Skip to Main Content
Indiana State University website
Today's Hours

Internet & Search Engines: Google Scholar

Google Scholar

Personalizing Google Scholar

My Google Scholar list

To get the most out of Google Scholar, be sure you login and customize your Settings:

  1. Results per page: change 10 to 20
  2. Bibliography Manager: choose EndNote; export citations directly into your EndNote library
  3. Library Links: enter in search box: Indiana State University
  4. optional: add a "Scholar Button' icon shortcut [Chrome Browser]
  5. optional: set up search Alerts
  6. optional: save citations to your Google Scholar "My Library" - keep in one file or create Labels
  7. sometimes: try "Advanced Search" [note: not as 'advanced' as databases]
  8. enter older citations to locate more recent, possibly relevant hits using "Cited By"

About Google Scholar

Google Scholar is an Internet search engine which searches journal websites, patent databases, and respected scholarly content online. It is freely available for anyone to use.

Many publisher websites will ask you to pay for full-text. You'll often get prompted to pay for the full text of articles. In many cases, these are articles that you can freely access  through Indiana State University via one of its many subscription databases or journals.

You can set up Google Scholar to access Indiana State University's full-text by changing your Settings in your personal Google Account..

  1. In the top left corner of the Google Scholar search page, click the three horizontal lines.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. Click Library Links on the left side menu.
  4. Search for Indiana State Univ 
  5. Scroll through the results and check Indiana State University -  Full-text @ ISU Library
  6. Click Save.

 

Advanced Google Scholar Search

  1. In the top left corner of the Google Scholar search page, click the three horizontal lines.
  2. Click Advanced Search.

Google Scholar Strengths & Weaknesses

Google Scholar allows free searches to anyone. However, it does not have editorial standards that pass academic standards. It searches the websites of journals but not all of the journals are evaluated to be of high quality.

  • It's critical to use appropriate language in Google Scholar since there is no term mapping to Medical Subject Headings.
  • Google Scholar includes many non-scholarly sources such as newspapers and others. Search results may include the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and other non-peer-reviewed sources.
  • Google Scholar appears to find a lot even when you do a bad search.

Advanced Google Searching

FEATURE

EXAMPLE

DESCRIPTION

Maximum number of search words 

four score seven years ago fathers brought forth continent new

10 words maximum allowed*

" "

"computer science"
"to be or not to be"

Put quotes around phrases
(can sometimes thwart stopwords)

Stopwords

 

Google ignores commonly used words in the search: and in as the on our this (etc.)

Boolean default 

databases library

databases AND library

Default AND

|
OR

myanmar|burma
Myanmar OR burma

Use | for OR

-

 -minutes -records

Use - for NOT

site:

site:indstate.edu

site:loc.gov

site:.edu

Finds word within a site or top level domain; does not search subdirectories

filetype:
ext:

filetype:pdf

filetype:ppt

filetype:doc

Finds specific file type; known to work for pdf, ps, dwf, kml, kmz, xls, ppt, doc, rtf, swf

*

"short letter * * * * long one"

Replace a word with *

~

~help microsoft Office

~guide apa style

Find synonyms with ~

intext:

intext:yahoo.com

Finds the word in the body text; ignores titles, URL, link text

allintext:

allintext:  minutes

Finds the word in the body text; ignores titles, URL, link text*

intitle:

intitle:"Indiana state university"

Finds the word/phrase in the title of the Web page

allintitle:

allintitle: health report

Finds all the words in the title of the Web page*

..

10..99 lb
$50..$100
2014..2019

To search a range, put 2 periods between numbers and add a unit of measure

inanchor:

inanchor:"ISU library"

Finds  word/phrase in the anchor text

allinanchor:

allinanchor: library help

All words are in the anchor text

inurl:

inurl:help

Finds the words in the URL

allinurl:

allinurl: library help

Finds all the words in the URL

cache:

cache:indstate.edu

Searches Google cache for webpage

info:

info:indstate.edu/

Finds indexed version of a URL

define:

define:sedulous

Defines a word using Lexico.com (Oxford University Press & Dictionary.com)

Adapted from
Calishain, T., Dornfest, R., & Adams, D. J. (2003). Google pocket guide. Sebastopol, CA: OReilly.

* May not work in combination with other Google hacks and operators.

Chat with a Librarian

Printable Handouts