CMST 280 Investigative Research Methods

Google Scholar is search engine (like Google) that searches across all disciplines for content such as:

Google doesn't reveal exactly what publishers they work with, so we don't know exactly what is included or excluded.

Use it, but also use disciplinary library databases (like Communication and Mass Media Complete).  There are more options for filtering, limiting and narrowing your search in these databases and if you're new to a subject area, this can be incredibly helpful!

Tip #1  Link up your Google Scholar Settings with Sprague Library

1. Log in with a Google account and head to Google Scholar settings (look for the gear wheel icon)
2. Go to the Library Links section and search for Montclair State University
3. Make sure "Montclair State University - Full Text @ Montclair is selected and save your settings.

When you do a Google Scholar search, you should now see Full Text @ Montclair links that you can use to connect to full-text content (you will still be prompted to log in with your netID to access this if you're off campus)

Tip #2 Use Google Scholar's 'Cited By' Feature

1. If you have a great article, but it was published a few years ago, search for that article title in Google Scholar and then look for the blue 'Cited By' link to get a list of other publications that have cited your article since it was published.

Tip #3 Author Search

1. Try out an author search (see below for what to type in the search bar) to get a list of publications that Google found by that author (watch out for the accuracy of this search - bad metadata means you might get some errors)

• author: Carl Rogers
• author: CR Rogers

Tip #4 Don't Pay for Articles

1. Found an article, but can't find the full-text?  Follow these steps:
2. If it's a book, search for it title in our library catalog, the Find Books & Media tab on the library homepage.
3. If it's a book chapter, find the title of the book it's published in (examine Google's citation) and search for the book title in our library catalog (see #2)
4. If it's a journal article, copy and paste the title into our Find Article search on the library homepage 
5. If that' doesn't work, use the Journals A-Z list to search for the title of the journal your article is published in, then browse to the date, volume and issue number you need. 
6. If all else fails, use our Interlibrary Loan Service to request the book or article from another library.