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Journal articles, news and case studies: Google Scholar

What is Google Scholar?

Avoid paywalls - access more articles in full-text

When you use Google Scholar off-campus, you’ll often find results that aren’t freely available in full-text.  

To access more of the articles you need, we recommend that you link Google Scholar to the Library's databases.

Search operators

You can use Google Scholar's search operators to connect your keywords and limit your search to the title of each article.

Google Scholar search operators

Found a useful journal article? Use it to find other relevant sources

1) Click on the Cited by link in Google Scholar

You'll be taken to a list of more recent publications that have referred to your article.

Google Scholar cited by and related articles links


2) Click on the Related articles link in Google Scholar

Google Scholar will try to find other publications that are similar to your selected item.


3) Refer to the reference list / bibliography at the end of any relevant articles

This will provide a list of sources that the author consulted as part of their research. If you want to access one of these publications in full-text, follow the Library's instructions on:

Warning - Use the Cite button with caution

Below each search result in Google Scholar, you’ll see a quotation mark (") icon.

This provides a formatted citation for the publication in various referencing styles including APA.

Google Scholar's cite function

 

Warning: Google’s APA references:

  • Often include incorrect capitalisation and formatting.
  • Don’t include a DOI for journal articles. According to APA 7th, you should include a DOI where available.
You can use the Google Scholar citation as the basis for your reference list entry. However, you’ll need to check that the reference complies with APA’s referencing standards.

What are the limitations of Google Scholar?

Google Scholar picks up draft versions of articles that haven’t been through the peer-review process

These will often show up on websites like ResearchGate and SSRN. Wherever possible, you should refer to the final peer-reviewed version of an article which includes the journal title, volume/issue number, and page range.

 

Google Scholar doesn’t let you limit your search to peer-reviewed content

It’s up to you to evaluate the quality and credibility of each resource.

A quick way to evaluate the quality of the journal where an article is published, is to check if the name of the journal appears in the:

Google Scholar may retrieve non-academic books from Google Books that can be of questionable quality

It’s up to you to evaluate the quality and credibility of each resource.

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