholar would have an actual copy of what you are looking for.
All in all using Google Scholar for learning online would be of much help for your academic endeavors.
Ali G is a freelance writer for an online blog that provides information on accredited online bachelor degrees to help students in their academic decisions.