Refining Search
When using search engines it often respond with thousands of
results,
whose content varies depending on the type of information you
are seeking.
Some results are links to Web pages or articles; other results are
media,
such as images or videos. You may find that many items that
appear in the
search results have little or no bearing on the item you are
seeking. You
can eliminate the superfluous items in your search results by
carefully
crafting search text that limits the search. Here are some ways
that search
engines improve the way you search.
If you misspell search text, many search engines identify
alternative
search text. Some also provide suggested keywords, links, and/or
images as you begin typing your search text.
Using the Instant Search box eliminates the steps of displaying
the
search engine's Web page prior to entering the search text.
Instead of using operators to refine your search text, many
search
engines have an Advanced Search feature that displays a form
that
assists with refining your search.
Other techniques you can use to improve your searches include
the
following:
Use specific nouns.
Put the most important terms first in the search text.
List all possible spellings, for example, email, e-mail.
Before using a search engine, read its Help information.
If the search is unsuccessful with one search engine, try
another.
Google Search Operators
1. “search term”
Putting quotation mark on the search term. This is used to create
an
exact-match search. certain order.
Example: “water cycle diagram”
Result: results will have the exact phrase, water cycle diagram
2. OR
This operator when used displays hits that include only one word
from a list.
Examples: Cat OR Dog
Result: Results will have either dog or puppy
3. AND
This will return only results related to both items. Note: It doesn’t
really make much difference for regular searches, as Google
defaults
to “AND” anyway. But it’s very useful when paired with other
operators.
Example: Cats AND Dogs
4. NOT
This operator it excludes specific search terms and so the query
will
not return any results with that term (or terms) in them.
Example: peanut butter NOT jelly
Results: this search would retrieve results with peanut butter, and
will
exclude those with jelly or PB with jelly
5. -
Exclude a term or phrase from the search results.
Example: cookie –raisin
Result: includes all type of cookies but do not include raisin
6. *
Acts as a wildcard and will match any word or phrase.
Example: writer * column
Result: will match any word or phrase
7. ( )
Combine hits that include specific words with those that include
only one word from a list
Example: Manila (hotels OR inns)
Results: words with those that include only one word from a list.
Manila (hotels OR inns)
Results have both words Manila and either the word, hotels, or
the
word, inns.
