Skip to Main Content
Library Home

EDFOUND 341: Urban Education Issues and Policies

Instructions for how to search Google Scholar and how to evaluate the information you find

Full Research@UWW Search Box

Research@UWW

Evaluate Your Sources

C.A.S.E. Method for Evaluating Sources:

Regardless of whether you are using the Library resources on this Library research guide, Google, or Google Scholar, you need to evaluate your information.

Use the C.A.S.E. Method to guide your review of the literature.

  • Currency: Is this source up-to-date?
    • Last 5 years preferred (unless it’s a historical source)
  • Authority: Is this source trustworthy?
    • Is the author’s name given?
    • Does the author use loaded, or biased, language?
    • Is the information on a well-known and respected Internet site that is sponsored by a government entity (.gov), well-known publisher, or reputable organization?
  • Suitability: Does this source meet your needs?
    • Does it help you critically evaluate your policy measure? Analyze its objectives?
  • Ease of Use: How well will this fit into your paper?
    • Will you have to drastically re-think your topic or previous research to use this source?

(Adapted from the Temple University Writing Center website)

Set up Google Scholar

While Google Scholar does not provide the wide variety of search limiters available in other databases, you may find that you are able to locate that elusive article through a Scholar search.

Don't pay for articles from Google Scholar!

If you are working off campus and searching Google Scholar, you may find that Google asks you to pay for many articles. Don't pay! Follow these steps to activate FIND IT at UW Whitewater in Google Scholar. If you are working on campus using UW-W Wi-Fi services, or using UW-W VPN services from off campus, your computer should automatically detect these settings.

How do I set up Google Scholar to link to UW-Whitewater subscriptions?

1. Go to http//:scholar.google.com

2. Optional: Sign in to your Google account in order to save your preferences for future searches.

3. Select the "more" option, then select the Settings button (the gear icon):

Screenshot of setting up Google Scholar

4. Click Library Links at the left of the page. Type University of Wisconsin Whitewater in the box and select Search. A checkbox option for UW-Whitewater--Find It @ UWW will appear below your search. Check the box. You may also keep Open WorldCat checked as a connection. Don't forget to click Save.

Screenshot of setting up Google Scholar

5. You will now see the Find It at UW-W link on your search results pages in Google Scholar, indicating to what we have subscriptions: 

Screenshot of setting up Google Scholar

For some books and resources, the Find It at UW-Whitewater link appears in the >> More menu below the item. The link is called ReQuest it@UW-W:

Screenshot of setting up Google Scholar

6. After clicking on Find It or Request It, you may be prompted to log in with your UW-W NetID and Password to gain access to UW-W resources.

I did all that. Google's still not giving me access to the article. Now what? 

Even if we don't have a subscription to that particular article, request it for FREE via Interlibrary Loan. It takes a few days, but usually the article PDF can be sent to you from another library that subscribes. 

Can I search everything using only Google Scholar?

NO! Google Scholar does not interlink with all UW-W ebooks and articles. We strongly encourage that you search for books, media and more using the library catalog (Research@UWW), or search for specific journal subscriptions using the Journals search. We also recommend that you search individual, subject-specific databases as well as Google Scholar to find the best available sources of information on your topic.