Cal Poly

Google Scholar FAQ

What is Google Scholar?

Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles. Search results may be from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.

Set Library Links for Cal Poly to access materials the library has subscribed to.

How do I set Library Links for Cal Poly?

• Easiest: Connect to Google Scholar via the library website.
• Alternative from off campus: Use the one-click setup or set your Library Links manually under Scholar Preferences.
  Note: You will be directed through the university portal before accessing subscribed resources.

What are the different Library Links?

1. "Find It at Cal Poly" links next to the article title indicate full text is available.
2. "Find It at Cal Poly" links at the end of the citation indicate a copy may be available in the library.
3. For books, use the "Library Search" link at the end of the citation.

Why use the "Find It at Cal Poly" links?

Google may have indexed the search result from a source to which we do not subscribe. Using "Find It at Cal Poly" will check for the requested material in a library-subscribed resource. If the library does not have access to the item you will have the option to request it via Interlibrary Services.

What if I'm asked to pay for an article?

Use our Interlibrary Services to borrow materials not owned by Kennedy Library.