I’m sure students have heard a hundred times that they should not use Google for their research papers. Authority, reliability and credibility of the sources you find on the internet are always a concern. The Library’s databases, where you can find full-text, scholarly articles, is the clear choice.
But, when not working on academic projects, Google may be the best source for finding information on a variety of subjects. Here are a few tips that will help you save time and search better.
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Across the top of each Google page are links. Use these links to access Videos, News, Images and More. (Click on the image to enlarge.)
Use the last link, Search Tools, to limit your searches for Videos, News or Images. For example, you can search News for a time range or relevance or Videos for duration, time range, quality or source. (Click on the image to enlarge.)
Other tips include using punctuation or other signals to narrow your search to get what you need quicker and easier.
| TO SEARCH FOR: | USE: |
| Exact phrases or words in exact order | Quotations marks “to be or not to be” |
| Exclude or subtract a word | Hyphen or dash mexico-city |
| Search popular hashtags | Hashtag #springbreak |
| Search for a phrase with missing words | Asterisk as a placeholder One flew * |
For more tips type “tips on using Google” into Google or any search engine OR wait for my next blog. This is the first in a short series of blogs on how to use Google Search more effectively.