How To Conduct Free Legal Research Using Google Scholar In 2015 (Part 1), by Nicole L. Black, LLRX.com

http://www.llrx.com/features/googlescholar2015p1.htm

It used to be that access to legal research databases cost an arm and a leg, but this was back in the good ol’ days when Lexis  and Westlaw had cornered the legal research market. How times have changed! Today you have more options than ever before, ranging from the old stand bys, Westlaw and Lexis, more affordable legal research options such as Fastcase and CaseMaker, and entirely free alternatives such as Google Scholar.

For many lawyers, Google Scholar is an incredibly appealing option since it’s free. I last wrote about Google Scholar back in 2012 and some of the features have changed, while others have been added. So that’s why I’m writing this updated two-part blog post series on Google Scholar. I’ll explain the ins and outs of using Google Scholar to conduct legal research, focusing on the basics in this post and then in next week’s post, I’ll highlight some of the more advanced features.

For starters, here’s what’s included in the Google Scholar database, as described on the ‘Search Tips’ page at Google Scholar. . . .