Sources to find academic articles

We recommend you begin your literature search by finding quality evidence using library databases as listed below.

Google and Google Scholar

Whilst the best evidence is usually available in research papers through scholarly journals, there is a wealth of other types of health information on the internet as well such as government health policy reports, health statistics etc.

Searching for information on Google or Google Scholar can be quick and effective. See the handout Complex Google Searching on the left hand-side for tips on how to search Google effectively.

But be aware and beware...

Here are some reasons to be cautious when using Google and Google Scholar to search for relevant, credible, academic resources:

• Search results are not ranked according to your search criteria alone. This is because Google shapes search results based on what it knows about you from your previous searching activity.
• Search results can be influenced by wider interests including business, marketing, and political activity.
• Google Scholar results include non-academic and non-peer reviewed material.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar provides a search of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including articles, books, abstracts, theses and court opinions.

It is often possible to follow FIND IT@DEAKIN links in Google Scholar that will lead you to the full text of an article available through one of the databases Deakin subscribes to.

If you are accessing Google Scholar on campus, this usually happens automatically.

If you are accessing Google Scholar from another location, you will need to adjust the library links settings so Google Scholar recognises that you are from Deakin University.

See the Library's instructions to set up library links in Google Scholar.