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Research Process: Internet Searching

Getting Great Search Results

How can I design a search or series of searches that yields the highest quality results?

What is Boolean Searching

Boolean searching is the traditional way to search for information in most online databases and on the Internet.

To perform a Boolean search, use connectors (called operators) like AND, OR and NOT.  

AND retrieves records that contain ALL of the search terms. For example, cooking AND Spain, business AND ethics.

OR retrieves records that contain ANY of the search terms, but does not necessarily include all of them. For example, theater OR theatre, www OR world wide web.

NOT excludes records containing the second search term. For example, java NOT coffee, Clinton NOT (William OR Bill).    

Think of it like this, AND /INCLUDE;  OR/ BROADEN; NOT/ EXCLUDE

Top Ten Search Engines in the World 2024

The Top 10 Most Popular Search Engines In The World

WIRED MAGAZINES TOP TIPS FOR SEARCHING

How Google Search Works

Internet Searching Tips

20 Google Search Tips

Want to use Google search more efficiently and get the search results you want quickly? Click the link above for 20 Google search tips and tricks to maximize your search efficiency.

Searching Tips

To find out more about an author: 
Google the author's name or dig deeper in the library's biographical source databases.

To find scholarly sources: 
When searching library article databases, look for a checkbox to narrow your results to Scholarly, Peer Reviewed or Peer Refereed publications.

 

Word Order Matters

Google Scholar

Google Tips & Tricks for Students

Domain Name Suffixes

 The last three letters of any domain name is its suffix. Suffixes are categories of Internet domain names that serve to describe the type of company, organization, or other category that is represented.  This becomes significant when doing your research as it might indicate bias or emphasis that isn’t suitable.

Commonly used domain names: do YOU know what they signify?

.COM

.EDU

.NET

.CA

.ORG

Wikipedia

Do you use Wikipedia? This site will tell you why it is not a good source for your research projects.