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Database Tutorials

This LibGuide contains step by step instructions for majority of research databases available in the Wolfgram collection.

>Google Scholar Header

About Google Scholar

Google Scholar searches like traditional Google but the difference is in the results. Google Scholar includes sources like journal articles, theses, books, article abstracts, conference proceedings, patents, court opinions and more. 

Set Up Your Library Links

You must set up your preferences in Google Scholar to link to the full text. To set up the preferences for the Wolfgram Memorial Library, please follow these steps:

  1. Go to https://scholar.google.com
  2. From the dropdown menu, select Settings (this will open a new window)
  3. Click the Library Links tab
  4. Search for Widener University
  5. Check the box to select Widener University - Get Full-Text @Widener and Widener University – ProQuest Fulltext (You will see that the Open WorldCat-Library Search has been pre-selected)
  6. Save changes

Image of google scholar library link process displaying how to link to the wolfgram catalog

Basic Search

Go to: https://scholar.google.com

  1. Enter your Topic or Keyword(s)
  2. Conduct your Search

NOTE: If your topic is more than one word use quotation marks so that Google keeps the words together i.e., enter "kinship care" rather than kinship care. Also, check out these Tiny, Essential Google Tricks for Way Better Search Results.

In the following example, we are searching the keywords kinship care and using quotation marks

Image of google scholar search box

The search for "kinship care" produced 14,900 results

You can also sort results by

  • Relevance
  • Publication Date

You can refine these results by

  • Item type (i.e., Article, Case Law)
  • Publication Date (you can also set a date range i.e., 2006 - 2016)

Finding Full-Text

Once you set up your Library Link preferences, Google Scholar links to full text that is freely available online, through open access resources or to the full text available from the Wolfgram Library databases.

The links to full text appear in the second column in the search result page.

  • [PDF] website.com: Full-Text PDF is available for free online
  • Get Full-Text @Widener: Full-Text is available through the Wolfgram Library
  • [HTML] website.com: Full-Text available online

When full text is not available, DO NOT pay for access. You can use the Wolfgram's ILLiad | InterLibrary Loan system to get materials for free. You can fill out a loan request for a journal article or book. Articles are typically delivered within 48-72 business hours and books are typically delivered within 7-10 business days.

Image of search results displaying access to full-text, how to get the full-text from the catalog, and to use InterLibrary Loan

If you need to make an InterLibrary Loan request, you can use the Cite link to retrieve all the items detailed information (Author, Title, Publisher, Publication Date, etc.) needed to fill out the request form.