Finding information on the Internet is easy. Getting the best information is harder, but there are a few cheats that can be used to make sure that the best results are found.
The following search tips can be used widely on the Internet and will help refine search results.
Use OR to broaden your search results by searching for synonyms (different words with similar/same meaning) e.g.
riot OR protest OR disturbance
Use an asterisk * to truncate your search by finding everything which contains the same bit of word e.g.
riot*
This search will find riot, rioter, rioting, rioters, riots etc.
Exclude results containing words commonly associated with your keywords by using NOT or the minus symbol - e.g.
London riots NOT football
London riots -football
"Speech marks" allow you to search for a phrase i.e. when the words appear together and in a specific order e.g.
"London riots" "Human computer interaction" "United States of America" "Project management"
Use Define: in front of your search to get a definition of a word from an online dictionary e.g.
Define: riot
Use the plus symbol + or "speech marks" to search for an exact match e.g.
+IDEO
"IDEO"
Add an asterisk* as a placeholder for any unknown words or if you need a question answered e.g.
James Dyson invented *
"a * saved is a * earned"
If you have found a good website and want to find other sites that have similar content, then use Related: followed by the URL of the good website e.g.
Related:www.designcouncil.org.uk
This search will find websites which have similar content to the Design Council's website.
To search specific types of websites for a specific subject use site: e.g.
Scandinavian site: design
This search will look for 'Scandinavian' as a subject within design websites.
To search within a specific domain such as academic or government websites, include the domain in your search preceded by site:e.g.
"contemporary dance" site:ac
This search will find websites about 'contemporary dance' which have been created by academic institutions such as universities and colleges.
"forensic scientist" site:gov
This search will find websites about 'forensic scientists' which have been created by government institutions.