USING GOOGLE SCHOLAR
EFFECTIVELY
Let's go
Checklist Before Start Searching on Google Scholar
1. Understand What Google Scholar Is
3. Identify keywords
5. Install the Google Scholar Button Extension
4. Plan Search Strategies
2. Define Your Topic or Research Question.
Next page
Using Google Scholar
effectively
Introduction
Set up Alerts
01
04
Google Scholar Profiles
05
Table of contents
Search Smart
02
Citations
Access Full Text
03
06
References
07
👋
Introduction
01
Enter
Google Scholar is a specialized search engine focused on scholarly literature across various disciplines. It also a free academic search engine that helps in finding scholarly articles, books, theses, and conference papers. from a wide range of academic publishers, professional societies, universities, and other scholarly organizations.
+info
🔍
Search Smart
02
Enter
Helps users improve their search strategies and get better results. There two methods provided to retrived your search results, such as Basic & Advance search.
Quick Search Tips
Advanced Search
Basic Search
Filter by Year
Best Practices for Basic Search
A keyword is a specific word or phrase that captures the main idea or topic of your search. Enter any relevant terms in the search box.
**Google Scholar is not case-sensitive.
Keyword Search
Use quotation marks for exact phrases. Example: "cardiovascular disease" will return results containing that exact phrase.
Phrase Search
Basic Search provides a user-friendly interface that allows users to easily find relevant sources by entering keywords or phrases, resulting in broader search results.
If you know the full title of the article, you may direct insert in to search box.
Title Search
If you know the author name, you can search for specific authors using the format: author:"first name or first initial last name"
Author Search
Advanced Search
This features helps you to narrow down your results.
Advanced Search helps users narrow their searches by allowing them to specify criteria such as date ranges, file types, language, domain, and specific websites. This feature enables users to retrieve more precise and relevant information tailored to their specific needs.
Access Google Scholar at https://scholar.google.com/
- Click the hamburger icon (≡) at the upper left corner of the Google Scholar homepage.
- Select "Advanced search" from drop down menu.
- Advanced search form will appeared.
+ Use Advanced search form
More
Use advanced search form
Specific Publication
Refines keywords
Specific authors
Specific timeframe
Enter the author’s name in the box next to "Return articles published in".
Add the specific keywords or phrases you want to include or exclude.
Provide the start and end years in the boxes next to "Return articles dated between".
Insert the author name in the box next to "Return articles authored by".
Back
Quick Search Tips
Boolean Operators
Use AND, OR, NOT
KEYWORDS
Use single words or terms
Truncation Searches
ADVANCED
TECHNIQUE
BASIC
Use asterisk *
Phrase Search
TECHNIQUE
Use quotation marks (" ")
Wildcards Searches
Use question mark (?)
🔍 Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT)
Boolean operators help combine or exclude keywords in your search.
+Example
Search Filters in Google Scholar
Use this to get only the most recent research or data within a specific time frame
Where to find filter
Use filter year
💡
Quick tips
Citation
03
Enter
A citation in Google Scholar refers to when one research paper mentions or references another paper. The more citations a paper has, the more it’s been used or recognized by other researchers.
+ Info
"cite
cited by
Export Citation
Related Articles
- Click the Cite button (").
- Copy the citation in your preferred style and paste it into your working document.
- Double-check and adjust the formatting as needed to match your selected citation style.
**For Vancouver style, you can double-check the formatting by clicking the "Tutorial" tab on the Library Portal, then selecting the "Vancouver Citation Guide."
How?
+Vancouver Citation Guide
Cite
Google Scholar provides several citations for articles in the search result.
How?
1. Click the "horizontal icons" on the upper left site.2. Select "Setting."3. Select your preferred reference manager tools at Bibliography Manager.4. Save
Export CITATIONS
From Google Scholar into Reference Management Tools
Google Scholar provides features to reference management tools (like BibTeX, EndNote, RefMan & RefWorks) that helps you organize and manage your research references more easily.
Quickly gather and organize citations from different sources in tools like Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley, or RefWorks (for IMU University).
Reduce errors by using citation information generated from Google Scholar's metadata.
**Click the image or video for more understanding.
For example, if you are using RefWorks, after selecting the citation you need, simply click on the "Import into RefWorks" button, this allows you to import the citation directly into your RefWorks account. Refer to the RefWorks guidelines for detailed instructions on importing and managing your references efficiently.
