Google Scholar helps when a normal search buries research under blog posts, summaries, and general web pages. It gives you one place to search scholarly articles, find available full text, trace citations, save references, set alerts, and search U.S. case law. Start with the basics, then use the filters and source links that match what you need.
1. Start with a basic Google Scholar search
This gets you from a broad topic to scholarly results fast.
Go to https://scholar.google.com/.
Leave the collection set to Articles.
Enter your topic keywords in the search box.
Submit the search and scan the results.
2. Narrow results with stronger search terms
Put an exact paper title in quotation marks, such as "A History of the China Sea".
Search by author with author:, such as author:"d knuth" or author:"donald e knuth".
Open the side drawer and choose Advanced search.
Fill fields such as with all of the words, with the exact phrase, with at least one of the words, and without the words.
Use where my words occur to choose anywhere in the article or in the title of the article.
Add details in Return articles authored by, Return articles published in, or Return articles dated between.
For a noisy topic, start broad, then add one Advanced search field at a time.
3. Filter papers by date
After you run a search, use left sidebar > Since Year, such as Since 2018, to show recent papers sorted by relevance.
Use left sidebar > Sort by date when the newest results should come first.
On smaller screens, use Year below the search button.
4. Open full text when available
- 1.Run your search.
- 2.Look to the right of a result for a link labeled [PDF] or [HTML].
- 3.Click that link to open the available copy.
- 4.When there is no right-side file link, click All versions under the result and check alternate sources.
- 5.If you are affiliated with a participating library or university, click the library link to the right of the result, such as a link labeled with your library name.
- 6.Off campus, open Settings, configure your library affiliation, and use the library links that appear in Google Scholar results.
5. Explore citations and related research
This helps you move from one useful paper to the surrounding research.
Run a search and find a relevant result.
Click Cited by under the result to see works that cite it.
Click Related articles to find similar work.
For citation alerts on one paper, search for the paper title, click Cited by, then click the envelope icon in the left sidebar.
6. Save articles and manage your library
Find an article in Google Scholar.
Click Save under the result.
Open My library at the top of the page or in the side drawer.
Use the library search box to search the full text of saved articles.
To organize a saved article, click Label, select a label, and click Done.
To view a label, click its name in the left sidebar.
To remove a saved article, click Delete under it.
7. Copy citations and export references
This handles bibliography entries without manual formatting.
Run a search.
Click Cite under a result.
Copy one of the formatted citations from the popup.
To export instead, choose BibTeX, EndNote, RefMan, or RefWorks at the bottom of the popup.
To make one format easier to reach later, open Settings and choose your bibliography manager setting.
8. Create alerts for new results
Run a search, then use search results > envelope icon > email address > Create alert.
You can create a topic email alert without a Google account, but non-matching or non-Google addresses require email verification.
To stop an alert, open a Google Scholar alert email and use the cancel link at the bottom; alerts created with a Google account can also be changed from Google Scholar > Alerts.
9. Search U.S. case law
This switches Scholar from article results to legal results.
Go to the Google Scholar homepage.
Select Case law.
Enter your search terms and submit the search.
From results, use the side drawer and choose Case law when switching from articles.
To narrow by jurisdiction, click Select courts in the left sidebar and choose courts.
To reuse that court selection, bookmark the resulting search results page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Google account to use Google Scholar?
No. You can search Google Scholar and create topic email alerts without a Google account. My library and Scholar profile features do require signing in to a Google account.
Why do some Google Scholar results not open as full text?
Full text depends on what Google Scholar can link to, including PDF links, HTML links, alternate versions, publisher copies, repository copies, free-to-read copies, subscriptions, and library access.
Can Google Scholar email me when new papers appear?
Yes. Run the search you want to track, click the envelope icon in the sidebar, enter your email address, and click Create alert.
Can Google Scholar search legal cases?
Yes. Select Case law on the Google Scholar homepage, run a search, then use Select courts to narrow results by jurisdiction.
