Google Tips and Tricks

Search types from the video:

Tip #1:   Use Multiple Keywords

• use a few keywords to search for your topic

Tip #2:   Use quotes for phrases, names or similar related phrases

• "Tommy Lee Jones"       "to be or not to be"      "imagine all the people"

Tip #3:   Negative sign   -   to exclude a term

• Washington -DC

Tip #4:   OR         requires either of the terms to be found in results

• drug OR abuse

• teens OR adolescents

Tip #6:   site    use site: then website and topic

• site:www.nasa.gov horsehead nebula

TIP #7 Use define:   

define:fishcakes

Tip #9:   Wildcard *

• Largest*    Oldest *    Tallest *    

Tip#10:   filetype:

• the Raven mp3

• will also search many file formats including   .pdf       .docx       .ppt       .xls      
• See listing of all filetypes available to search in google:    Filetypes in google

Links to Google Search Handouts

Using AND and OR between terms:

The default Google search includes AND between terms.   This means you do not have to add AND in between your terms.  This requires that all terms in the search are included

drug AND abuse

Using OR

OR will search for both terms, whether they appear on same site or not.    Using OR can greatly increase your search results.

This is used often where you have synonyms, or related terms:

teenager OR adolescent OR youth AND smoking