Benefit
Stay organized, track your sources efficiently, and easily share with colleagues or group members.
Make it easier to integrate citations into your writing while maintaining academic integrity.
RefWork
Related Article
Helpful feature that allows you to find research papers that are similar to the one you’re looking at. By selecting the "Related articles" link under a search result, you’ll see a tailored list of studies with comparable subjects, methods, or key terms.
Cited by
- It refers to the number of times an article or research paper has been referenced in other publications.
- It can be citation tracking.
- Support & help users track or find newer papers that cite your key paper.
- Shows all other papers that referenced this article
Set up Alerts
04
Enter
Google scholar alerts
This feature allows users to set up alerts for specific keywords, topics, or authors. You’ll get notifications automatically when new articles or research related to your interests are published. It's a helpful way to stay up to date.
+How to set it up
Setting Google scholar alerts
Click to choose your preferred way to learn how to set up Google Scholar Alerts
Alert Tips
- Set up several targeted alerts based on different parts of your research instead of using one broad alert.
- For example, create separate alerts for specific diseases, treatments, or research methods related to your field.
Setting Google Scholar Alerts.
Guideline
Watch
READ
Back
Google Scholar Profile
05
Enter
Google scholar Profiles
Author profiles are dedicated pages that showcase a researcher's complete publication history, citation metrics, and research impact on Google Scholar. These profiles serve as academic portfolios that aggregate all of a scholar's work in one centralized location.
+ How to Create
+ Key Components
+ Beneficial
Google Scholar Profile
Google Scholar Profiles allow author:
Make your profile account public - your account may appear in Google Scholar results when people search for your name or institution name, e.g., International Medical University/ IMU University
Showcase scholarly work and publications, making your research articles more visible and accessible to a global audience.
Easily track the citation count of own and other publications, check who is citing your articles, graph citations over time, and h-index.
Integration with Google Scholar Search. Researchers' profiles basically are linked to Google Scholar search results, it's enabling others to easily find and access their work when searching for relevant topics.
Create google scholar profile
Choose the view that works best for your learning
Access Full-Text
06
Enter
Access Full Texts
Google Scholar can provide free full-text access to many articles. Basically, Google Scholar showed a link labeled such as [PDF], and [HTML] on the right side. It indicated that the title available in full-access to oit.
+Guide to access
Get Full Text Articles from Google Scholar
Go to Google Scholar In the search bar, type your keywords or topic. Example: "cardiovascular disease" Click the search icon or press Enter.
STEP 01
NEXT STEP
Get Full Text Articles from Google Scholar
After you search, results will appear. Pay attention to the right-hand side of each result
STEP 02
Identify Full-Text Acces
Back
Reference List
07
Enter
01
About Google scholar [Internet]. Mountain View (CA): Google LLC; 2025 [cited 2025 May 15]. Available from: https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/about.html
02
IMU University Library [Internet]. Kuala Lumpur (MY): International Medical University; 2025. e-Library license course; 2024 [cited 2025 May 3]. Available from: https://i-lib.imu.edu.my/course/view.php?id=92
References
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Google Scholar? [Internet]. Sunnyvale (CA): LinkedIn Corporation; 2024 [cited 2025 May 4]. Available from: https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/what-advantages-disadvantages-using-google-scholar
03
04
Search help: access to articles [Internet]. Mountain View (CA): Google LLC; 2025 [cited 2025 May 3]. Available from: https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/help.html#access
Next page
McMaster University Library. Google vs. Google Scholar vs. Library Databases [infographic] [Internet]. Hamilton (ON): McMaster University; [date unknown] [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://library.mcmaster.ca/sites/default/files/images/google_vs_google_scholar_vs_library_databases_infographic.jpeg
05
How to use Google Scholar: the ultimate guide [Internet]. [place unknown]: Paperpile; 2025 [cited 2025 May 5]. Available from: https://paperpile.com/g/google-scholar-guide/
06
References
Mastering Google scholar: the ultimate guide for research success [Internet]. [place unknown]: Research Topics Generator; 2024 [cited 2025 May 25]. Available from: https://www.researchtopicsgenerator.com/blog/google-scholar-research-guide
07
Previous page
Using Google scholar [Internet]. Chicago (IL): Adler University; 2025 [cited 2025 May 15]. Available from: https://library.adler.edu/c.php?g=1241615&p=10855211
08
END
Completed
Did You Know?
