Google Advanced Search

       Google options: Find web pages that have

all these words

this exact wording or phrase

one or more of these words __ or __ or__

        but don't show pages that have
        any of these unwanted words

Practice search 1:

"What kinds of errors are there in elementary science textbooks?"

Search phrase to use-

errors elementary science textbooks

Google option to use- all these words

Perform the search using the information above; you should have gotten about 8,410,000 sites or hits [01/18/2011]; as of 8/29/11 there were 48,580,000.

Practice search 2:

"I want to find resources on endangered mammal species that are in Excel format."

Search phrase to use-

endangered mammal species

Google option to use- all these words

File type: Microsoft Excel

Perform the search using the information above; you should have gotten about 24,300 [xls], [10 with xlsx] sites or hits [01/18/2011].

Practice search 3:

wicker basket

wicker basket in PowerPoint format - ppt

wicker basket and not ball

"wicker basket"

Practice search 4: 
Locate sites in PowerPoint format that are concerned with parsimony in science, NOT computer science

 

It's Not Your Older Sister's Search Engine!

It's Not Your Older Sister's Search Engine!

You may not have used the following techniques when using the Google search engine. My purpose is to share with you some search tips to assist you in becoming a more proficient searcher.

The first technique is a simple way to search a single site. Suppose you wanted to search the mwsu.edu site to find out something about Michael Land. In the Google search box you would enter--> site:mwsu.edu "Michael Land". If you want to try this search or another one, click here.

The next technique is a way to compare. Suppose you wanted to use the phrase "better than Excel". In the Google search box, enter--> "better than Excel". Click here to try it. You can also use the phrase "reminds me of nameOfItem".

To search with a term and its synonyms, place a tilde ~ before the search term you want to include the synonyms of, such as science ~assessment.

In Advanced Google Search, you can select from among several file types. You can also do the same in a simple search. Suppose you were looking for a list of endangered mammal species and preferred to have it in Excel file format (xls). Your search would look like this--> endangered mammal species filetype:xls. Or perhaps you wanted it in PowerPoint format--> endangered mammal species filetype:ppt (or pptx or pps.)

Curious or need to know the population or unemployment rate of a city, county, or state? Simple--> "unemployment rate" Goree, TX