| Library Databases | Google Scholar |
|---|---|
| ❌ Some databases have complex search interfaces that can make them challenging to use at first. | ✅ Easy, simple, and familiar to use. Similar to using Google. |
| ✅ The library pays for access to articles through our database subscriptions. | ❌ Paywalls - you could be asked to pay for access to many of the articles presented. |
| ✅ Easily limit search results to peerreviewed articles or scholarly journals. | ❌ Cannot limit to peer-reviewed articles. |
| ✅Easily check if a full-text copy is available in any of our other databases. | ❌ Cannot easily check all library databases for free access. |
| ✅ Easily request an electronic copy of an article from another library (for free!). | ❌ Cannot easily request electronic copies of articles from other libraries for free |
| ✅ More search result limiters, such as article type, media type, language, etc. are available. | ✅ Basic search result limiters (date, author, journal, etc.) that help you focus your search results |
| ✅ We have multidisciplinary and subject-specific databases. | ❌ Multidisciplinary only - not focused on a specific subject. |
| ✅ Keyword development tools to help you identify effective keywords and search terms. | ❌ No keyword development tools. |
Find all of the details about the differences between library databases and Google Scholar by downloading the handout above.
Turning on your "library links" in your Google Scholar profile will give you more full-text article access to articles:
If you're not finding the right scholarly articles by using Google Scholar, try one of the library's databases.
Here is a small selection of some of our most commonly used databases: