Checkout the below iGoogle gadgets - they provide fast and easy access to Google tools of relevance to researchers.

• Google bookmarks - set up bookmarks that you can access anywhere.
• Google book search - search books and their content.
• Google Scholar - search scholarly literature.
• Google Patents - search more than seven million U.S. patents.
• Google Reader - useful for RSS feeds.
• WorldCat - Search 10,000+ WorldCat libraries for books, music, videos and more in a library near you.
• OneBox - search Wikipedia, YouTube, Amazon books, blogs, news, dictionaries etc.
• ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

You will need to have a Google account to access iGoogle. Toggle between Classic Home and iGoogle using the link at the bottom left hand-side of the Google homepage.