Google Scholar
- Link to Google Scholar - no password required
Scope
Google Scholar is the academic version of Google. It allows you to search for scholarly literature (journal articles, books, patents) from a variety of sources, including academic publishers, professional societies, and online repositories.
It is unclear which publishers are included in Google Scholar, so it shouldn't be used as your only source for a comprehensive literature search. For references to reliable, academic sources search our Summon discovery service or databases covering your subject.
Links to full-text
When you are on-campus Google Scholar will automatically indicate which articles are covered by our subscriptions by displaying 'Full-text@Reading'">'Full-text@Reading' on the right of a reference.
To view this information when off-campus you need to set your preferences on Google Scholar by following these steps:
- Click on the three lines on the top left of the home screen.
- Select 'Settings'.
- Select 'Library Links' on the left of the screen.
- In the search box type 'Reading' and select the 'Reading University Library - Full-Text @ Reading' option.
- Save your settings.
When you are off-campus you will need to click on the 'Full-Text @ Reading' link instead of clicking on the article title to access the full text. This is because you will be prompted to login with your University username and password to gain access. If you click on the article title you will need to look for an institutional or shibboleth login link once you reach the journal's website.
If the 'Full-text @ Reading' link does not appear next to a reference it indicates that it isn't covered by our subscriptions and you probably won't be able to access the article.
Google Scholar Button
Google have produced a plugin for Chrome, Firefox and Safari which allows you to easily search for and cite articles. Highlight the title of an article in the page you are reading and then click the Scholar button and it will search for the article on Google Scholar in a pop up window. To get a formatted reference for a search result press the quote button next to it and the reference will appear in three different styles. To make the most of this tool set up the University of Reading as a 'Library Link' using the instructions above.
Help & guidance
Contact us for advice on using this resource.
EndNote info
You can save your references to EndNote in the following ways.
Note: Google Scholar does not give full references or full-text links such as DOIs. Other databases can provide fuller information.
Desktop EndNote - Direct export of single references
To show 'Import into EndNote' links under each result, go into 'Settings' and in the 'Bibliography manager' section select 'EndNote'. When looking at your results, click on 'Import into EndNote' to transfer the details into your EndNote library.
Desktop EndNote - Direct export of multiple references
You will need to sign in with a Google account to do this.
- In the search results list, click the star icon next to any items you want to transfer.
- Click 'My library' in the top right-hand corner.
- Select your items and click 'Export', then select 'EndNote'. Your citations will be saved as an .enw file.
- Open the .enw file to transfer the citations to your library.
Find out more about saving references into Desktop EndNote
EndNote online - Download & import
You will need to sign in with a Google account to do this.
- In the search results list, click the star icon next to any items you want to transfer.
- Click 'My library' in the top right-hand corner.
- Select your items and click 'Export', then select 'EndNote'. Your citations will be saved as an .enw file.
- Import the references into EndNote online using the 'EndNote Import' option.