Cross-search several databases, including Google Book, free and subscription databases containing scholarly journals, and open source archives of pre-prints, using Google Scholar.



Setting your preferences
To save yourself time in the long run, take a few seconds to click Scholar Preferences beside the basic search box to set your preferences to include VCU results in the Library Links feature. Search for VCU, click Find Library, then make sure there's a check beside VCU.



Searching
The first tip is to use the Advanced Search interface if you need to limit results by date or if you are unfamiliar with combining search words or using limiters like intitle: in the basic search box.


To research women in the labor force during World War II, your search might look something like this.



Working with Search Results

Pay close attention to the following information about each result

• The Cited by number. This will show up at the beginning of the last line of the result.
  
• The source of the document or book. This will show up at the end of the green line under the result title.

More about Cited by
The Cited by information is helpful in at least two ways.

• Follow the link to locate related studies and publications - ones which cite the found article.
• The higher the number, the more likely the result is a seminal study about the topic. For instance, for the two results from Google Book below, the second example has been cited in 437 subsequent publications, a good indication that it is an important work to consult and a priority to access and read.

More about sources
For both examples below, the source is Google Book (books.google.com). Notice that only the first result is marked as a [BOOK] before its title. This can occur because some results (like the second one) refer to a specific chapter within a book instead.



For Google Book results, you can click Library Search (WorldCat) to see if the book is available in an area library. If you enter your zip code, WorldCat shows which area libraries have the book, starting with the one closest to you. Library Search is usually more efficient then using the Get it @ VCU link which may precede it (as in the first result above) because it searches VCU and Richmond area public libraries in one search.



For results from JSTOR (like the one above) or muse.jhu.edu (a.k.a. Project MUSE), click the result title and use your MW login to access the article (remember that our MUSE access only works at school).



For results from other sources, like the one above from UChicago Press, click Get it @ VCU Online if that link appears after the result title. This will use VCU's Journal Finder to locate subscription databases that include the journal in which the article appears. If you have a VCU eID, you can click the database name and log in to access it. If you don't have a VCU eID, you may still be in luck. Note the names of the databases listed...

• If the name begins GaleGroup, try a Gale PowerSearch with the article title and author.
• If the name begins LexisNexis, try searching LexisNexis Scholastic for the article.

For more information about interpreting Scholar search results, see Google's help page.