Google Scholar searches the web for articles, books and book chapters, dissertations and theses, conference papers, and more. Bear in mind that since it gathers information from all over the internet, rather than indexing a vetted list of journals like library databases do, you'll need to be cautious about what you find.
Google Scholar is particularly useful in a few different ways. It's great for cross-disciplinary searches, can help you locate items for which you have incomplete references, and it provides convenient access to free full-text from open access publications, institutional repositories, and other sources.
Please note:
Many things you find on Google will be on publisher web sites, which will ask you to pay for access to those articles. Don’t do it! Our library frequently has what you need in full-text, and if we don’t have access to it, we’ll get it for you through our Interlibrary Loan service for no charge. If you have a Google account, you can turn on our library’s full-text (Get It @ UMassD) links, so you can easily access articles from our journal subscriptions. These links also connect you seamlessly to our interlibrary loan service, which again is free for you to use.
Follow the steps below to add UMass Dartmouth's full-text linking to your Google Scholar account.
Step 1:
Select the lined menu icon.
Step 2:
Click on the Settings gear.
Step 3:
Click on Library links.
Step 4:
Type umass dartmouth and click the search button.
Step 5:
Uncheck Open WorldCat and check University of Massachusetts Dartmouth - Get It @ UMassD. Then click Save.
Access library databases using the A-Z list, subject-specific research guides, and Google Scholar.
Library databases contain a lot more than scholarly articles! If you're looking for magazine or newspaper articles, ebooks, technical reports and standards, or other research materials, you can find them there. Each item on our A-Z list has a detailed description of its contents. If you have questions about what to use, look at our Subject Guides (linked below), or contact your liaison librarian using the Subject Librarians tab.
If your students need help selecting keywords, limiting searches by date, or identifying appropriate articles, it's easy to embed any of our research tutorials in your myCourses sites. Our YouTube page has find videos on a variety of research topics.
Do you need a video on a different topic? Contact your liaison librarian for help!
