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We can help you:
Find or narrow a paper topic,
locate appropriate sources,
and more.
Email refdesk@augsburg.edu for an appointment
Librarian
Introduction to Google Scholar
Google Scholar has broad coverage of scholarly literature. It can be used to search for:
- Journal articles
- Theses
- Government reports
- Content of university and subject repositories
- Some grey literature
It can be particularly useful for establishing an overview of a topic, or researching multidisciplinary topics that might be difficult to research in traditional disciplinary databases.
Google Scholar does have some down sides:
- The exact coverage and scope is unknown ― we can't find out which journals, books, etc., are being searched
- There is no way to differentiate peer-reviewed articles
- Data may be incorrect or missing
- Sometimes the citations are incorrect or wrong
- There is no way to use subject headings or more sophisticated search strategies
When you are using Google Scholar, tune up your skeptical radar and be careful.
Linking to Augsburg's Journals
To set up links to Google Scholar's ‘Find it at Augsburg’:
- Click the hamburger menu (the three-line graphic) at the top left of the Google Scholar page
- Click the Settings cog
- On the Settings page, look for “Library Links” on the left
- Search for “Augsburg”
- Check the box next to “Augsburg University ― Find it at Augsburg”
- Click the “Save” button
Search Results
When you search in Google Scholar, after you've set up linking to Augsburg's Journals, you'll see a double arrow under the citation (circled in the left screenshot), and that will show you the link back to Augsburg's holdings (shown in the right screenshot:
You can then click to be brought back to Augsburg's version to download or order the article.