Google & Google Scholar: Advanced Google search

Examples: "climate change";"mass media"

Use quote marks to search for a phrase (a set of words in a specific order). This helps you find relevant information in the appropriate context.

Tip: This technique can be very useful when searching for a line from literary works or song lyrics, such as "to be or not to be".

Example: seabed OR seafloor

To search for pages containing either word add OR (capitalized).

Tip: If you do not use OR, your results will generally show pages containing both terms.

Examples: population site:gov ; research development site:edu

Include the word site: to search for information within a specific top-level domain such as .org, .gov, .edu, etc.

Tip: You can also search for information within a single website, such as research databases site:nwacc.edu .

Examples: nutrition -recipes ; wildcats -basketball

To exclude a word from your results list, add a dash (-) in front of the word you wish to exclude.

Tip: This also works in conjunction with other search methods. For example, to exclude a site from a particular search: skin cancer -site:wikipedia.org

Examples: To search for an image, video, map, news, book etc.

Conduct targeted searches by using the categories provided on Google's search results page--such as news, images, videos, etc.--rather than the full web search function. Find these options under the search box or in the drop-down menu under More.

Tip: You can also narrow your results to these categories after conducting a search. The Search Tools function in the results list also allows you to narrow by date.

Explore the Tools & Filters box to the right to learn more.

"Examples: dental hygiene filetype:ppt ; architecture portfolio filetype:pdf

To search for a specific type of file, add the word filetype to your search followed by the three letter file abbreviation such as pdf, ppt or xls.

Tip: You can also search for animated files: tsunami filetype:swf

Google ignores most punctuation and special characters, but there are some symbols you can use.

The dash (-) between words (without spaces) indicates strongly connected words. Example: child-care

The dash (-) directly in front of one word (no space) excludes that term from search results. Example: razorback -football

The hashtag (#) locates trending topics. Example: #love your library

See more ways you can use symbols & punctuation to search.

• Go to the Google Alerts page
• Enter your search
• Select show options
• Select the type of results you would like, such as news or video
• Select how often you would like to receive alerts
• Select how many results you would like to receive
• Enter your email address
• Confirm your alert request via the automated verification email. Your alert will then be activated and you will begin receiving email notifications.