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Google Scholar Basics

Google Scholar may be used to supplement discovery and organization of your information sources

How is Google Scholar Different From OneSearch?

OneSearch is the search engine for the Merritt College Library collection. OneSearch provides simple, one-stop searching for books, ebooks, articles, streaming video, media, and more. OneSearch differs from Google Scholar and at times you might choose to use one over the other or to use both. Although both sites search for information resources, there are some distinctions.

Access:  The primary difference between the Merritt College OneSearch and Google Scholar is that you will have full, free access to the items found on OneSearch. Our library pays for database and periodical subscriptions to provide you with easily searched, full-text articles. Articles found on Google Scholar may only be read if the publisher or author has made them freely available or if you pay a fee.

Filters: OneSearch allows you to filter your results in a variety of ways that Google Scholar does not, including resource type, subject headings and limiting to peer-reviewed articles. Both Google Scholar and OneSearch provide filters on date, author, publication name and keywords.

Reliability: Sources retrieved from OneSearch are generally from trusted publications and provide information required for source evaluation. Google Scholar may provide a greater quantity of results, however a larger portion of the search may include non-scholarly sources that will require careful assessment before use.

 

Find & Read Your Google Scholar Sources in OneSearch

Everything you discover on OneSearch should be available to you as the library pays for the subscriptions. If you find an article on Google Scholar, you may be informed that you do not have access to the full text.  If that is the case, Google Scholar will likely lead you to the article's abstract (short summary) and/or the publisher's paywall. Do not pay for the article! Check first to see if you can get it for free via OneSearch.

  • Copy the article's title from Google Scholar and paste it into the OneSearch search bar.
  • If the article is available at Merritt College, the resulting search list will state that the source is available online.

 

  • A link will be provided to access that article via library databases.

 Research articles can be incredibly expensive to purchase. If you are not able to access an article for free using Google Scholar or OneSearch, we recommend contacting your Merritt College Reference Librarians for alternative sources and options.