SCI 1001 & SCI 1002: Writing and Research in the Sciences

The Pros and Cons of Using Google Scholar

Pros: Google Scholar combines the ease of Google with access to scholarly materials. Google Scholar searches the Web for scholarly articles, abstracts and books, but not popular magazine, newspaper or Internet articles. It allows you to search multiple formats across multiple disciplines in one search.

Cons: Google Scholar doesn’t access everything in the library’s subscription databases, especially the most current information. Not everything is peer-reviewed, nor can you search or filter by peer-review status. Full- text versions of many items indexed by Google Scholar are not available for free through the Internet; however, many are accessible through the LSU Libraries' website.

The Bottom Line: Google Scholar is a great place to begin your search, but should not be the only place you search. Think of it as a resource you can use in addition to the LSU Libraries' catalog and databases.

Google Scholar searches for scholarly articles on the Internet, using Google’s familiar interface. Like regular Google it can generate THOUSANDS of results, even from resources the library does not have. Still, Google Scholar is a powerful discovery tool.

Here’s how to use it.

Step 1: You can access Google Scholar through this link: https://scholar.google.com/ 

Step 2: If you are off campus, you will need to set your "Scholar Preferences" so that Google will provide a link to the material that LSU Libraries owns. 

• To do this, you will need to click on the 3 lines at the upper left-hand side of the screen.
• Next, click on "Settings" 
• Then "Library Links" 
• In the search bar type in "Louisiana State University"
• From the resulting list, check the boxes for: 
  • Open WorldCat - Library Search 
  • Louisiana State University - E-Resources @ LSU 
  • LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES BATON ROUGE - ProQuest Fulltext
  • Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries - Full Text at LSU Library 

Step 3: Now you are ready to search for material that LSU Libraries has access to! 

• If LSU has access to the article, a link will appear on the right of the article information. The link will say "E-resources @ LSU"  
• If you are on campus it will lead you directly into the article. If you are off campus you will have to verify your identify by signing into myLSU. 

Remember, LSU does not have access to every single article that appears on Google Scholar. But, if there is not a link on the right side of the screen, you can make a request to borrow that article from another library using Interlibrary Loan. And it's free! More information about Interlibrary Loan can be found at this link: https://www.lib.lsu.edu/services/ill 

If you have any questions about articles you find on Google Scholar, please reach out to us through Ask Us! at this link: https://askus.lib.lsu.edu/