Become a Google Scholar Expert: Search Tips

Use the Advanced search feature.

• Click on the menu icon in Google Scholar.
• Scroll down, and select "Advanced search."

• Search by author by setting up your search like this: author:"first name or first initial last name"
• Search for a specific title by setting up your search like this: "title of article"
• Use the date limiter to narrow your results to a certain time period.
• Use other relevant limiters, such as excluding patents if you don't need them.

• Use the "Cited by" and "Related articles" links under titles of interest to find other items that may be highly relevant to your research.

Although you can use natural language in Google Scholar, like you do in Google, you can also use Boolean operators and phrase searching like you have been taught to use in the library databases.

• Use quotation marks to find phrases: “information literacy”
• Use AND in between words to narrow your results: "statistical literacy" AND "library instruction"
• Use OR in between words to broaden results: ("statistical literacy" OR "data literacy") AND "library instruction"
• Use the minus sign immediately before a search term you want to exclude: "statistical literacy" -mathematics (This is like using NOT in the library databases.)