When one hears or reads the term “Google” in everyday settings, the connotation that pops into his or her head is one of an efficient and well-known search engine that brings together all the websites on the internet for easy access and maneuverability by a normal person searching for information. However, to a member of academia, such as a student or faculty of Johns Hopkins University, such a range of information is not always beneficial for one’s purposes. When resources can vary from articles published in scientific journals to biased blogs written for pure recreation, students may not be able to distinguish between which sources to trust and which to take with a grain of salt.
Thankfully, Google has come out with a narrower search engine titled “Google Scholar,” accessible at http://scholar.google.com, which allows users to search for scholarly literature over a vast amount of disciplines. Whenever you are researching a scholarly matter, make use of Google Scholar in order to access articles, theses, abstracts, court opinions, and more written by top professionals.
However, to experience the full advantages of Google Scholar, you must make sure your Google account is linked to the Johns Hopkins library, consequently giving you complete access to the countless resources, scientific journals, and libraries to which Johns Hopkins University’s library has subscribed for the academic benefit of the students. In order to establish the link between your Google account and JHU’s library resources, go to Google Scholar and click on “Scholar Preferences” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Scroll approximately halfway down the next screen until you see the section titled “Library Links.” Type “Hopkins” into the search box directly to the right of the title “Library Links” and click “Find Library.” Google will then list directly beneath the search box the numerous libraries and resources to which Johns Hopkins University students, faculty, and staff have access. You may check on all the library access links that are not grayed out. After you finish choosing the Hopkins libraries you want access to, save your preferences at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. As a result, the next time you use Google Search, you will have access to an exceptionally vast collection of scholarly articles and literature for your research needs. (If Google Scholar will not allow you to choose the Hopkins libraries, you should either link to the libraries while on the Hopkins wireless or wired network, attempt to retry after logging into your JH Portal, or ask a librarian if you are unable to figure it out as they would be glad to help.)
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| Linking to JHU's Resources on Google Scholar |
Most significantly, connecting your Google account to the Johns Hopkins’ libraries permits you to take advantage of a service named “Find It @ Johns Hopkins Libraries.” Specifically, when using Google Scholar while linked to the Johns Hopkins libraries, you may have noticed the link “FIND IT @ JHU FullText” show up to the right of multiple search results. Clicking on a “FIND IT” link will take you to the JHU library’s Find It page, where you can find links to electronic databases that contain the full text of the article you searched for through Google Scholar. Consequently, Find It allows you to view full texts of an array of scholarly literature and science journals for one’s research and homework purposes without the hassle of paying for access. Occasionally, you may also see a link directly above the Find It link that refers to a PDF at a particular website. This feature in Google Scholar is available for a small quantity of search results and allows you to view a PDF version of the full article.
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| Click on the "FIND IT" link if you would like to access the full text of an article on Google Scholar |
In general, Google Scholar is a considerably helpful resource for academic and research-related online searches and should be used to its full potential. With features ranging from allowing you complete access to the range of scholarly literature subscribed to by the Johns Hopkins University Library, importing citations without difficulty to your RefWorks account, offering an advanced search option for narrower and more effective searches, and sorting the scholarly literature by significance, relevance, date, and credibility of the author(s) and publisher, Google Scholar is a hidden jewel for the college student and all others who are associated with academia.
For more information regarding Google Scholar, see the Google Scholar Help Page.