Should I use Google Scholar?
Is Google Scholar reputable? How does Google Scholar compare to the library's resources?
Answer
Google Scholar is made for people engaging in scholarship, but it is not scholarly. Students and professors are engaging in scholarship with every discussion post, assignment, and lecture. Google Scholar can help people find resources to support their scholarship. However, those resources are not necessarily what the library calls scholarly (peer-reviewed).
Google Scholar has pros and cons.
Pro: Find resources relatively quickly and easily.
Con: Anyone can link their article for inclusion in the list. This feature means that anyone could include their articles, even if those articles are unsupported. This differs from library resources which are carefully curated, high-quality resources.
If you want to use Google Scholar, here are a few tips:
- Use the library links feature to see if the Strayer University Library or your local library has the full-text article.
- Set up email alerts so that you always have the latest information on your research topic.
- Use our Evaluating Information guide to check if an article from Google Scholar is credible.
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