Google Scholar is a free database offered through Google. Unlike Google, it does not search for websites, blogs, news sources or other web materials. It exclusively searches for scholarly materials, which can include journal articles, books, patents, and case law.
Google Scholar
- While Google Scholar will search for free, it does not provide free access to all materials. When you are on campus, you can usually read the full text of most of the articles. However, when you are off campus, you may be asked to pay for access to certain articles.
- The UW-Madison Libraries pay subscription fees to hundreds of journal publishers so that you can use their articles. In order to avoid paying for articles you find on Google Scholar, you need to let the database know that you are affiliated with UW-Madison.
- To login to Google Scholar:
- On the library homepage, select “databases” from the search bar drop-down menu.
- Select the “Top 10 Databases” link below the search bar.
- Select Google Scholar from the list.
- You will be prompted to sign in with your NetID and password.
- Once you have logged in, you will be redirected to the Google Scholar search interface.
- After running a search, you will see a “Find It at UW-Madison” link to the right of each article. You can use this link to access the full text of the article through UW-Madison or, if the article is not available online, to place an InterLibrary Loan request for the article.