How To Use A Search Engine Effectively

But while so many people use it few actually get formal instructions on how to search with Google.

How to use a search engine effectively. For example instead of saying my head hurts say headache because thats the word a medical site would use. Most search engines let you use a wildcard character to throw a broader search net. Not all search engines handle punctuation the same way.

Below tips on how to search on Google. Try these Google search operators. Keeping it simple is always important but using Boolean expressions and advanced search settings can help making finding the information being sought more efficient.

Ask a question in the appropriate forum. Search engines also provide search access to databases of third parties which allow you to search through corporate reports telephone listings yellow pages zip codes and numerous other information. You simply type whatever you want to search for into that box.

For some topics subject searching works better than keyword searching which is usually the default. Search engines can also be used to search newsgroup postings online and offline events and perform services such as chat instant messaging and product searches for online shopping. So if you have access to a university library and databases make use of them before paying for content.

Be as specific as you can in your wording. In Academic OneFile look for the Subject Guide Search instead of using the large search box. Every time you add a new word to the mix you limit your results.

Fine-Tune Your Query with More Keywords. This automatically browses the web and stores information about the pages it visits. This narrows searches down to.