What is Google Scholar?
Google Scholar is a specialized search engine from Google that searches scholarly, but not necessarily peer-reviewed, literature on the Internet.
Google Scholar can be helpful in finding the full text of articles. These articles may be things that we have in the Walden Library, articles that are freely available on the Internet, and articles that can be purchased. Google Scholar can help you search more broadly and comprehensively. You can search by topic, or use it to find articles that have cited another article.
Search in Google Scholar
Google Scholar is very similar to Google. You can use many of the same search options.
Google Scholar automatically places AND between words:
- nurse stress retention
Place quotation marks around phrases or titles:
- "social learning theory"
- "On the Origin of Species"
Search for alternate terms using OR, with the terms enclosed in parentheses
- ("first grade" OR "second grade")
- (theory OR model)
You can also search with certain advanced functions in Google Scholar, just like in a Walden Library database.
Learn how to use Google Scholar's advanced search functions
A good Google Scholar strategy is to try multiple searches, adjusting your keywords with each search.
Full Text from Google Scholar
Google Scholar puts links to full text to the right of the search results:
What are the options for getting full text through Google Scholar?
1. Link Google Scholar to Walden Library (click here to learn how to link Google Scholar to the Library). This will give you a direct link to Find at Walden
2. Click on the title. Often this will take you to the publisher's website, which will ask for payment to see the full text.
3. There are a few occassions when it will take you to the full text. This is most common with items from ERIC or articles that are reproduced as HTML text on a website. Some publishers also offer selected full text articles for free as a marketing tool.
Connect Google Scholar to the Walden Library
Once you have connected Google Scholar to the Library you can use Scholar to find specific articles with a title search.
Learn more about using Google Scholar to look up an article.
Steps to connect Google Scholar to the Walden Library:
First link Google Scholar to the Walden Library collection to link straight to our articles in full text. Here's how:
1. Go to Google Scholar (scholar.google.com).
2. Click Settings in the upper right.
3. Click Library Links on the left.
4. Enter Walden in the search box and click the blue magnifying glass search button.
5. An option for Walden appears below the search box. Check the box.
6. Click Save. This setting will be remembered until you clear your browser cookies.
Now when you search Google Scholar, links to Walden Library appear when full text is available. Click the Find at Walden link to get full text.
