How would you search for an exact word or phrase?
Using an operator called intext will allow you to search for a specific
word or phrase in your search bar. For example, if you want to find
websites that use the word “geophysics,” then your search would look like this:
intext:geophysics
The second way to find exact words or phrases is to use the gear button
after already starting a search. Once you begin a search, a gear button will
come up on the top right hand side of your screen. Clicking on this will allow
you to find an option called “advanced search,” and within the advanced search
option it will allow you to enter exact words or phrases.
How would you search for something on a specific site?
In the search bar, type in what you are searching for followed by the word
“site,” then a colon, then the name of the website you want to limit your
search to. For example, if you want your search results about tuition costs
to be limited to Ryerson University’s website, your search might look like
this:
tuition costs site:ryerson.ca
How would you correctly search for a definition?
In your search bar, type in the word “define” before the word that you are
seeking a definition for. For example, the correct way to search for the
definition of the word “economics” would look like this in your Google
search bar:
define economics
How would you search for a specific product available within
a specific price range?
Google has a useful section called Google Shopping. One way to get
to this section is to type in “Google Shopping” in your Google search bar.
From here, you will be able to search for any product that you are interested
in purchasing. On the left hand side of this shopping page, you can specify any price range for the product you are searching for.
How would you search for a specific filetype?
Using the operator called filetype, you will be able to search for a specific
type of file based on the file’s extension. For example, if you are searching
for a PDF file of Hamlet, your search might look like this:
filetype:pdf hamlet
How would you include or ignore words in your search?
To ensure that words are included in your search such as “the” or “as,”
simply put quotation marks around them. For example, if your are
searching for a specific film title, your Google search bar might look like this:
Catch “and” Release
If you wish to exclude or ignore words in your search, use the minus sign “-”
before the word you wish to ignore. For example, if you want to find recipes
for soup but don’t want the results to include carrots, your Google search
bar will look like this:
soup recipes -carrots
How would you find sites/pages similar to an existing one?
Using the related operator and the URL of any website, you will be able to
quickly find related websites to an existing one. For example, if you want
to find similar websites to Facebook, you would type this into your
Google search bar:
related:facebook.com
How would you confirm the exact form of a quote even
if you were missing some of the words?
If you are missing some of the words of a quote, type in the part of the
quote that you know in quotation marks. This will ensure that the individual
words do not get separated from each other in the results.
For example, if you type:
when venus the goddess of beauty and love
Then you will get a variety of results based on each concept, such as a
mythological goddess. To find this part of the quote, regardless of missing
words, you will find the quote by typing this into your Google search bar:
“when venus the goddess of beauty and love”
Another way to search for a part of a quote, is to select the “books” tab on
the top of the Google page if the quote is from a book. If you are able to find
the book on Google books, you will then be able to search for the part of the
quote within that book.
How would you search for pages containing two connected words?
The “OR" operator will allow you to search for pages containing two
connected words. Instead of completing two separate searches for both
words, you can add in “OR” between the two words to search for both
words within one search. For example, instead of doing one search for
“fish pedicure”and a second search for “spa,” you can search for both words
together in one search. Remember that the “OR” must be capitalized. In the
Google search bar, your search would look like this:
fish pedicure OR spa
How would you search for social media content containing a
specific tag?
By using Google Social Search, you can search for specific tags within
various social media platforms. Some of these platforms include Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
