Google is one of the most popular search engines on the Internet, and by learning to use it effectively you can improve the quality of your search results.
Google can be used to find
· background reading
· images
· recent news articles on your search topic
· organizations or government information
However it should not be your only source if you want to thoroughly research the topic. The library’s databases can provide extra information such as newspaper articles, journal articles (including peer-reviewed), encyclopedia articles and reports on the topic.
Ways to improve your Google search
|
Function |
What it does |
What to type |
What you will get |
|
|
“ “ |
Exact phrase |
Searches for the words contained in the quotation marks as a phrase |
“a bird in the hand” |
Search results where the exact phrase “a bird in the hand” appears
|
|
– |
Excludes words |
Searches for sites that exclude the specific word |
virus –computer |
Search results that contain the word ‘virus’ but do not contain the word ‘computer’
|
|
define: |
Find meanings |
Finds the meaning of a word or phrase |
define:atelier |
A list of definitions and links for the word “atelier”
|
|
- |
Hyphenated words |
Searches for words that could be spelt either as single word, with a hyphen or as two words
|
second-hand |
Search results with the word second-hand as well as the words secondhand and second hand
|
|
Function |
What it does |
What to type |
What you will get |
|
|
Searches for websites with a |
Click the button labeled pages from |
Web pages with a .nz domain. The search excludes sites with an .org or .com domain name that have
|
|
Conversions |
Converts measurements (i.e. cm to inches), currency (i.e. |
Measurements: 25 cm in inches, 65 miles in km, 5 kilos in lbs Currency: 25 USD in NZD, 100 GBP in NZD (NZD = NZ $, GBP =
Time: time in
|
Google will convert the information for you into the required measurement or currency. It can also tell you what the time is for any major city in the world |
|
Image search |
Searches Google pages for images, charts and graphs |
Click the images link at the top left of the Google home page. Type your keyword(s) into the search box and then the enter key |
Thumbnails (small pictures) of images contained within websites. You then can select which image you would like to look at more closely
|
|
Calculator |
Calculations |
36 + 6 (addition) 36 – 6 (subtraction) 36 * 6 (multiplication) 36 / 6 (division) 36 % of 425 (percentage)
|
The answer to mathematical calculations.
|
If you do not find the information you need, consider changing strategies
Remember: If in doubt, just ask. We are here to help you.
Adapted from:
Google Inc. (n.d), Better searches. Better results. Retrieved September 3, 2008, from www.google.com/librariancenter/downloads/Tips_Tricks_85x11.pdf