HOW GOOD IS GOOGLE?Ways to improve your search results

GOOGLE search tips:

a. Double quotations “ ”Use to look for words in exact order in which you enter themeg. the paradox of utopia = 4,850,000 hits

“the paradox of utopia” = 1,270 hits

b. Search single word exactly as is “ ”eg. “haircare” will not bring up results for hair care

c. Minus sign -Use to exclude word from your resultseg. utopia

utopia -spaminus sign must be attached to the word you want to exclude

d. Full colon location site:edu site:org site:govUse to limit your search to pages published by certain groupseg. utopia = 69,000,000 hits

utopia site:edu = 6,040,000 hits

e. Fill in the blank *The * or wildcard to search for any unknown termeg. hair * is very important will find: hair colouring is very important, hair conditioner is very important, hair transplant surgery is very importanteg. Harper voted * on * bill

f. The OR operator (OR must be in CAPS):To specifically allow either one of several wordseg. hairstyles 2010 OR 2011 will give you results abouteither year, whereas hairstyles 2010 2011 will search forboth on the same page.

GOOGLE BOOKSGo to google.ca and click on: more Choose booksType in: the tempestWord of caution: most books are not uploaded in their entiretyTry: Advanced Book Search for even better results as you can ask for “full view only”

GOOGLE SCHOLAR:Go to google.ca and click on: more Choose Scholar Type in: utopia

Once again: go to Advanced Scholar Search as you can ask for “with the exact phrase”