Embedded Files
Websites to Avoid or Use With Caution
There are some websites we should never use because they can be updated by anyone, making the information unreliable. These websites include Wikipedia (or any “wiki” site), and Quora.
Websites to use with caution because their reliability can be questionable:
Owler-allows self-reporting
Manta-the possibility of underreporting
Medium-anyone can upload, so you must establish author credibility
Reddit-only use for reviews
Blogs-these can be used, but we need to make sure they are credible
Advanced Search Techniques
Waldo, a Chrome extension, can assist with many advanced search techniques.
We recommend using Waldo, a search tool that makes the research process faster and easier. Waldo can pull key phrases, data points, quotes, email addresses, and phone numbers from your search results, so you don’t have to open up each link separately.
Use this link to download Waldo’s Chrome extension. Learn more about using Waldo in this video.
Other Advanced Techniques
Boolean Logic:
Boolean logic consists of three logical operators:
When using Boolean operators, we use capital letters.
OR
AND
NOT
Question: I need information about COVID-19.
Boolean logic: OR
Search: Covid-19 OR Coronavirus OR pandemic (This will bring up all results for Covid-19, coronavirus, and the pandemic).
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Question: I'm interested in cancer in children.
Boolean logic: AND
Search: cancer AND children (This will only bring up results that include both keywords).
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Question: I'm interested in pets, but not cats.
Boolean logic: NOT
Search: pets NOT cats (This will exclude cats from the results)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Question: I want to learn about cat behavior.
Boolean logic: AND, OR
Search: behavior AND cats OR felines (This will return results that include the behaviors of cats and felines.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You can also use - and + to exclude or include terms. For example:
Cats +behaviors (Notice there is no space between the plus sign and the word that must be included in the results).
Cats -behaviors (This will exclude any results that are about behaviors)
This is useful when you want information about a specific company or issue, but the search results are cluttered with information you do not need.
For more information, take a look at this video.
Not all Boolean operators work on all search engines. Search engines all perform differently. If you are stuck and can not locate the information you need, consider trying a different search engine. Additional operators and how they operate on the respective search engines are shared below.
X-Ray Searching
This is a search that allows you to “crawl” websites for specific information. It is useful when attempting to find information that may be buried on a site or for pulling profiles from a database like Zoominfo or LinkedIn. An example is shared below:
Site:Zoominfo.com “AskWonder”
You may also use Boolean operators in your X-Ray search strings.
Advanced Google Searches
Google offers an Advanced Search that simplifies the process of X-Ray and Boolean operators.
Set Time Periods for Google Searches
If you click on “Any time” you are able to select from a calendar any time range that you need. You might need to click on the TOOL icon for this option to show.
Page updated
Report abuse