Google Search Tips

Get More Out of : Google Tips & Tricks for Students Conducting Online Research There is a lot more to efficient Googling than you might think: in a recent study on student research skills, 3 out of 4 students couldn't perform a 'well-executed search' on Google. When the success of your term paper hangs in the balance, using Google effectively is crucial, but most students surprisingly just don't know how. Here are some crucial tips for refining your Googling, as well as some other great places to hunt down that last study you need for your thesis. How to Google Search terms celled 'operators' can help you get far more specific results than you would by only using generic search terms. Here are some of the most useful. What You Want NYTimes articles about test scores in college, but not the SATS, written between 2008 and 2010. How To Google It site: Only searches the Excludes this term Searches for the exact phrase, not each of the words separately. pages of that site. from the search. site:nytimes.com college "test scores" -SATS 2008..2010 Will also search related words, such as 'higher education' and 'university. Shows all results trom within the designated timerange. What You Want A report on the different air speed velocities of common swallows. How To Google It Don't ask Google questions. Think about how an answer would be phrased, and search for that (ie, never search for 'What is the air speed velocity..'). filetype: Searches only results of the file type you designate. Can use for pdf, doc, jpg, etc. intitle: Only shows results with that ward in the title (in this case, 'velocity'). filetype:pdf air speed intitle:velocity of *swallow Replaces itself with common terms in your search (in this case, Red Rumped swal- low and Lesser Striped swallaw will both be searched, along with many others). Google Scholar For most pro ects you work on in college, simple Googling won't do the trick on its own. Enter Google Scholar, which exclusively searches academic and scholarly work - that is, the kind of work you'll need to be citing in your papers. What You Want Papers about photosynthesis by Dr. Ronald L. Green and Dr. Thomas P. Buttz. How To Google It author: This will search for papers by Green rather than papers involving the word green." For more specific results, you can put the authors full name or initials in quotes. author:green photosynthesis "tp buttz" Just like a normal Google search, this is where the topic you're looking for goes. Other Google Tricks Definitions Good for quick word definitions. Just put define: in front of the word you want. define:angary Calculator For quick math problems, don't worry about opening your calculator app. Just type the equation into Google using +, *, / and parentheses for basic functions. (2*3)/5+44-1 Unit Converter Easiest unit conversion ever. Just type what you're looking for in a sentence with the units you have and want. 54 pounds in kilograms Keyboard Shortcuts 90% of Internet users don't know how to use Command + F to find items on a page. If you're one of those 90%, this section is for you.* *As 70% of students use Macs, we furmatted these tips for Mac users, but many of them will work for PCs if you press 'CTRL' instead of Command'. Find On Page The most important keyboard shortcut for research, ever. Press Command + F when looking at any document or web page, type in the word you're trying to find, and presto, all instances of the word are highlighted for you. command Zoom In/Out Sometimes online PDFS make for strained reading. Bump up the size a few notches with this simple command. command Select The Address Bar Doing rapid Google searches in a number of tabs can be fatiguing. Instead of mousing up to the address bar every time, just hit Command + Land it's already selected. command Cycle Windows & Apps Reseerch on the computer is always plagued by window and app clutter that grows as your work does. Use Command + (the key above tab on the left side) to cycle through windows in a certain application, or Command + Tab to cycle applications. windows command applications command tab Screenshot Sometimes, for whatever reason, you might need to capture the state of your screen, or an image from a dlocument. Command + Shift + 3 screencaps your whole screen. Command + Sshift + 4 lets you draw a box around a specific area of your screen you wish to capture. 23 shift 3. 4 command Further Research Tips Use Your Library's Website Google should never be your only research option. Most colleges' library web pages have links to wealths of resources at your disposal. This is where you can find access to scholarly databases such as JSTOR, which publish content that you can't access for free elsewhere. Don't Cite Wikipedia Let's face it: we all use Wikipedia when conducting research. It's a great first resource to familiarize one's self with a topic, but using Wiki for a research paper is a deadly academic sin. But if you find a good wiki, check out the reference links at the bottom for more credible sources. Mine Bibliographies This tip is applicable for both digital and traditional research. If you find a great book, study, or article, chances are it cites some other great sources. Always thoroughly explore the bibliographies of your research materials for leads, and look up everything you find that seems promising. HackCollege.com References http://library.uvic.ca/ins:ructicr/research/jpogle1L1.htmlehttp://wwww.CLnolittleman.co m/2007/06/20-tips-for-more-etticient-google rtml-http://scho srgccgle.ca/irt/en/sc holar/refinesearch.html•http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/crazy 9)-pcrcent-of-pcoplc-cont-know-how-to-usc-ctrl-f/243340/-ht:p://www.macifc.com jerticle/fea:ures/10_coolest_keyboard_shortcuts_you_never_knew_abcut•nttp://www. womansday.com/Ar:icles/Life/15-Keyboard-Shortcuts-You-Probably-Con-t-Know.html THIS WONK IS LICENSED U VDEN A DCEATIVE CCMMONE LICENSE