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Ekstrom Library

Google Scholar

Tips for getting the most out of Google Scholar

Helpful Tools

Google Scholar has variety of helpful tools to make your research easier and help you find what you're looking for. See below for information on using Advanced Search, Cited by, Cite, finding Related Articles, saving to My Library, and using Endnote with Google Scholar.

Advanced Search

1. Click on the Menu button in the top left, then click on Advanced search. 

Google Scholar menu with advanced search option highlighted.

2. You can search using exact words or phrases, title words, and more. You can also search for a particular author, journal, or date.

Google Scholar advanced search features.

Cited by

Google Scholar ranks results by relevancy and how many times a work has been cited. 

1. You can see how many times a work has been cited with the Cited by tool. 

Google Scholar record with cited by 604 highlighted.

2. Click on the Cited by link to see a full list of all the citing references.

3. Check the box to search within the citing articles and add keywords. You can also filter by date on the left.

Google Scholar cited by search with migration in the search box, the box checked next to search within citing articles, and the date filters on the left highlighted.

You can also find how many times a work has been cited in the Web of Science index, which is a more curated list of citing articles.

Google Scholar item with Web of Science 223 highlighted.

Cite

You can generate reference list citations in Google Scholar by clicking on the Cite button. Styles include MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and Vancouver. Citations are not always correct. Be sure to check the citation with a style guide. 

Google Scholar item with Cite button highlighted.

Google Scholar citations in various styles.

Related Articles

While searching, you might find an article that is exactly what you're looking for. Click Related Articles beneath that work. You'll be taken to a new list of results closely related to the original article you found.

Google Scholar record with related articles link highlighted.

My Library

You can save and organize articles you're interested in by clicking Save.

Google Scholar record with Save link highlighted.

1. First, be sure to log in with a Google account.

Google Scholar with account icon highlighted in the top right.

2. When you save the item, you can add it to a reading list, or a labeled folder. 

Google Scholar saved to my library labels.

3. You can go to My library of saved articles, by clicking on My library in the top right, or in the menu. 

4. In My library you can search the library, label a saved item, delete an item, and manage labels. 

Google Scholar My library with labels menu on the left highlighted.

Endnote

You can import citations from Google Scholar directly into the citation manager EndNote.

1. Set up the EndNote link by going to the menu in the top left and Settings. 

2. In the Search results settings, click on Show links to import citations into...and choose EndNote. Then, save. 

3. Now, you'll see an Import EndNote link under each item. Click the link to download an EndNote file that you can then import to EndNote. 

Google Scholar results page with Import to EndNote link and a download file at the bottom of the Google Chrome window highlighted.