Practical guides ↗

Google Scholar · Literature searching

Narrow a research search

Move from a broad topic towards relevant publications.

3 min readScope: Web

Try it in three steps

  1. Identify two main concepts in your research question.
  2. Search an exact phrase in quotation marks and compare alternative terms.
  3. Narrow the date range when useful and record the query.

How to read the output

Example: Combining “urban transport” with student experience may be more focused than transport alone.

Test your understanding.

True or false?

A high search ranking guarantees that a study fits your research question.

Related concepts

Official source

Google Scholar · Documentation ↗

Documentation checked: . Steps are based on official documentation and have not been tested in the application. Menu names may differ by version and interface language.