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Library Catalogue- Article Databases
- Statistical Sources
- Online Reference Sources
Google Scholar
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Google Scholar is a search tool created by Google that attempts to provide a single search engine for scholarly literature. Google Scholar is good for quick, superficial research and is not suitable for thorough, academic research. Find out what Google Scholar searches and, most importantly, what it does not search! |
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| Google Scholar FAQ : |
 What areas does Google Scholar cover? |
| How often is content added to Google Scholar? |
| Everything in Google Scholar is scholarly, right? |
| Can I use Google Scholar instead of one of TRU Library's databases? |
| Can I display my search results by date? by author? |
| How are results ranked? |
| What does "Cited by" mean? |
| What does "Web Search" mean? |
| What does "Library Search" mean? |
| What does "BL direct" mean? |
| What should I do if I'm asked to pay for the full text of the article? |
| How come I can get some full text articles and some I can't get? |
| What should I do if the full text is not available? |
| Does Google Scholar work with RefWorks? |
| How can I get more help? |
| What areas does Google Scholar cover? |
| Google Scholar searches a small fraction of published scholarly literature. Coverage is difficult to determine because Google Scholar refuses to disclose which journals are indexed. Coverage appears to be the strongest in science and technology; and the weakest in the Social Sciences and Humanities. TRU Library subscribes to databases that support the teaching, courses and programs taught at TRU. These databases focus on discipline specific publications. If you need help choosing the right database for your research, consult the "Guides by Subject" webpage, ask the staff at the Reference Desk or email a Librarian. |
| How often is content added to Google Scholar? |
| Articles and journals are not updated from publishers on a regular, known cycle. Google Scholar refuses to disclose when content was added last. The vast majority of TRU's article databases have a regular updating schedule (daily, weekly, or monthly). If you want the most current research, an article database is the better search tool. |
| Everything in Google Scholar is scholarly, right? |
| Wrong. Not all Google Scholar results come from "scholarly" sources. It is important that you know how to spot the difference between scholarly and non-scholarly sources. Most of TRU Library's database have the ability to limit to scholarly materials. If you need help choosing the right database for your research, consult the "Guides by Subject" webpage, ask the staff at the Reference Desk or email a Librarian. |
| Can I use Google Scholar instead of one of TRU Library's databases? |
| Google Scholar can be a useful search tool, especially if you are doing quick, superficial research. However, given the significant information gaps and the lack of regular updating, Google Scholar is not the best tool for thorough, academic research. For example, Google Scholar claims to have indexed all of PubMed and other databases. However, independent tests have shown that there are enormous gaps between the PubMed database and Google Scholar. |
| Can I display my search results by date? by author? |
| No, Google Scholar does not allow you to sort or refine your search to the same extent as a database. TRU's databases allow you to sort by year, by author and limit your results to journals that TRU subscribes to. |
| How are results ranked? |
| Google Scholar ranks results by an undisclosed algorithm. |
| What does "Cited by" mean? |
| Clicking the "Cited by" link will display all the articles and documents (that are indexed in Google Scholar only) that have cited the document originally retrieved in your search. Since the journals indexed by Google Scholar represents a small fraction of published materials, using a TRU database that performs a "Cited by" search (such as, Science Citation Index, Academic Search Complete, PsycInfo, etc...) will yield more comprehensive and up-to-date information. |
| What does "Web Search" mean? |
| Clicking the "Web Search" link will take your search terms and perform a search in the general Google. If you click on "Web Search" for a book citation, your results will list sites where you can purchase the book online. Always check the TRU Library catalogue first to see if we have the book you want! |
| What does [Book] mean? |
| [Book] means that the item that you are looking at is a reference to a book. If you find a citation to a book, take the title of the book and search the TRU Library catalogue to see if we own it. |
| What does BL direct mean? |
| Clicking on "BL Direct" will allow you to purchase the full text of the article through the British Library. DO NOT pay for articles. See the next Question and Answer! |
| What should I do if I'm asked to pay for the full text of the article? |
| Google Scholar often links to versions of papers from commercial publisher websites. These sites will prompt you for your credit card and may charge you upwards to $45 US just to view the article. DO NOT pay for articles. TRU Library gets access to over 26,000 journals that, you as a student or faculty member, can access for FREE! Google Scholar does not recognize that you are entitled to view the article for free through TRU Library's subscriptions. If you find a citation to an article, that is not available for free to view, search the TRU Library catalogue to see if we subscribe to the journal. See the TRU Library's guide on "Locating a specific journal title". If your article comes from a journal that TRU Library does not subscribe to, you may order the article through our Interlibrary Loans (ILL) service. |
| How come I can get some full text articles and some I can't get? |
There are several reasons: |
| What should I do if the full text is not available? |
| If you find a citation to an article, that is not available for free to view, search the TRU Library catalogue to see if we subscribe to the journal. See the TRU Library's guide on "Locating a specific journal title". If your article comes from a journal that TRU Library does not subscribe to, you may order the article through our Interlibrary Loans (ILL) service. |
| Does Google Scholar work with RefWorks? |
| Yes, you can directly export citations found in Google Scholar into your RefWorks database. |
| How can I get more help? |
| TRU Library Reference staff are available to help. You can come into the library and get face-to-face assistance (Reference staff are available during all opening hours), phone your campus Reference desk for assistance, or email a Librarian for assistance. |