Visit our All About Articles research guide to learn:
Google Scholar searches the same kind of articles, books, and other scholarly literature that you would find using the library's databases. It can be a great place to start your research and is useful for:
Keep in mind that while searching in Google Scholar is convenient and can be a great starting point, it's unlikely that you will have access to all of the results. Using OneSearch or individual databases means you'll have less to sift through and your results will be more likely to match your needs.
On-Campus? Google Scholar will automatically display links for access to the full text of search results.
Off Campus? Read our FAQ to find out how to connect Google Scholar to PC library resources.
This section is a derivative of "Using Google Scholar" by University of Connecticut, licensed under CC BY-NC.
Click on the links to find answers to some of our most popular questions about articles.
Library databases will give you instant access to thousands of sources, including biographical information, newspaper articles, business reports, and magazines and journals. While some databases cover ebooks, images, or films, most focus on articles. Here is a sample of library databases that may be helpful for this subject area.
Get an overview of your issue. Read the “Pro” and “Con” positions in Viewpoints to support your research. Many topics are covered. Articles and essays include newspaper and magazine articles, statistics, maps, videos, history and more. Easy to navigate. Citations provided.
International approach to news and current issues from multiple international sources.
Includes news, viewpoints, background and country information, videos, statistics, biographies, podcasts, and links to relevant websites. Citations provided.
Peer-reviewed journals, ebooks, art, and primary source research. While the publication dates tend to be a little older, this is one of the best databases at PC for topics in humanities, literature, and psychology. Some content requires creating a (free) account or logging in with your Google account. Citations provided. (Looking for ARTstor? It's now part of JSTOR too!)
Full-text magazines, journals, and other resources most of which are peer-reviewed. Wide range of subjects. A great place to start most research projects. Images and videos accompany most topics. Citations provided.
Full-text magazines, reference books and primary source documents including video, photos, maps and flags. Some trade publications for workers in various professions. Citations provided.
Full text of Arizona Republic (AZ daily newspaper) from 1999 through present. Citations provided.
While you can write an entire sentence in Google and get relevant search results, databases aren't quite as friendly. Using keywords, or the main words that are related to your research question, helps you search smarter and get better results.
As you begin to develop your topic, start making a list of keywords that you can use in your search (there are many different ways to say the same thing, so you might need a lot of them). Once you come up with a list of words, don't be afraid to try them all! Trying different combinations can give you different results each time you search, so keep playing around and see what you come up with.
Learn more about using keywords from California State University, San Bernardino: