Italian: Google Scholar

Google Scholar takes Google's PageRank algorithm and runs it through a pre-selected set of tables-of-contents and metadata from a limited set of scholarly journals and papers that are available online or otherwise freely accessible. It is a much better option than a regular Google search for scholarly information, but it will also retrieve non-scholarly materials such as news announcements, academic websites (those ending .edu), slide decks, and the like.

Google Scholar is good for:

• Locating obscure references that are difficult to find in conventional databases, either because you have an incomplete citation or an article is not included in other indexing services
• Tracking down the full text of a known article. (If you Google Scholar's Library Links you will be recognized as having permission to retrieve licensed material and will routed to the full text of articles if your library has access to them. See below for instructions)
• Finding gray literature such as conference proceedings, pre-prints, policy papers, and government reports

Google Scholar drawbacks::

• It cannot access content within proprietary databases such as MLA or Literature Online
• It is not an index and is not organized by discipline or subject.
• It cannot limit, organize, filter, or sort your searches.
• Google Scholar is NOT a full-text database.  Most records in Google Scholar are citations, not articles in their entirety

Keep in mind:

• You may get a long list of results but you will only have access to the full text of articles that UCSB Library has paid subscriptions for (if you have set up Library Links), or that are open access
• Searches are not nearly as precise as they are in the library's subscription databases

To access UCSB Library's licensed copies of articles that you find in Google Scholar, you must first set up Library Links. 

1. Go to Settings 

2. Choose Library links

3. Find University of California, Santa Barbara in the "library access links" search bar. I recommend choosing  both WorldCat and UCSB. 

Learn how you can connect UCSB Library to Google Scholar to easily access the full text of an article through UC Library Search.

Connecting Google Scholar to UCSB Library Full-Text Resources from UCSB Library on Vimeo.

Transcript:

Title: Connecting Google Scholar to UCSB Library Full-Text Resources: Teaching & Learning Series

Body: Starting on the Google Scholar homepage, login to Google using your UCSB NetID and password. Once you are logged in, find the menu in the top left corner of the screen and select the “settings” option, then the “library links” option. In the search box, enter “University of California, Santa Barbara” and search. Find the “Get it At UC” option and make sure the box is checked, then save your changes. Now, you can search for full-text articles in UCSB Library from Google Scholar! On the Google Scholar homepage, enter your search terms and search. Look for the “Get it at UC” links to access the full-text resource through the Library website. You’ve done it! Having trouble? Ask for help. Need help with your research? Visit us online: library.ucsb.edu/ask