Sian AynsleyInformation Skills Trainer

South London Healthcare NHS Trust

Getting the Most Out of Google

Overview of sessionHow Google worksAdvantages of GoogleDisadvantages of Google and the Invisible WebGoogle SearchGoogle applications

BooksDocumentsReaderScholar

Practical and Q&A

Objective of sessionGain a greater understanding of how Google worksLearn more about the Invisible WebGet the most out of your Google searchDiscover some useful Google applications

What do you use Google for?

True or False?1) Google searches the whole web2) Unless a website is linked to from another

websites, Google may not find it3) The best information can be found in the

first 10 results4) Searching is easy5) Google cannot retrieve information from

databases6) Everything important is free7) A website can establish a “non-indexing

protocol” to ensure the website cannot be found

What is Google?Public company founded in 1998 by two PhD students

in CaliforniaMission: “to organise the world’s knowledge and

make it universally accessible and useful”*Valued at over $170 billion** Search engine with a range of different applications

and information tools

* Source: http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/corporate/

** Source: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=google

How Google works

Web crawlersSearch engine sends out web spiders or crawlers to find websites to index

Indexing programIndexing program captures, organises and stores material to make retrieval fast and easy

Search programSearch program allows users to enter queries into search box and supplies results based on index

Google: AdvantagesSimple interfaceFast searchFree serviceAvailable anywhere to anyoneUses PageRank™ and hypertext matching rather than

a simple keyword searchA range of Google-related applications designed to

make searching for and organising information easier

Google: DisadvantagesGoogle cannot search the whole web

Databases or ‘dynamic content’Websites protected with passwords or ‘non-indexing

protocols’Subscription / fee-based content

Search is not as flexibleSearchers rarely go beyond the first 10 results of a

searchA large proportion of the information found on

Google is not free

Familiar?

The Invisible WebThe web content beyond the reach of general search

enginesThe fastest growing part of the webRich in content and quality

DatabasesDeep web sitesNew formatsForms to be completedCurrent material

The Invisible Web: an illustration

SURFACE WEB

DEEP WEB

Source: BrightPlanet Corporation

How to search the Invisible WebMeta search engines

Altavista http://uk.altavista.comDogpile http://www.dogpile.com

Vertical search portalsHealth http://www.library.nhs.uk (Athens required)Social Care http://www.scie-socialcareonline.org.ukScience http://scirus.com

DatabasesPubMed http://www.pubmed.orgOAIster http://www.oclc.org/oaister

Google Basic SearchEvery word mattersKeep it simple but descriptiveThink like a computer!Use search operators

Phrase search (quote marks): “National Health Service”Excluding terms (minus sign): anti-virus -softwareIncluding terms (plus sign): peanut butter +and jelly

More search tips at: http://www.google.com/support/websearchChoose ‘More search help’

Other Google Search ToolsWeather: weather woolwich londonTime: time londonDictionary: define intravenousCalculator: 5 * 9 + 3

for more calculator operators see http://www.googleguide.com/calculator.html

Unit conversion: 12.4 cm in inchesFill in the blank: Marie Curie was born in *Related websites search: related:www.nhs.ukMore search tools:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html

Google Advanced Search

Google Advanced Search

More Google

Even more Google...

Google Books http://books.google.com

Find books available onlineDifferent ways of searching

Simple search boxAdvanced search boxBy subjectBy category (Highly cited, Classics, Magazine etc)

Some books available onlineFull view – freely available onlineSnippet view – bits of it available onlineNo preview available – not available online

Google Scholar http://scholar.google.co.uk

Helps you find relevant work across the world of scholarly research

Searches for articles, theses, books, abstracts etc.Searches within academic publishers, professional

societies, online repositories, universities etc.Can restrict searches (author, date, publication

etc)Use Advanced search option and operators

Google Docs http: //docs.google.com

Allows you to create documents online

Allows you to upload documents you have already created and save them online (Word, Excel, PDF, Powerpoint)

Access your documents anytime, anywhere, on any PC

Share your documents with anyone, anywhere

Google Reader http://reader.google.com

News aggregator, RSS feed readerAll the new content from your favourite websites in

one placeFind a website you want an RSS feed fromClick on the buttonCopy and paste the web address into Google ReaderYou will start to receive new content in your Reader

every time the website is updated!

True or False?1) Google searches the whole web2) Unless a website is linked to from another

websites, Google may not find it3) The best information can be found in the

first 10 results4) Searching is easy5) Google cannot retrieve information from

databases6) Everything important is free7) A website can establish a “non-indexing

protocol” to ensure the website cannot be found

FALSETRUE

FALSEFALSETRUE

FALSETRUE

Points to rememberBe realistic about web searchUse operators and Advanced Search optionsEvaluate the resources you do findTake advantage of the various Google applications to

access information on the goUse more than one tool for researchDon’t give up!

Sian AynsleyInformation Skills Trainer

South London Healthcare NHS TrustQueen Elizabeth, Woolwich

Tel: 0208 836 6742Email: sianaynsley@nhs.net

Any questions?

References1. BrightPlanet (2010) BrightPlanet: Pioneer in Harvesting

the Deep Web [Online] available at: http://www.brightplanet.com/ [Accessed 8 Apr 2010]

2. Devine, J; Egger-Sider, F (2009) Going beyond Google: the invisible web in learning and teaching Facet Publishing, London

3. Healy, J (2010) Google Librarian Central [Online] available at http://www.google.com/librariancenter/newsletter/0512.html [Accessed 8 Apr 2010]

4. Howland, J L et al (2009) How scholarly is Google Scholar? A comparison to library databases College and Research Libraries vol 70(3) p227-34