## What is Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a widely used free search engine for scholarly publications. It covers all scientific disciplines.

With Google Scholar, you can find:

- Scholarly articles (peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed)

- Books and book chapters (a selection of titles from Google Books)

- Policy research

- Conference proceedings

- Preprints

- Theses and dissertations

Note: Google Scholar does not automatically provide access to the full text of publications. When working from home, make sure Google Scholar recognizes you as a VU student:

1. Install the Lean Library plugin. This will notify you automatically when you need to log in with your VUnetID to access content.

2. In Google Scholar, go to Settings → Library links, and check Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Disadvantages of Google Scholar:

- Search results are a mix of sources, including student theses. Not all sources meet the scientific standard required for academic work.

- You get a huge number of results because it searches all text in a publication. Filtering options are limited.

What you won’t find on Google Scholar:

- Journal articles and books that are not digitized or cited by an online article

- Books and e-books not available in Google Books

- Non-English publications are harder to find