Skip to Main Content

Google Scholar: Getting started

Using Google Scholar for college level research

What is Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a specialized online search engine that can help you discover articles, books, and more from academic publishers and research institutions.

That's the Good News!

The Bad News - not everything you find will be available to access or print.

Google Scholar can be a convenient starting place, but it may not provide all the scholarly, peer reviewed information required for your research projects. 

When looking for articles,YCCC's many article databases may be the best choice for:

  • more precise searching
  • more search options
  • many more entire, full-text articles

Google Scholar Search Tips

Search Tips used in Google can also help in Google Scholar:

Lead with the most important words (no need to capitalize)

Implied and: global warming is searching for global and warming

"    " double quotes searches for an exact phrase: "global warming"

+ plus sign must include word(s): earthquake +california 

- minus sign must exclude word(s): earthquake -california

site: searches a particular domain: "global warming" site: gov