Google Scholar
An exceptional Exception
Let's be fair here: Google Scholar is an impressive tool, a tool with which you should become familiar. Google Scholar is an index that looks like a search engine. Through partnering with publishers and scholars, Google Scholar provides access to many thousands of articles as well as books.
Use Google Scholar in addition to, not instead of, your library's databases.
The following chart compares some of the features of the library's periodicals indexes and Google Scholar.
| Library Indexes | Google Scholar |
|---|---|
| Some (possibly all) full text | Some (not all) full text |
| No ads | No ads |
| Depending on the index, access to newspapers and magazines as well as scholarly journals. | Primarily access to scholarly journals and books |
| Libraries pay an annual subscription fee | Google partners with publishers |
| Libraries can borrow articles, usually for free | Links to publishers may include offers to sell the article (Do not buy articles online - your library can get articles for you, usually for free.) |
| Some indexes focus on specific subject areas. | Advanced search provides limiting to broad subjects. |
| Sophisticated searching options. | Sophisticated searching options. |