Research Skills Tutorial

Sometimes you need to search the Web because it is the best place to find certain kinds of information sources, especially gray literature and primary sources. Some examples include:

• government documents
• digitized primary sources from museums, historical societies, and other cultural institutions
• reports and white papers from non-profit organizations and NGOs
• and more.

Beyond what you can find using general search engines, like Google, there is Google Scholar, which searches:

• books
• scholarly articles
• conference papers
• case law
• U.S. patents (if you choose to include them)

If you access Google Scholar through the library's Article Databases page, you will be able to sign in and find links to full-text articles found in your Google Scholar search results via library databases.

Because the Web is vast and unmonitored in terms of quality, it is important to learn how to use Web search engines to their fullest potential.

This video from Suffolk County Community College's library explains how to use Google's (and Google Scholar's) Advanced Search. It was made in 2013, so the Google interface has changed slightly.

Screenshot 1: In Google, to locate Advanced Search, you must first sign into Google. Then click the gear icon, and select Advanced Search (highlighted in red below): 

Screenshot 2: In Google Scholar, to locate Advanced Search, first sign into Google and then look for the unlabeled pull-down menu on the right side of the page, near the top (highlighted in red below):

Please note: If you need to request accommodations with content linked to on this guide, on the basis of a disability, please contact Accessibility Resources and Services by emailing them.  Requests for accommodations should be submitted as early as possible to allow for sufficient planning. If you have questions, please visit the Accessibility Resources and Services website.