Use this tutorial to learn how to search the web
using the search engine Google. If you prefer classroom training,
check with
your local library (see
Member Library
Directory). Many libraries offer training classes on how to
search the Internet.
This tutorial covers the following topics:
HOW GOOGLE WORKS
Google is one of many free search engines located on the Internet. (Its web
address is www.google.com.) Google finds web pages on certain
topics by matching the words you type in the search box, with web pages
containing those words.
To accomplish this task, Google copies web pages from the Internet onto its computers. It then indexes every significant word
on these pages. For most searches, there are hundreds, if not
thousands, of web pages that contain the words for which you are searching.
Google lists the most relevant, or higher quality, web pages first. Most
people find the information they need in the first 20 web pages listed. It is this relevancy ranking that sets Google apart
from other search engines.
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT WORDS FOR YOUR SEARCH
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Step 1: Determine what you want to find
information about. |
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How to lower my blood pressure. |
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Cheap hotels for our trip to Disney World. |
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Step 2: Think of the words someone writing about that topic would
use on a web page. |
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How to lower your high
blood pressure.
How to reduce high blood pressure. |
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Inexpensive hotels near Disney World.
Inexpensive hotels convenient to Disney World. |
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Step 3: Pick some of the more distinctive words to search.
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Search
words:
1) high blood pressure
2) lower high blood pressure
3) reduce high blood pressure |
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Search words:
1) hotels Disney World
2) inexpensive hotels Disney World
3) inexpensive hotels near Disney World |
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Step 4: Try different words.
If you are not satisfied with your search results, try
another search with a different combination of words. There is no
one correct search. When you search, remember ... |
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Capitalization is not required. |
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Spelling is important. Google will try to match words even though
they are misspelled or contain a typographical error. Often you will
get a list of pages that also have the word misspelled. To see an
example of how Google notifies you of misspellings,
click here (look for
the red arrows). |
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Google displays pages that only contain all the words you searched for.
However, Google does search for variations of words. A search for
"cancer patients" will show you pages also containing the words
"cancer patient." |
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Common words, such as a,
an, and, the, or, but, and numbers are ignored. |
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The more specific your
search, the better your results. For example, search for "bald
eagles" rather than "eagles" - thus eliminating websites for the
Eagles football team and the musical group. |
HOW TO SEARCH FOR WEB PAGES
Type in the word(s) describing your topic in the Google search box,
then click the Google Search button. (Where is the search box?)
The Search Results page will display ten web pages that contain the
words you are searching for. To see the next ten web pages, scroll to the
bottom of the page and click the word "Next." It is helpful to understand what information Google
is giving you on the search results page. See the Google
page on
How to
Interpret Your Search Results for an explanation of this information.
You may also see web pages at the top and side labeled "Sponsored Link."
Google was paid to give these pages special placement on the search
results page.
To see a web page, click on its title. If the page is not what you
want, use your browser's Back button to return to the Google Search
Results page and click on another title. Look for web pages that contain
trustworthy and quality information. (Read
Evaluating Web
Sites.)
You can practice searching
Google by using our step-by-step instructions.
Click here to start your
search.
TIPS FOR BETTER SEARCHES
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Use OR (be sure OR is in
uppercase) when you want Google to look for either word (both words
do not have to appear on the web page). The OR operative is good to use for
different spellings of a word. Example: community theater OR theatre
Try this |
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Google will search for the word you entered as well as any variation
of the word. For example, a search for "good eat" will display pages
with the words "good eats" and "good eating." This is called
stemming. To turn off stemming, type a plus before the word: good
+eat. |
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Use a minus sign immediately (no space) followed by a word that you want
excluded. Use this search to find web pages that have a recipe for
whole wheat bread without salt: whole wheat bread recipe
-salt. Try this |
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Use quotations around
words to search a phrase. Use phrase searching to find quotes, song
titles, or poems. Type in this phrase to find the poem by Maya
Angelou: "the grace of my style".
Try this |
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For more search tips see
Google Advanced Search.
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HOW TO SEARCH FOR IMAGES
Click on the Images tab (Where
do I find it?) to search
for images (pictures, drawings, graphics, etc.) that Google has found on
web pages.
Search images as you would search web pages. Clicking on an image gives you Google's split screen. The top
of the screen shows a slightly larger image. The bottom of the screen
displays the image from the web page. Use Google's Advanced Image Search (where do I find it?) for more
options when searching images, including filtering to exclude mature content.
Many images are copyrighted. Ask permission from the owning website before copying an
image.
You can practice searching
for images with Google by using our step-by-step instructions.
Click here to start your
search.
HOW TO SEARCH FOR NEWS
Click on the News tab (where do I find it?) to search
for news stories.
Search news stories as you would search web pages. The results page will be sorted by relevance (i.e. most
useful). If you would rather have the most recent news stories listed first, click on Sort
by date found at the top right of the page. (Where is Sort by date?) Use Google's
Advanced News Search (where do I find it?) for more
options when searching the news.
You can practice searching Google News by using our step-by-step
instructions.
Click here to start your
search.
MORE WAYS TO SEARCH WITH GOOGLE
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