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