- Access to Scholarly Literature such as Journal articles, theses, dissertations, academic books, technical reports, conference papers & more.
- Citation tracking to see how often an article has been cited and explore citing documents.
- Author Profiles
- Advanced Search Tools
- Set up alerts
Offers
Comparison
📊
Source: Google vs. Google Scholar vs. Library [package insert on the internet]. California: UC Merced Library; 2025 [updated Last Updated: 2025 Mar 14; cited 2025 April 15]. Available from: https://libguides.ucmerced.edu/c.php?g=880554&p=6637650
- Limited full-text access
- Lack of Advanced Filtering
- Doesn't index all academic journals or conference proceedings.
Limitations
⚠️
Refine Google Scholar Results by Date
Truncation (Using * to Find Word Variations)
Truncation allows you to search for words that start with the same root.
You use an asterisk * at the end of the word root.
Useful for: Getting results with all forms of a word (e.g., "treat", "treatment", "treating").
Key Components
Citation Metrics
Basic Information
Publication List
Click the arrow <> on the image or the carousel dots to go through all the steps for setting up Google Scholar Alerts
More example:
Search both terms
Introduction to RefWorks
Let Try RefWorks
🗣 What Is Phrase Search?
Phrase search means using quotation marks (" ") to find an exact phrase. The words must be together, in the same order.
Example: "high blood pressure treatment"
This tells the search engine: Only show results with these exact words together.
Why Use Phrase Search?
- More specific information
- More accurate results
- Saves time, because we don’t have to filter through so many unrelated pages
Search all about "cancer treatments
🔑 What Are Keywords?
Keywords are important individual words you use when searching for something.
Example: search high blood pressure treatment
Search engine will search: "high", "blood", "pressure", "treatment", because are all keywords.
More Accurate Results
Using relevant keywords helps you find exactly what you're looking for.
✅ Benefits of Searching with Keywords
Saves Time
Suitable to use all of search engines. Using keywords is universal.
Helps Refine Searches
You can add or remove keywords to narrow or broaden your search.
A Google Scholar extension helps:
- Quickly look up scholarly articles
- Cite, save, or access full texts on the go
Result includes either term
Citations features
Wildcards (Using ? to Replace One Letter)
A wildcard replaces a single character in a word.This is useful when you're unsure about spelling or want to find variants.
Useful for medical terms with different spellings (Example: British vs American English).
Access IMU Library Portal at : https://i-lib.imu.edu.my
Essential Kit USING G O O G L E SCHOLAR
IMU Library
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Transcript
USING GOOGLE SCHOLAR
EFFECTIVELY
Let's go
Checklist Before Start Searching on Google Scholar
1. Understand What Google Scholar Is
3. Identify keywords
5. Install the Google Scholar Button Extension
4. Plan Search Strategies
2. Define Your Topic or Research Question.
Next page
Using Google Scholar
effectively
Introduction
Set up Alerts
01
04
Google Scholar Profiles
05
Table of contents
Search Smart
02
Citations
Access Full Text
03
06
References
07
👋
Introduction
01
Enter
Google Scholar is a specialized search engine focused on scholarly literature across various disciplines. It also a free academic search engine that helps in finding scholarly articles, books, theses, and conference papers. from a wide range of academic publishers, professional societies, universities, and other scholarly organizations.
+info
🔍
Search Smart
02
Enter
Helps users improve their search strategies and get better results. There two methods provided to retrived your search results, such as Basic & Advance search.
Quick Search Tips
Advanced Search
Basic Search
Filter by Year
Best Practices for Basic Search
A keyword is a specific word or phrase that captures the main idea or topic of your search. Enter any relevant terms in the search box.
**Google Scholar is not case-sensitive.
Keyword Search
Use quotation marks for exact phrases. Example: "cardiovascular disease" will return results containing that exact phrase.
Phrase Search
Basic Search provides a user-friendly interface that allows users to easily find relevant sources by entering keywords or phrases, resulting in broader search results.
If you know the full title of the article, you may direct insert in to search box.
Title Search
If you know the author name, you can search for specific authors using the format: author:"first name or first initial last name"
Author Search
Advanced Search
This features helps you to narrow down your results.
