Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
Published byAlicia West Modified over 8 years ago
2
Your workshop leader is... Laura Schick Graduate Staff Assistant Odegaard Undergraduate Library leschick@u.washington.edu Feel free to ask me questions!
3
Workshop Objectives Gain working knowledge of techniques for searching Google for academic research Practice Google searches on an academic topic
4
We will do this by… Understanding how Google works Knowing how to develop an effective searching “game plan” Using Google’s advanced search features Using Google’s specialized search engines
5
Googling Tip: Know a little bit about how Google searches and results work Google
6
Google Web Search www.google.com Google - Searches the free web - Has zero quality control - Is pretty much a popularity contest - Gives you tons of results You might already know that Google :
7
A few other Google-y tidbits… How does Google decide which search results come first? And what if I’m feeling lucky? Google uses “stemming” technology, so it will try variant spellings of your search terms (even if you don’t ask it to.) Google cares about word order… So you have to, too!
8
Googling Tip: Develop a game plan before you start searching Google
11
Wikipedia
13
Encyclopedias
14
Brainstorm Search Terms tattooing | piercing | branding | scarification (use synonyms, broader, narrower, & related terms) body art | body modification | body alteration college | university | higher education sociology | subculture | sub-culture | counter culture | community Google
15
Work Backwards: Imagine the title of a perfect search result... The tattooing subculture of American college students The cultural significance of tattoos in Native American societies Google
16
Stuck for Words? Look for synonyms in a thesaurus Look for terms in your textbooks Try basic searches for your topic in the UW Libraries catalog Google tips for topic building: Search basic topic + discipline (or + keyword “research”): e.g., tattoos sociology Google
17
Try generating research vocabulary on Part 1 of the worksheet (5 min.) Feel free to get ideas any way you want -- talk to others, look at online tools to generate search terms... For more on developing research topics & questions, check out: Surviving Assignment Shock: Choosing a research topic wisely Practice #1 Google
18
Googling Tip: Build better Google searches with syntax Google Help Center
19
Search operator: AND Use to require both terms Will yield fewer results Google default Google Google search: tattoos piercing sociological
20
Use when either search term is OK Commonly used for synonyms Will yield more results Must type it in ALL CAPS Search operator: OR Google Google search: tattoos OR piercing OR scarification
21
Rule of thumb: “Nest” all OR’ed terms in parentheses ( ) Controls how Google reads the search AND & OR together Google Google search: (Tattoos OR piercing OR scarification) AND sociology AND research
22
Surround 2+ terms with quotation marks Requires terms to be together, in order Good for compound words, names, titles, quotations Phrase searching: “ - -” Google Google search: “body modification” AND “college students”
23
require or exclude: + and - + (plus sign) –Require terms in search –Google search: -(minus sign) -Exclude terms from search -Google search: Google piercing +tongue tattoos -piercing
24
Limits to sites in a certain domain (.com,.edu,.gov,.mil,.org...) Can be used with “-” to exclude unwanted sites domain limit: site: Google
25
domain limit: site: Google searches: Tattoos policy site:mil Tattooing history –site:com “Body modification” –site:wikipedia.org Tattoos site:washington.edu Google
26
Two periods (..) between numbers to search for ranges Good for dates, prices Number ranges:.. (two periods) Google Google searches: tattoos army 1939..1945 ipod “for sale” 25..50 (no spaces between numbers & periods)
27
Put it all together.... (tattoos OR “body art” OR piercings) +sociological “college students” (11,200 results) “body modification” subculture research site:edu (95 results) tattoos -piercing site:washington.edu (1,100 results) Google
28
Google Advanced
30
For more help in understanding search queries, check out: Secrets of Database Searching: Tips and tricks for research Practice putting together Google searches on Part 2 of the worksheet (5 min.) Combine terms in different ways, use limits in the Google Advanced Search, try fooling around with some syntax – play! Practice #2 Google
31
Googling Tip: Use specialized Googles for more targeted results
32
Google
33
Specialized Googles....
34
Google Scholar scholar.google.com
36
Google Scholar Syntax Still work: AND, OR, -, + Phrase searching Don’t work: Site: limit Number ranges Special limit: Author:
38
Bonus Googling Tip! Know when to call it quits Subscription databases are great places to look for academic research when you’re Googled out
39
www.lib.washington.edu UW Libraries
40
www.lib.washington.edu UW Libraries
41
Review Tips for Research Success with Google 1.Understand how Google works 2.Develop a plan before you search 3.Use advanced Google search features 4.Use specialized Google searches 5.Don’t stop with Google! Google
42
Workshops
43
Learn more… Google search help www.google.com/help/basics.html Google: the Missing Manual OUGL Ref ZA4251.G66 M55 2004 Library workshops: “Scholarly Articles”--WTF*? Secrets of Database Searching Workshops
44
Feedback, please.... tinyurl.com/32yqo6 Feedback form
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com. Inc.
All rights reserved.