Power Googling
Last Updated: 2007
What We’ll Cover
• Review • Expanding and Narrowing Your Search (Boolean operators) • Word Variations and Synonyms • Searching in Web Sites and Titles • Special Google Searches
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Review: Keyword Searching
Enter your search terms (keywords) into the search box
Avoid using words such as the, I, a, are, be, from, when, where These words – stop words - will be ignored by the search engine.
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Review: Keyword Searches
• When searching for 1+ keywords, Google automatically searches for all keywords entered into the search box. chicken soup is the same as chicken AND soup
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Review: Interpreting Your Google Search Results
Each result has 3 details 1. Title of website 2. Text sample 3. Web address
A list of websites that have paid to be included with the results of your selected keywords
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Review: Interpreting Your Google Search Results
Google also suggests more refined results using more keywords that are related to similar subjects
Simple keywords can return many search results
Google divides the results into manageable sets of pages for viewing
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Review: Finding Better Results
Reducing the Number of Results
1.
Use more descriptive keywords
Example: chicken soup
vs
spicy chicken soup recipe
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Review: Finding Better Results
Reducing the Number of Results
2.
Use phrase searching.
Example: “spicy chicken soup” recipe
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Review: Finding Better Results
Reducing the Number of Results
3.
Using a “-” in front of a keyword you can remove all results with that search term.
Example: halifax genealogy -virginia
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Review: Finding Better Results
Searcher Beware!
1. There is no space between the “-” (minus sign) and the keyword
2. Using the “-” (minus sign) can reduce a lot of irrelevant pages from your search results, but it can also eliminate relevant results
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Finding Better Results: OR
Increasing the Number of Results
1.
Using OR broadens your search and can increase the number of search results you get.
Example: car OR automobile
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Finding Better Results : OR
Increasing the Number of Results
car OR vehicle OR automobile inspections
retrieves web pages containing: car vehicle automobile AND AND AND inspections inspections inspections
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Finding Better Results: OR
Searcher Beware!
If you write the OR operator as or, Google will treat it like any other search term
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Try This
1. Search for information on universities in Nova Scotia Answer: university OR college OR postsecondary “nova scotia”
2. Search for information on author Alistair MacLeod (Hint: you’re not sure about the spelling of the last name) Answer: macleod OR mcleod alistair
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Finding Better Results: Synonyms
Increasing the Number of Results
2.
Using the ~ (tilde) in front of a keyword tells Google to look for that keyword plus its synonyms
Example: ~car
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Finding Better Results: Synonyms
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Try This
1. You need a buying guide for computers (Hint: what are some other terms for “computer”?) Answer: ~computer “buying guide”
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Site Searching: Searching Specific Websites
site:
• Looks for your search terms in a specific web site or domain • Domains include: .gov government agencies .ca Canada .edu educational institutions .uk United Kingdom .com commercial businesses .org not-for-profit organizations .mil military Example: site:ca “income tax”
NOTE: there is no space between site: and the domain
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Site Searching: Searching Specific Websites
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Try this
Search for information on the Halifax Explosion. You only want to see websites that are from Nova Scotia. HINT: the domain for Nova Scotia is ns.ca
Answer:
site:ns.ca “halifax explosion”
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Site Searching: Searching Page Titles
intitle:
• Searches for your search terms in the titles of web pages
Example: personal computer intitle:buying guide
Note: there is no space between intitle: and the search term(s)
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Site Searching: Searching Page Titles
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Try this
1. Search for information on hybrid cars. You only want to see pages with gas mileage in the title. Answer: “hybrid cars” intitle:“gas mileage”
2. Search for information on soup recipes. You only want to see pages with vegetarian in the title. Answer: “soup recipes” intitle:vegetarian
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Other Google Searches
• Google has a variety of features and special searches that can help you find specific types of information
• Images • Calculator • Google Glossary and more …
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Other Google Searches: Google Images
• You can search for images using the basic Google search, but Google Images makes it much easier
• To find images:
1. Click on the “Images” link 2. Enter your search terms
You can use the same search techniques ( OR, -, ~, phrase searching, etc.) with the Google Images search
halifax “nova scotia”
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Other Google Searches: Google Images
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Other Google Searches: Google Images
Try This:
Try finding pictures of the following:
1. mayor peter kelly – limit to medium pictures
2. “nova scotia duck tolling retriever” – limit to large pictures
3. “nova scotia” flag – limit to small pictures
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Recap
• Review of basic search techniques • Refining your search
– Reducing the number of results – Increasing the number of results
• Google searches and shortcuts
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For More Information
• Google Guide: making searching even easier www.googleguide.com • Google Help Center: Google Search Guides http://www.google.ca/help/basics.html
• Be sure to check the Library Guide for upcoming computer programs and registration information
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Questions?
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Additional Material
Other Google Searches: Google Calculator
• Google’s calculator can be a very useful shortcut
• Use it to:
• Solve mathematic equations • Carry out conversions
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Other Google Searches: Google Calculator
• To calculate a mathematical equation, simply enter the equation as it’s written
2*5+7
No = (equals sign) is needed
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Other Google Searches: Google Calculator
Google reformats the equation adding spaces and brackets
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Other Google Searches: Google Calculator
• To convert a value from one set of units to another (e.g., pounds kilograms):
1.Enter the amount you want to convert (with units), then 2.Enter the units you want to convert it to
1 lb to grams
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Other Google Searches: Google Calculator
1 lb to grams
Notice that in addition to the conversion, Google lists pages that match the search terms we included in the search box
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Other Google Searches: Google Calculator
Try This: 1. Calculate the number of seconds in a day: 24*60*60 2. Convert 2 miles (mi) to kilometres (km)
Answer:
2 mi to km
3. Convert 3 pounds (lb) to kilograms (kg) Answer: 3 lb to kg
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Other Google Searches: Google Glossary
• Google Glossary is another shortcut • Can be a good tool to use when you are looking for a definition of a word • To view a list of definitions: 1. Enter “define:”
2. Enter the word that you need the definition for
define: “search engine”
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Other Google Searches: Google Glossary
define: “search engine”
define “search engine”
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