BA 476 American Business History: Google Scholar

Google Scholar - http://scholar.google.com

Google Scholar is not Google. Google Scholar is a good, quick place to start to get a sense of where the scholarly literature on your topic is located.

Google Scholar is not searching the web at large, but a set of trusted resources that specifically focus on scholarly literature. This can be especially helpful if your topic is related to consumer goods or other types of topics where a "regular" Google search keeps bringing back sites trying to sell you things.

Google Scholar searches across a wide array of disciplines and sources. You can find articles, theses, books, abstracts and other documents that are buried in Kresge Library databases or stored in academic institutional repositories around the world.

You can also set Google Scholar up to link directly to the full text of the article. (See below)

Google Scholar allows you to set your preference so that it 'knows' you are a current member of the University of Michigan community. This will allow Google Scholar to present you with direct links to journal articles that are in the Library databases.

To set up Library Links in Google Scholar:

1. Go to Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com)
2. Click on "Settings" in the upper right
3. Click on "Library Links" on the left menu
4. On the "Show library access links" page
5. Search for "University of Michigan", select the option for Ann Arbor
6. Click "Save"

Note: Google Scholar saves these settings using cookies on your computer. If you regularly switch computers or do not have cookies turned on, you will need to set these everytime you use Google Scholar.