SEARCHING WITH GOOGLE SCHOLAR

MSVU Library Online Tutorials

What is Google Scholar?• Can be accessed by visiting http://scholar.google.ca or through the link on

the Databases A-Z list on the library homepage.

• Searches academic resources available on the web.

What will you find?• Theses, dissertations, books, journal articles, open-access materials.

• Usually provides results directly from the source (journal website, university repository, etc.) rather than linking through a database.

Pros• Searches a wide range of material

that may or may not be indexed through the databases you would normally search.

Cons• If you have not updated your

settings to identify that you are accessing Google Scholar through MSVU, you may not be able to access a lot of the resources.

• Not all results may reliable, important to be critical of sources.

Other tips• By default, search using a natural-language phrase.

• Clicking the arrow in the search box triggers options for more advanced searching.

• Adjusting settings to identify yourself as an MSVU user will ensure you have quick access to full-text results – view the MSVU Library tutorial on Google Scholar for more information on this.

Settings have been adjusted so full-text results from MSVU

show up.

Natural language searching works well, but clicking the arrow in the

search bar also gives advanced search options.

If an article is not accessible through MSVU, you may be

able to get it by placing a Document

Delivery request.