Google and Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a great academic search engine. It is useful for finding scholarly sources, patents, case law, grey literature, and more. It can be a helpful place to start your research, find introductory content, and brainstorm keywords. Though you can use traditional search strategies, Google Scholar tends to require less precision than a traditional article database. However, there are still some tips and tricks you can use to be efficient and effective in your Google Scholar search. 

Use the Library Link

Be sure to link to Belmont University Libraries to access our content! Click to get more information. This will allow you to access full-text library content more easily.

Search Synonyms or Keywords

Use OR between synonyms or keywords, such as: influenza OR Covid-19

Use Nesting to Clarify a Search

Place synonyms between parenthesis, such as: (influenza OR Covid-19) AND spread

Phase Searching

Put quotation marks around phrases, such as: "medical education" 

Take Advantage of Filters

Use the filters on the left side of the search page to adjust your search by:

• Time
• Sort by relevance or date as a preference
• Find any articles or just review articles
• Select whether your search results should include patents or citations

Author Search

Use the "Return articles authored by" box in advanced search, or search with "author:" in the main search box to search for all authors. To format the name:

• Use quotation marks around the last name and first initial ("a s fauci" or "anthony s fauci")
• A space between initials is allowable, but not required ("as fauci" or "a s fauci")
• First and last name can be in any order ("anthony fauci" or "fauci anthony")

Publication Search

Use the "Return articles published in" box in advanced search or search with "publication:" in the main search box to search by publication.

To Locate Specific Study Types

Use a keyword search. Though Google Scholar has a filter for review articles, the keyword based method tends to be more precise. Here are a few options:

• <topic keyword> systematic review
• in title:review <topic keyword>
• in title:<insert specific study type, like meta-analysis here> <topic keyword>

To Locate Test Instruments, or Research Using Test Instruments

To locate test instruments, you can search for the full name of the instrument in Google Scholar using quotation marks:

• "Social Avoidance and Distress Scale"

If desired, add a keyword afterwards to your search to find research articles using that scale:

• "Social Avoidance and Distress Scale" and college students

Cited By

Click on "cited by" underneath the bibliographic information to see other research that cited this source

Related articles

Click on "related articles" underneath the bibliographic information to find similar articles

Set up Search Alerts

Learn more - this will allow you to keep up with recent developments in your area of research