How to Find Articles with Google Scholar

Go to scholar.google.com. Enter your keywords in the search box.

The google scholar screen with an arrow pointing to the search box. The arrow is labeled Enter your keywords here to indicate that the search box is where keywords should be typed.

On the results page, you will see 3 columns. The middle column will show you information about the article, like the title, the authors, and sometimes a short summary. The links you want are in the third column on the right. These links provide free access to articles.

Google Scholar results list for a search using the keywords social media. An arrow points to the links in the right column of the page. These are the links to free access to articles.

The article titles are also links, but if you click on an article title, you are usually sent to the publisher’s website where you will be asked to pay for the article. Avoid clicking on the title links and instead click on the links in the far-right column.

Check marks are next to three links in the right hand column of the page to emphasize that these are the correct place to click for access to the articles. The article titles links in the middle of the screen are crossed out to emphasize that these are not the right links to use to access the articles.

You should never pay for an article for your assignments. As a Palomar College student, you have access to many amazing sources of scholarly articles for free. If you are having difficulty finding articles, please contact the library. Chat with us 24/7 from the library homepage, www.palomar.edu/library, or email us at library@palomar.edu.

If no link appears in the column to the right of the article, that means free access is not available through Google Scholar. You should choose a different article or get in touch with the library for help finding a similar article.

An article on the list that does not have a link to access in the right hand column is labeled with the message This article has no free link to click. This illustrates what it looks like when you find an article in Google Scholar that is not available for free.

Linking Palomar College Library to Google Scholar

You can link Google Scholar to the Palomar College databases to also see articles that are available for free from the library. There are 4 simple steps for linking to Palomar.

(1) Click on the menu button in the upper left-hand corner.
(2) When the menu opens, click Settings.
(3) Click Library links.
(4) Search for Palomar College. You will see 2 checkboxes related to Palomar.
Click both boxes and then click Save.

Now when you search Google Scholar, you will see links that say Full Text at Palomar in addition to the other free links in the right-hand column. Click a Full Text at Palomar link to access the article for free through the library. You may be asked to enter your Palomar ID and password to show you are a Palomar student.

In the right hand column, there are links to Full Text at Palomar and also links to free access from other sources. Check marks next to the links emphasize that these are the correct links to use to access the articles.

Other Recommended Features in Google Scholar

Here are a couple of other helpful features. To get a citation for any article, click the quotation mark symbol below the article information. To see other articles that have cited this article, click the Cited By link next to the quotation mark symbol.

An example of an article result in Google Scholar. One arrow points to the Citation option for the article. Below the arrow it says, click the quotation mark to get a citation for the article. One arrow points to the Cited by option for the article. Below the arrow it says Click the Cited by link to see other article that have referenced this article.

Get Help From Librarians When You Need It

If you need further assistance finding articles online or with other questions like how to find textbooks or how to put together citations, please get in touch.

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