Quick Guide to Google Scholar
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Covers peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports
Access via the Library databases page.
This allows direct access to full text-material to which the Library subscribes
http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/databases/
> G > Google Scholar
Keyword search
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Make keywords as specific as possible. Try using different terminology and/or synonyms:
consumer value OR customer value OR customer satisfaction
Google Scholar automatically ANDs words it looks for: customer AND value
To find a phrase use quotation marks “customer satisfaction”
Search results
Cited by – the
number of
other papers in
Google Scholar
that have cited
this paper
[PDF] – format of information displayed
Change to obtain specific
years.
All ... versions – preprints,
abstracts, conference
papers etc. Try these to
obtain full text.
BL Direct – Do not purchase items via Google
Scholar. Access documents via Library
databases or Interlibray loan.
Advanced Scholar Search
Click on Revert to old venerable look at bottom left of Google Scholar page:
Created by Business and Economics Information Services, University of Auckland Library ©University of Auckland Library, June 2012
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Select Advanced Scholar Search to the right of the search field:
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Use a combination of search fields to refine your search, then click on Search Scholar:
Strengths of Google Scholar
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Easy to use
Full text available on the internet or through Library subscriptions
A number of versions of the same paper may be available
Weaknesses of Google Scholar
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Beware the citation count - there are many indexing errors creating ghost authors, lost authors
and over-counting of citations
Use in conjunction with citation databases, especially the Library’s databases Web of Science
and Scopus
This is a beta (test) version with bugs or errors
Results are not relevance ranked
Predominantly medical, scientific and technical. Less coverage of social sciences and humanities
No information on scope of coverage (which publishers and sites are searched) or the frequency
of updating
Created by Business and Economics Information Services, University of Auckland Library ©University of Auckland Library, June 2012
Differences between Google Scholar and Library databases
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Google Scholar is a limited subset of scholarly material. Many library databases cover a larger
proportion of material
Library databases offer more search and limit options than Google Scholar – especially subject
heading searching
Never rely on one source for information - use Google Scholar in conjunction with other
Library databases
Importing into EndNote or RefWorks
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Each time you use Google Scholar click on the wheel icon
at the top right of the
search screen and select Scholar preferences
Scroll down the preferences page and select the bibliographic manager you require, RefMan (for
Endnote users) or RefWorks, from the drop-down box.
Click on Save Preferences.
Selecting RefMan as your import function into your Endnote library improves the accuracy of
the citations.
Select RefMan (for Endnote
users) or RefWorks
Save Preferences
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Importing results into RefMan (for EndNote users) is now an option.
Alternatively the option Import into RefWorks appears if RefWorks is selected.
Created by Business and Economics Information Services, University of Auckland Library ©University of Auckland Library, June 2012
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NOTE: When importing references from any database into EndNote or RefWorks check that all
bibliographic details are present. This is especially important when using Google Scholar as
quality control of the citations is poor.
Further information
For a detailed Google Scholar guide refer to Google Scholar, compiled by Learning Services
http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/docs/handouts/scholar.pdf
Created by Business and Economics Information Services, University of Auckland Library ©University of Auckland Library, June 2012