Tips and Tricks

• As an assist for the referencing process, you can click the {”} icon underneath the source you use in Google Scholar (next to ‘Cited by’). This auto-generates the reference for that source. Do not simply copy-paste this reference! It is auto-generated by Google, and is therefore not always correct and/or complete! However, you can use it as a guide when there is something you are not quite clear about while constructing your reference manually.

• If you find a source you deem very useful, consider looking at that source’s reference list. You are likely to find sources there that may be useful to you too!

• Academic research tends to develop over time. Therefore – especially when researching topics with contemporary relevance – consider limiting your search to only the past (two) decade(s).

• If you find a source that seems useful to you but you are restricted access to it, consider inserting the title in one of the other abovementioned search engines. It is not uncommon for you to be able to get access through WorldCat Local or even ‘normal’ Google!

 

Remain critical! Not every document on Google Scholar is a proper academic source. Keep an eye on who authored a document and in what journal / on what website it was published.