Many people are familiar with Google as a search engine, but fewer have heard of Google Scholar.
During this week, a young lady approached me with her research struggles, mentioning her inability to afford or access published journals.
When I asked if she had heard of Google Scholar, she said ‘No.’
Google Scholar, launched in beta in November 2004, serves as an open-access web search engine. Its primary purpose is to index and provide access to a wide range of scholarly content, including peer-reviewed journals and books, conference papers, theses, dissertations, preprints, abstracts, technical reports, and other academic materials, such as legal decisions and patents.
Many citations in Google Scholar link to full-text articles in library databases or publicly available sources.
However, it does not encompass everything available in library databases. Google Scholar can serve as a convenient starting point for research, but it is not a comprehensive ‘one-stop shop,’ meaning you can access many published articles for free, which can significantly benefit your research.
Accessing Google Scholar is straightforward. Simply open your Chrome browser and type it in the address bar to get started.
