Google Scholar is an online search tool that you can use to find articles, books, theses, court decisions, etc. When available, Google Scholar will link to the full-text version of the resource.
The results you get from Google Scholar are more scholarly in nature meaning you will get less 'background noise' in your results like you do with Google.
Why would I link Google Scholar to the Berry Library?
Linking Google Scholar to the Berry Library lets Google show you which full-text articles we have access to through the library's subscriptions.
Once you link them, Google Scholar will automatically check to see if SSU has access to full-text articles. If we do, you'll be able to link to articles directly from Google Scholar.
When you're on campus, Google Scholar will already recognize that you have access to SSU articles. You won't need to link anything -- you can just start searching!
If you search for articles off-campus, follow these steps to link Google Scholar to the Berry Library.
1. Open Google Scholar.
2. Click on the Settings link at the top of the Google Scholar page.
3. On the Scholar Settings page, click Library Links in the left sidebar.
4. Enter Salem State University into the search bar and click search.
5. If prompted, check Salem State University Library - Proquest Fulltext
6. If prompted, check Salem State University Library - Fulltext @ Salem State
7. Click Save at the bottom of the screen.
Now that you have your Google Scholar account linked to Salem State library resources, you can immediately see if you can access the full-text. In this example, Salem State has access so you would click Full Text @ Salem State to download the article. Oftentimes there will be other options for you to retrieve the pdf and in this case, you can download the article through the website researchgate.net Either option is fine.
If you click on Cited by you can see who else cited the particular resource. Usually the higher a resource is cited, the more impactful the research is. You can also use the Cited by to find other resources on your topic.
When you click the ", Google Scholar will show you how to cite the resource according to the most popular citation styles. Keep in mind that if the citation was uploaded incorrectly into Google Scholar, it will cite the resource incorrectly. So make sure you take a look to make sure things look correct.
Another really cool feature of Google Scholar is the ability to star the resources you like. Clicking on the star saves the resource in your Google Scholar library.
Your Google Scholar library is located on the upper right hand side, cleverly labeled My Library. Clicking on My Library will show you all the articles you have starred. This is one great way to keep track of your research. All the articles you want to read later are in one place for you to retrieve them.