Advanced Search helps users narrow their searches by allowing them to specify criteria such as date ranges, file types, language, domain, and specific websites. This feature enables users to retrieve more precise and relevant information tailored to their specific needs.
Access Google Scholar at https://scholar.google.com/
+ Use Advanced search form
More
Use advanced search form
Specific Publication
Refines keywords
Specific authors
Specific timeframe
Enter the author’s name in the box next to "Return articles published in".
Add the specific keywords or phrases you want to include or exclude.
Provide the start and end years in the boxes next to "Return articles dated between".
Insert the author name in the box next to "Return articles authored by".
Back
Quick Search Tips
Boolean Operators
Use AND, OR, NOT
KEYWORDS
Use single words or terms
Truncation Searches
ADVANCED
TECHNIQUE
BASIC
Use asterisk *
Phrase Search
TECHNIQUE
Use quotation marks (" ")
Wildcards Searches
Use question mark (?)
🔍 Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT)
Boolean operators help combine or exclude keywords in your search.
+Example
Search Filters in Google Scholar
Use this to get only the most recent research or data within a specific time frame
Where to find filter
Use filter year
💡
Quick tips
Citation
03
Enter
A citation in Google Scholar refers to when one research paper mentions or references another paper. The more citations a paper has, the more it’s been used or recognized by other researchers.
+ Info
"cite
cited by
Export Citation
Related Articles
- Click the Cite button (").
- Copy the citation in your preferred style and paste it into your working document.
- Double-check and adjust the formatting as needed to match your selected citation style.
**For Vancouver style, you can double-check the formatting by clicking the "Tutorial" tab on the Library Portal, then selecting the "Vancouver Citation Guide."How?
+Vancouver Citation Guide
Cite
Google Scholar provides several citations for articles in the search result.
How?
1. Click the "horizontal icons" on the upper left site.2. Select "Setting."3. Select your preferred reference manager tools at Bibliography Manager.4. Save
Export CITATIONS
From Google Scholar into Reference Management Tools
Google Scholar provides features to reference management tools (like BibTeX, EndNote, RefMan & RefWorks) that helps you organize and manage your research references more easily.
Quickly gather and organize citations from different sources in tools like Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley, or RefWorks (for IMU University).
Reduce errors by using citation information generated from Google Scholar's metadata.
**Click the image or video for more understanding.
For example, if you are using RefWorks, after selecting the citation you need, simply click on the "Import into RefWorks" button, this allows you to import the citation directly into your RefWorks account. Refer to the RefWorks guidelines for detailed instructions on importing and managing your references efficiently.
Benefit
Stay organized, track your sources efficiently, and easily share with colleagues or group members.
Make it easier to integrate citations into your writing while maintaining academic integrity.
RefWork
Related Article
Helpful feature that allows you to find research papers that are similar to the one you’re looking at. By selecting the "Related articles" link under a search result, you’ll see a tailored list of studies with comparable subjects, methods, or key terms.
Cited by
Set up Alerts
04
Enter
Google scholar alerts
This feature allows users to set up alerts for specific keywords, topics, or authors. You’ll get notifications automatically when new articles or research related to your interests are published. It's a helpful way to stay up to date.
+How to set it up
Setting Google scholar alerts
Click to choose your preferred way to learn how to set up Google Scholar Alerts
Alert Tips
Setting Google Scholar Alerts.
Guideline
Watch
READ
Back
Google Scholar Profile
05
Enter
Google scholar Profiles
Author profiles are dedicated pages that showcase a researcher's complete publication history, citation metrics, and research impact on Google Scholar. These profiles serve as academic portfolios that aggregate all of a scholar's work in one centralized location.
+ How to Create
+ Key Components
+ Beneficial
Google Scholar Profile
Google Scholar Profiles allow author:
Make your profile account public - your account may appear in Google Scholar results when people search for your name or institution name, e.g., International Medical University/ IMU University
Showcase scholarly work and publications, making your research articles more visible and accessible to a global audience.
Easily track the citation count of own and other publications, check who is citing your articles, graph citations over time, and h-index.
Integration with Google Scholar Search. Researchers' profiles basically are linked to Google Scholar search results, it's enabling others to easily find and access their work when searching for relevant topics.
