10 TIPS to improve your
Google Search

 

GOOGLE keeps IGOR on the cutting edge. Here are a few tips and techniques we use that should keep you accessing this powerful tool and enhancing your productivity.

1.  GOOGLE Scholar

Scholar.google.com or put the hot button on your GOOGLE navigation.

Get abstracts and papers from scientific and academic journals.

 2. Research Deeper

Dig past the first few pages of your search and find older, forgotten pages.....

Try checking out the Cached versions – they are a blue link at the end of every search result.

 

 3.  Reference Backwards

In GOOGLE scholar and in normal GOOGLE searches you can find direct links to other relevant works and to all future work that has cited a given article. Again they are blue links with the number of actual citations listed.

 4.  Book Search without AMAZON

Print.google.com , check this out GOOGLE has been scanning and indexing every book in a number of libraries.....just enter a topic, author or book title and browse or read entire texts (if they are not copyrighted) or check out snippets and how to buy the full book. Oh and click around to read info on the author.

5.  Synonyms and Expansive Searching

Putting ~ before a word with no spaces between, will have GOOGLE searching for pages with both that term and its synonyms.

6.  Dictionary Definitions

GOOGLE can define anything. Just type in “define” then a space then the words you want defined. GOOGLE can even define phrases. If you want to see other definitions from online sources put a colon after define – “define”.

7.  Translation

Want to read papers and publications from colleagues in non English speaking countries. Hit the ‘Language Tool” on the right of the GOOGLE home page, and translate away. If you want to translate a whole web page, just enter its address.

8.  Calculate

GOOGLE has a built –in calculator. Just enter the calculation you’d like done into the search box.

9.  Unit Conversion

GOOGLE will convert between different units of measurement. Enter your request into the search box, e.g. “187cm into inches” and GOOGLE will deliver.

10.      Search HINTS

Precision matters. GOOGLE will return web pages only about an actual phrase if you put quote marks around it. Great when searching for classic quotes, people’s names, or expressions – “to be or not to be”.

Spell Checker – don’t fuss with spelling GOOGLE automatically guesses what you might have meant if your search query is a bit dubious. See how often it asks you - “did you mean:....?”

Type it all in - Get those words in – GOOGLE is built to refine searches with more words, so add a few more to get better results.

Forget Pluralism – GOOGLE automatically searches for all the stems of a word. No need to do separate searches. Run, Running or Runs; GOOGLE only needs one of the words the rest will be taken care of.

Capitals are lost – GOOGLE treats all words equally upper or lowercase.

Keep it simple – GOOGLE ignores common words e.g. – the, and, is, of. Don’t waste your fingers typing them unless it is for a precision matter with quotes.

FINALLY

Don’t forget to head off to GOOGLE in other countries to search and then translate if necessary. Google has country specific engines again blue linked at the bottom of your GOOGLE page.

Check out or print off, GOOGLE’s one pager cheatsheet to help with your searches 

Keep an eye on Google Labs to see what new innovations are coming our way – GOOGLE is a juggernaut of innovations.