Google / Google Scholar Search Tips
Getting started
• Decide what you’re looking for.
• Choose as many descriptive words as needed; include as many synonyms as you can think of.
o Too few words may give poor results.
o The Google search box accepts up to 32 words.
o Select distinctive words; avoid stop words (unnecessary works that can skew your search). • Explore Search Settings to set your Google preferences.
Google search conventions
• Search words are not case-sensitive
o Enter keywords in upper or lower case, or both: Circles, circles, CIRCLES
o Exception: Boolean operator OR
▪ Find apartments in Bethlehem or Allentown:
apartments bethlehem OR allentown (OR must be in caps)
• Boolean operator AND is assumed
o If no operators are entered, results will contain all words entered
▪ Find apartments in Bethlehem and Allentown:
apartments bethlehem allentown
▪ Find information about Si Lewen’s painting series Eva:
si lewen eva
• Word order matters
o Google ranks the first word slightly higher than the first, the second over the third, etc. ▪ offender parole (results are slightly different from parole offender)
• Google ignores most punctuation and symbols. Exceptions:
o Dollar sign when used to indicate price
▪ hp $300 gives different results than hp 300
o Underscore or hyphen when used to connect words
▪ mother-in-law
▪ do_not_resucsitate
o Symbols when used to convey meaning, as in a programming language (C++), musical terms (F#), etc.
Search Operators
|
Operator |
Description |
Examples |
|
“ “ |
Exact phrase search o Search for words in order entered o Use double quotes at beginning and end of phrase |
“family group conference” “9 affects” “dreaming of a new reality” |
|
Operator |
Description |
Examples |
|
- |
Exclude words from results o Type a minus sign before the word or phrase to eliminate o Same as Boolean NOT |
“restorative practices” –dentistry books wachtel -baruch |
|
site: |
Restrict search to specific domain or website o Search top-level domains: .edu, .org, .com, .gov, net, etc. o Search within a specific country’s domain. List of country codes |
Find volunteer opportunities in Philadelphia at non-profit organizations: volunteering Philadelphia site:org Information about graduate certificates from IIRP “graduate certificate” site:iirp.edu Restorative practices related to indigenous communities in Canada restorative “indigenous communities” site:.ca |
|
* |
Whole word wildcard o Searches for missing word in a phrase search |
“joseph * biden” retrieves o Joseph Biden o Joseph R. Biden o Joseph Robinette Biden “president * signed the executive order” |
|
… |
Numeric range search o number…number |
Find tablet devices that cost $100 to $300 tablets $100…$300 |
|
allintext: |
Search for multiple words in the body of the search result o Restricts results to pages that have all query words in body of the document o Use with individual words only; for phrases, use intext: |
Find information on email fraud in Microsoft Outlook allintext:outlook email fraud |
|
intext: |
Search for single word or phrase in body of the search result o Restricts results to pages that have the query word or phrase in body of the document |
Learn about grants to criminal justice programs given by the Macarthur Foundation allintext:grants criminal intext:”macarthur foundation” |
|
Operator |
Description |
Examples |
|
|
o Use double quotes to enclose multi word phrases |
|
|
allintitle: |
Search for multiple words in the title of the search result o Restricts results to pages that have all query words in title of the page o Use with individual words only; for phrases, use intitle: Hint: Searching for words/phrases in titles can help maximize the relevance of your search |
Find information on discrimination against LGBTQ youth allintitle:lgbtq youth discrimination |
|
intitle: |
Search for single word or phrase in title of the search result o Restricts results to pages that have the query word or phrase in title of the document o Use double quotes to enclose multi word phrases Hint: Searching for words/phrases in titles can help maximize the relevance of your search |
Find information on using narrative therapy in working with traumatized children children trauma intitle:”narrative therapy” |
|
define: |
Search for definitions of terms from various web sources. o Use operator with or without colon o With colon: Results are restricted to a list of definitions o Without colon: Results are broadened to include dictionary definitions plus other relevant pages |
define:civil society define affect theory |
|
filetype: |
Restrict your search to a specific file type o No space between filetype: and the following extension o List of filetypes returned in Google searches |
Find handbooks in PDF format on facilitating circles Handbook facilitating circles filetype:pdf |
|
movie: |
Searches for showtimes by location or specific movie |
What’s playing in Center Valley, PA? movie:18034 Find showtimes and reviews for Justice League near Freehold, NJ movie:07728 movie:justice league |
SOURCE:
IIRP Graduate School Library >External Databases - Free Public Resources
https://www.iirp.edu/library/external-databases-resources
-Google Scholar Overview
--https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/help.html#overview
-Google Scholar tips
--https://www.iirp.edu/images/pdf/Google_search_tips.pdf
-Choose the right tool for your research needs!
