Academics & So Much More! Blog

Hello, scholars and students! In the vast world of online information, Google Scholar can be an invaluable tool for your research needs. But when is the best time to reach for this academic search engine? Let’s break it down! 

Your TCC Libraries offers you many different subject research databases to search through for your academic research.  Not all databases are the same and have every article you are searching for, but at times Google Scholar may the article you are searching for with full text.  If neither the library databases nor Google Scholar has your article, then you can put in a request in through Interlibrary Loan.  Please be aware of your time when requesting materials.  TCC Libraries can normally get articles within a 24-hour period. 

🌟 Maximize Your Research!

Happy researching, and may your scholarly adventures be fruitful! 📖✨

**Some information in this post was inspired by ChatGPT.**

1.  Read the abstract before downloading a long scholarly journal article to make sure it's relevant to your topic and worth your time to read.
2. If TCC doesn't own the book or article you're looking for you, you can request an Interlibrary Loan, and we'll try to get it for you from another institution!  Just remember to leave enough time to receive the item!
3. Google Scholar can be checked to see if the article is openly available! Simply copy the citation and paste in quotes to see if full-text is available. This is helpful if you don't have time to wait for an Interlibrary loan!
4. Did you get too many search results? Consider filtering or limiting to specific publication date ranges, languages, full text, peer-reviewed, or publication type.
5. Ever wondered what "Peer-Reviewed" means? The article in a peer-reviewed publication must go through a stringent review process by fellow experts in that field of study to ensure it is well-written, scientifically valid, aligned with standard rules of ethics, and contributes new and significant findings.