Answered By: Nancy Alzo Last Updated: Feb 06, 2017 Views: 29
Google Scholar is a web search engine the specifically searches for academic resources and scholarly literature including books, articles and documents. This focus to a particular kind of material differentiates the results of a Google Scholar search from the broader results of an ordinary Google search. Google Scholar can be a good option for getting started on research when you want to see what kind of resources are available on a broad topic.
Google Scholar provides results it identifies as scholarly and does not necessarily provide access to the full-text of every citation it finds. If you are using a computer on campus, your results may provide access to full-text content we have available in other databases. If you are off-campus, you will not see these links.
While Google Scholar offers some convenience, it does not provide comprehensive or subject-specific results. There is some overlap with the Libraries' databases but our databases provide more precise searching, more content and more extensive features. When you need resources in a particular subject area, it is always better to search the appropriate library subject database.
If you want the best of both worlds -- a Google Scholar-like experience with all the library database features attached, use our new Discovery Service search box, linked on the Libraries' home page. Quick Search provides a search engine that searches across most of our databases at once and provides links to available full-text.