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Library Services

Research Tools

What is Google Scholar?

Launched in 2004, Google Scholar claims to be a search engine for scholarly thought, using a version of the familiar Google search engine. Undeniably, Scholar offers convenience and ease of use to researchers. It can be used on any internet-enabled device with a browser, requires no login or paywall and gives relevant results quickly. Surveys point to a doubling of content over 5 years from 160 million documents (Orduna-Malea et al., 2014) to 389 million (Gusenbauer, 2019). Types of content available include ejournal articles, academic books, and case law from North American Courts.

Use MetSearch first

MetSearch is designed for academic research. Always use MetSearch in preference to Google Scholar for in-depth searching or research. If you need help with MetSearch search skills, Contact Us.

Scholar is not a replacement for MetSearch. Scholar is just one way of accessing research and should not be the only discovery tool you use. However, Scholar can be a useful extra resource to use in addition to, but not replace, MetSearch. Remember that Google is one of the world’s largest advertising companies. Although Google Scholar does not include adverts, with the presumption of no direct advertising revenue, your user interaction and behavioural data may be commercialised.

Benefits of using Google Scholar

  • Cited By in results show how often articles are cited, and by whom.
  • Related Articles in results can be useful in finding further reading.
  • Provides a basic Harvard citation, but – note – this is different from Cite Them Right.
  • Scholar might find information not on MetSearch.

Drawbacks of using Google Scholar

  • Date or relevance are the only result filters, so you will get too many results.
  • Result ranking by relevance uses a special method that only Google uses (see ‘Understanding Google Scholar Search Results’ below), and relevant, but older, results are usually at the top.
  • Difficult to know what journals are included or excluded, and whether results are scholarly.
  • Does not always give full text documents, and does not allow you to limit to full text results or peer reviewed results only.

Getting started with Google Scholar

Into any browser, type: scholar.google.com, or use this link.

In the top right corner, please Sign In using your Google account details. This will enable you to use features, such as Create Alerts, My Profile, and My Library.


Searching Google Scholar for articles

To get started, just type in one or more keywords to get a list of journal articles and books that match your search. Scholar will search for results that include ALL your search terms.



You might find you either have too many results, or not enough. Always think carefully about your search words, and use a thesaurus if you have to. Some other tips include:

  • Use " " (double quotation marks) to search for an exact phrase, e.g. "climate change"
  • Use OR (in capitals) to search for either of two terms, e.g. cat OR dog
  • Use – (a minus sign) to exclude terms from your search, e.g. cat – dog

Google Scholar also includes an Advanced Search. To access Advanced Search, click the icon with three horizontal bars (“the burger”) in the top left of Google Scholar.



Select Advanced Search from the menu that appears.



Unlike the General Search, Scholar’s Advanced Search lets you search for words in the title of an article, for author names, journal titles, and limit by date range. MetSearch and other library databases offer better searching facilities for more accurate and targeted searching, such as subject searching and limiting your results to full text, or peer reviewed content.

In the following example, climate change is searched for as a phrase in the title of articles published since 2015.


Understanding Google Scholar search results

Google Scholar searches for results in a unique way, different from MetSearch and library databases. Google’s algorithm searches along search engine optimisation principles (SEO). Sources rank higher if they are mobile friendly, feature internal links, load quickly, have user engagement, etc. US SEO company, First Page Sage, conducts an annual survey which analyses Google Algorithm Ranking Factors.

By default, results are ranked by relevance which may mean top results closely match what you are looking for but these may be older ones. If so, select Sort by Date. Cited by (the larger the number, the better) gives you an idea of the impact that a journal article has made to scholarly thinking, but always evaluate such sources for academic rigor and accuracy. Clicking on Related Articles lets you find similar articles on a topic. Save lets you store the result in My Library.


Add MetSearch to Google Scholar results

Google Scholar Settings can easily be changed to add MetSearch results, shown as View it @ Cardiff Met



To add View it @ Cardiff Met, simply follow these five steps:


  • STEP 1: Sign In

  • STEP 2: Select Icon


  • STEP 3: Select Settings


  • STEP 4: Select Library Links


  • STEP 5: Search for Cardiff Met >> Tick Box >> Save

    • Need help?

    Please Contact Us if you have any questions.