google short version

Cambridge University Library

Taming Google - making the web work for you

Ange FitzpatrickData Control, Cambridge University Library

How do we search sensibly?

Knowns

• Good bookmark management on your PC

• Bookmark tools on public machines

• Del.ici.ous, xmarks, RSS feeds

Let the information come to you

How do we search sensibly?

Unknowns

• Think about your search terms

• Avoid vague terms like ‘engineering’, or ‘science’

• Group terms together: “public policy”

How do we search sensibly?

Unknown unknowns

Use the OR operator, or search for ‘similar’ sites

• Go directly to ‘deep web’ sites

Google- the tour

• Enter your search terms:

Searching the whole webOr just UK sites?

Results fromGoogle Image

Links to other types of results

Cached copy of the website

Top result

Wikis:User generatedcontent

Adding extra search terms

Fewerhits

Better quality results?

Excluding search terms

Other useful operators

Searching in specific sites

• Keyword site:address

• Libraries site:bbc.co.uk

Produces results for all articles about libraries @ bbc.co.uk

Other useful operators

Wildcard search

• Use an asterisk * in place of terms

• Blackburn Rovers beat * in * cup

Produces results detailing any team beaten in any cup

Other useful operators

Using the OR operator

• Searches for one term combined with a range of others

• David Cameron OR Beckham

Produces results for David Cameron or David Beckham

Other useful operators

The OR operator keeps going….

• David Cameron OR Beckham OR Hasselhoff OR Ginola

OR is also useful for spelling variations

• Eye colour OR color

Or combine the functions

• Medieval OR medieaval OR “middle ages”

Understanding the internet

A different world to real searching

• Google doesn’t search everything

Like these useful paid for services

Understanding the internet

The internet is a weird place

• More informal sharing of ideas

• Blurred relationships between consumers and producers

• Little formal hierarchy or organisation

Don’t forget about memes…

Understanding the internet

Think about how content iscreated and shared online

informal content ≠useless content

Understanding the internet

User generated content can’t always be trusted

But don’t let that put you off!

Understanding the internet

Search and verify:

Compare music biographies on Wikipedia and GROVEonline

Compare film data on Wikipediawith the Internet MovieDatabase

Google Books - what it is

• Full text access to books ‘in the public domain’

• Limited access to books under copyright

• Full text access to some magazines

Google Books - why it is useful

• Read full text

• Confirm data: try a quotation

• Read an introduction or check the contents of a book

• Decide whether or not to buy, order or read the book

Google Books - the tour

• Enter search term: Moonstone

Full text

Snippets

Overview only

Metadataissues

Reviews

Places to buy

Related books

Links to WorldCat

Read the full text

Full text toolbar

Zoom

Page layout

Full text toolbar

See ContentsPage

Flick between pages

Justtext

Clip,link,share

Google Scholar

• Searches academic and peer-reviewed articles

• Groups results for easy analysis

Provides:

• Citations

• Abstracts

• Full text

Google Scholar - the tour

• Enter your search terms: “Stanford Prison Experiment”

Cambridge resource

Citations

Other places this article has been cited

Other versions of this article

Articles related to this one

Credits

Donald Rumsfeld

• http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3490

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Rumsfeld

LOL cats

• http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Wikipedia’s big book of things that night not be true

• http://www.nataliedee.com/

Screenshots are courtesy of Google

Research Skills Programme

At www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Courses/ you can …

• Find our timetable of subject-based sessions

• Book for hands-on information skills classes

• Request one-to-one training

• Download these slides and other handouts

E-mail us at research-skills@lib.cam.ac.uk