Getting Started
Google is not only the largest search engine in the world but has also become a commonly used verb. We now "google" things everyday mostly using simple keyword searches. Academic research often requires more complicated searching strategies. Use this Libguide to learn how to improve your Google searches.
Read information about Google searching from the experts at Google. Depending on your searching expertise read: Basic Search Tips, More Search Tips, Explore Search, Search Page Tips.
Watch this video to learn about new Google features and searching strategies that will save you time and improve your results.
View this presentation about using various search techniques to learn ways you can search more efficiently. You can search for synonyms by putting ~ in front of a keyword. For example, if you are searching for information about cell phones you can expand your search to search for other words that mean the same thing. Type ~cell phones and information on mobile phones will come up as well. You can define a term by typing in define: into the search box followed by the unknown term. For example, if you wanted to define the term metabolism type define:metabolism. To limit your search to a particular domain such as .gov (government) or .edu (education) type your keyword followed by site:.gov. For example, if you wanted information about the Holocaust from educational sites only type holocaust site:.edu.
Get searching tips from the experts at Google. Here is a short video about the search options panel, a new way to organize your search results.