School of Professional Development

Many of us use Google to start our searches and it can be a good way to begin to gather information. Keep in mind, however, that the SBU Libraries databases provide more access to scholarly full text materials and contain many advanced search functions that Google does not.

When searching with Google, you should make use of:

• Google Scholar
• Google Advanced Search

A Google tool that limits your search to scholarly, academic or peer-reviewed articles.

You can set Google Scholar to connect to some full text articles via SBU Libraries databases. 

• Click on Settings in the upper left corner
• Click on Library links on the menu on the left
• Type "Stony Brook" in the Library Links section search box
• Hit Find Library
• Check the box next to Stony Brook University - SUNY - Fulltext @ Stony Brook

Note: Google Scholar does NOT search all our databases. 

Google Advanced Search can be useful for searching specific domains (.edu, .gov, etc.), file types (.pdf, .ppt, .xls, etc.), languages, etc. Unfortunately, Google has removed the Advanced Search link from their home page.  You must now do an initial search and then click on the Tools symbol on the page of results.