Create google scholar profile
Choose the view that works best for your learning
Access Full-Text
06
Enter
Access Full Texts
Google Scholar can provide free full-text access to many articles. Basically, Google Scholar showed a link labeled such as [PDF], and [HTML] on the right side. It indicated that the title available in full-access to oit.
+Guide to access
Get Full Text Articles from Google Scholar
Go to Google Scholar In the search bar, type your keywords or topic. Example: "cardiovascular disease" Click the search icon or press Enter.
STEP 01
NEXT STEP
Get Full Text Articles from Google Scholar
After you search, results will appear. Pay attention to the right-hand side of each result
STEP 02
Identify Full-Text Acces
Back
Reference List
07
Enter
01
About Google scholar [Internet]. Mountain View (CA): Google LLC; 2025 [cited 2025 May 15]. Available from: https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/about.html
02
IMU University Library [Internet]. Kuala Lumpur (MY): International Medical University; 2025. e-Library license course; 2024 [cited 2025 May 3]. Available from: https://i-lib.imu.edu.my/course/view.php?id=92
References
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Google Scholar? [Internet]. Sunnyvale (CA): LinkedIn Corporation; 2024 [cited 2025 May 4]. Available from: https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/what-advantages-disadvantages-using-google-scholar
03
04
Search help: access to articles [Internet]. Mountain View (CA): Google LLC; 2025 [cited 2025 May 3]. Available from: https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/help.html#access
Next page
McMaster University Library. Google vs. Google Scholar vs. Library Databases [infographic] [Internet]. Hamilton (ON): McMaster University; [date unknown] [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://library.mcmaster.ca/sites/default/files/images/google_vs_google_scholar_vs_library_databases_infographic.jpeg
05
How to use Google Scholar: the ultimate guide [Internet]. [place unknown]: Paperpile; 2025 [cited 2025 May 5]. Available from: https://paperpile.com/g/google-scholar-guide/
06
References
Mastering Google scholar: the ultimate guide for research success [Internet]. [place unknown]: Research Topics Generator; 2024 [cited 2025 May 25]. Available from: https://www.researchtopicsgenerator.com/blog/google-scholar-research-guide
07
Previous page
Using Google scholar [Internet]. Chicago (IL): Adler University; 2025 [cited 2025 May 15]. Available from: https://library.adler.edu/c.php?g=1241615&p=10855211
08
END
Completed
Did You Know?
Offers
Comparison
📊
Source: Google vs. Google Scholar vs. Library [package insert on the internet]. California: UC Merced Library; 2025 [updated Last Updated: 2025 Mar 14; cited 2025 April 15]. Available from: https://libguides.ucmerced.edu/c.php?g=880554&p=6637650
Limitations
⚠️
Refine Google Scholar Results by Date
Truncation (Using * to Find Word Variations)
Truncation allows you to search for words that start with the same root. You use an asterisk * at the end of the word root.
Useful for: Getting results with all forms of a word (e.g., "treat", "treatment", "treating").
Key Components
Citation Metrics
Basic Information
Publication List
Click the arrow <> on the image or the carousel dots to go through all the steps for setting up Google Scholar Alerts
More example:
Search both terms
Introduction to RefWorks
Let Try RefWorks
🗣 What Is Phrase Search?
Phrase search means using quotation marks (" ") to find an exact phrase. The words must be together, in the same order.
Example: "high blood pressure treatment"
This tells the search engine: Only show results with these exact words together.
Why Use Phrase Search?
Search all about "cancer treatments
🔑 What Are Keywords?
Keywords are important individual words you use when searching for something.
Example: search high blood pressure treatment
Search engine will search: "high", "blood", "pressure", "treatment", because are all keywords.
More Accurate Results Using relevant keywords helps you find exactly what you're looking for.
✅ Benefits of Searching with Keywords
Saves Time
Suitable to use all of search engines. Using keywords is universal.
Helps Refine Searches You can add or remove keywords to narrow or broaden your search.
A Google Scholar extension helps:
Result includes either term
Citations features
Wildcards (Using ? to Replace One Letter)
A wildcard replaces a single character in a word.This is useful when you're unsure about spelling or want to find variants.
Useful for medical terms with different spellings (Example: British vs American English).
Access IMU Library Portal at : https://i-lib.imu.edu.my