Google Scholar

What is Google Scholar?

Google Scholar is a search engine of the US search engine company Google, with which you can search for academic papers and other scientific publications. Google Scholar is available worldwide and very easy to use. When you start a search on Google Scholar, the following documents are checked for your search query:

• Article
• Books
• Magazines
• Conference Reports

A small example: You enter “Google Scholar” into the search bar and get a list with all relevant results. You can even choose in advance whether you want to see documents in any language or only German-language documents. Then you can click on the results of your search and you will be shown the title, abstract, keywords, publication date, authors and publishers.

What is the advantage of Google Scholar?

Google Scholar provides a comprehensive overview of all the scientific literature available online. Users can filter their search results by subject, publication date, language, document type and many other criteria. In addition, Google Scholar enables the export of citation information. In addition, the full-text version is complemented by access not only to data from Google Books, but also to data from other sources.

When is Google Scholar interesting for you?

Google Scholar describes itself as a service for searching scientific literature. It includes:

• Technical reports
• Journal article
• Seminar papers
• Books
• Conference papers
• Preprints
• Power Point presentations

Because of its wide availability, Google Scholar is especially useful for scientists, university lecturers, researchers, undergraduate students, graduate students, research assistants, and even high school students.

What are the pros and cons of using it?

If you use Google Scholar, you can benefit from many advantages. First, the search engine gives you access to a wide range of scientific articles and publications from different disciplines. This means that you can quickly and easily find relevant sources for your research. Another advantage is that Google Scholar has a comprehensive search function that allows you to search for specific keywords or authors. This saves you time and helps you find the information you need faster.
However, there are also some disadvantages to using Google Scholar. For one, it can be difficult to distinguish between reputable and non-reputable sources. It is important that you always look critically at the results you find and check them for their credibility. Another disadvantage is that not all scientific publications are included in Google Scholar. So it can happen that you miss important information or cannot find it.

Is Google Scholar a replacement for the library?

Google Scholar is a search engine for scientific articles. It allows you, the user, to find scholarly articles from all over the Internet based on keywords. The results include links to full-text articles and abstracts. This tool is useful when searching for research articles, especially those published in journals. At many universities and (technical) colleges, Google Scholar is recognized for research on papers. For all users who are interested in scientific articles, Google Scholar is a time-saving and convenient alternative to get the desired information. Depending on the type of research, Google Scholar can save you a trip or two to the library.

If you are currently writing a paper, check with your professor whether sources that you have found and indicated via Google Scholar are recognized for your work! 😊