Power Googling

Last Updated: 2007

 What We’ll Cover

• Review
• Expanding and Narrowing Your Search (Boolean
operators)
• Word Variations and Synonyms
• Searching in Web Sites and Titles
• Special Google Searches

2
 Review: Keyword Searching

Enter
Enteryour
yoursearch
search
terms
terms(keywords)
(keywords)
into
intothe
thesearch
searchbox
box

Avoid using words such as the, I, a, are, be, from, when, where
These words – stop words - will be ignored by the search engine.

3
 Review: Keyword Searches

• When searching for 1+ keywords, Google

automatically searches for all keywords entered into
the search box.

chicken soup is the same as chicken AND soup

4
 Review: Interpreting Your Google Search Results

Each
Eachresult
resulthas
has33details
details
1.
1. Title
Titleofofwebsite
website
2.
2. Text
Textsample
sample
3.
3. Web
Webaddress
address

AAlist
listof
ofwebsites
websitesthat
thathave
havepaid
paid
totobe
beincluded
includedwith
withthe
theresults
results
ofofyour
yourselected
selectedkeywords
keywords
5
Review: Interpreting Your Google Search Results

Simple
Simplekeywords
keywordscan
can
Google return
returnmany
manysearch
searchresults
Googlealso
alsosuggests
suggestsmore
more results
refined
refinedresults
resultsusing
using
more
morekeywords
keywordsthatthatare
are
related
relatedto
tosimilar
similarsubjects
subjects

Google
Googledivides
dividesthe
theresults
results
into
intomanageable
manageablesets
setsofof
pages
pagesfor
forviewing
viewing

6
Review: Finding Better Results

Reducing the Number of Results

1. Use more descriptive keywords

Example:
chicken soup vs spicy chicken soup recipe

7
Review: Finding Better Results

Reducing the Number of Results

2. Use phrase searching.

Example: “spicy chicken soup” recipe

8
Review: Finding Better Results

Reducing the Number of Results

3. Using a “-” in front of a keyword you can remove all

results with that search term.

Example: halifax genealogy -virginia

9
Review: Finding Better Results

Searcher Beware!
1. There is no space between the “-” (minus sign) and the keyword

2. Using the “-” (minus sign) can reduce a lot of irrelevant pages
from your search results, but it can also eliminate relevant
results

10
Finding Better Results: OR

Increasing the Number of Results

1. Using OR broadens your search and can increase the

number of search results you get.

Example: car OR automobile

11
Finding Better Results : OR

Increasing the Number of Results

car OR vehicle OR automobile inspections

retrieves web pages containing:

car AND inspections

vehicle AND inspections
automobile AND inspections

12
Finding Better Results: OR

Searcher Beware!
If you write the OR operator as or, Google will treat it like any other
search term

13
Try This

1. Search for information on universities in Nova Scotia

Answer: university OR college OR postsecondary
“nova scotia”

2. Search for information on author Alistair MacLeod

(Hint: you’re not sure about the spelling of the last
name)
Answer: macleod OR mcleod alistair

14
Finding Better Results: Synonyms

Increasing the Number of Results

2. Using the ~ (tilde) in front of a keyword tells Google to

look for that keyword plus its synonyms

Example: ~car

15
Finding Better Results: Synonyms

16
Try This

1. You need a buying guide for computers (Hint: what

are some other terms for “computer”?)

Answer: ~computer “buying guide”

17
Site Searching: Searching Specific Websites

site:

• Looks for your search terms in a specific web site or domain

• Domains include:
.gov government agencies .ca Canada
.edu educational institutions .uk United Kingdom
.com commercial businesses
.org not-for-profit organizations
.mil military

Example: site:ca “income tax”

NOTE: there is no space between
site: and the domain

18
Site Searching: Searching Specific Websites

19
Try this

Search for information on the Halifax Explosion. You

only want to see websites that are from Nova Scotia.

HINT: the domain for Nova Scotia is ns.ca

Answer: site:ns.ca “halifax explosion”

20
Site Searching: Searching Page Titles

intitle:

• Searches for your search terms in the titles of web pages

Example:
personal computer intitle:buying guide

Note: there is no space

between intitle: and
the search term(s)

21
Site Searching: Searching Page Titles

22
Try this

1. Search for information on hybrid cars. You only want

to see pages with gas mileage in the title.

Answer: “hybrid cars” intitle:“gas mileage”

2. Search for information on soup recipes. You only

want to see pages with vegetarian in the title.

Answer: “soup recipes” intitle:vegetarian

23
 Other Google Searches

• Google has a variety of features and special

searches that can help you find specific
types of information
• Images
• Calculator
• Google Glossary
and more …

24
 Other Google Searches: Google Images

• You can search for images using the basic Google

search, but Google Images makes it much easier
• To find images:
You can use the same
1. Click on the “Images” link search techniques ( OR, -,
~, phrase searching, etc.)
2. Enter your search terms with the Google Images
search

halifax “nova scotia”

25
Other Google Searches: Google Images

26
Other Google Searches: Google Images

Try This:

Try finding pictures of the following:

1. mayor peter kelly – limit to medium pictures

2. “nova scotia duck tolling retriever” – limit to large pictures

3. “nova scotia” flag – limit to small pictures

27
Recap

• Review of basic search techniques

• Refining your search
– Reducing the number of results
– Increasing the number of results
• Google searches and shortcuts

28
 For More Information

• Google Guide: making searching even easier

www.googleguide.com

• Google Help Center: Google Search Guides

http://www.google.ca/help/basics.html

• Be sure to check the Library Guide for upcoming

computer programs and registration information

29
Questions?

30
Additional Material
 Other Google Searches: Google Calculator

• Google’s calculator can be a very useful

shortcut
• Use it to:
• Solve mathematic equations
• Carry out conversions

32
 Other Google Searches: Google Calculator

• To calculate a mathematical equation,

simply enter the equation as it’s written

2*5+7

No = (equals sign) is
needed

33
Other Google Searches: Google Calculator

Google reformats the equation

adding spaces and brackets

34
 Other Google Searches: Google Calculator

• To convert a value from one set of units to

another (e.g., pounds  kilograms):

1.Enter the amount you want to convert (with

units), then
2.Enter the units you want to convert it to

1 lb to grams

35
Other Google Searches: Google Calculator

1 lb to grams

Notice that in addition to the

conversion, Google lists pages
that match the search terms we
included in the search box

36
Other Google Searches: Google Calculator

Try This:

1. Calculate the number of seconds in a day:

24*60*60

2. Convert 2 miles (mi) to kilometres (km)

Answer: 2 mi to km

3. Convert 3 pounds (lb) to kilograms (kg)

Answer: 3 lb to kg

37
 Other Google Searches: Google Glossary

• Google Glossary is another shortcut

• Can be a good tool to use when you are looking for a
definition of a word
• To view a list of definitions:
1. Enter “define:”
2. Enter the word that you need the definition for

define: “search engine”

38
Other Google Searches: Google Glossary

define: “search engine”

define “search engine”

39