Credible Online Searches
Credible Online Sources
Use these sites to help find credible, online sources. Many more are out there, so just be sure it passes the CRAAP TEST (image to the right).
This website is a great way to search credible sources beyond the databases. Be sure to use these tricks + tips.
Google Scholar searches are not case sensitive. That means a search for "Machine Learning" will produce the same results as a search for "machine learning".
Use keywords instead of full sentences. Use key topics/terms from your research project. Google Scholar will assist you on that: if you start typing in the search field you will see related queries suggested by Scholar!
Use quotes to search for an exact match. This means that if you search national parks, the words will not necessarily appear together. Grouped words and exact phrases should be enclosed in quotation marks, so try "national parks" instead.
Add the year to the search phrase to get articles published in a particular year. A search using e.g. self-driving cars 2015, will return articles or books published in 2015.
Use the side bar controls to adjust your search result. Using the options in the left hand panel you can further restrict the search results by limiting the years covered by the search, the inclusion or exclude of patents, and you can sort the results by relevance or by date.
Google Search Tips + Tricks
If you are using Google as your search engine, there are short-cuts in the URL box that you can use rather than using an advanced Google search. Avoid putting spaces between the symbol or word and your search term. (Google search usually ignores punctuaton that isn't part of the search operator)
A search for site:nytimes.com will work, but site: nytimes.com won’t.
Exclude words from your search
Put - in front of a word you want to leave out. For example, australia -travel
Combine terms
Put "-" between each search query. (no space) For example, civil-war
Search for an exact match
Put a word or phrase inside quotes. For example, "tallest building".
Search within a range of numbers
Put .. between two numbers. For example, american presidents 1876..1900
Combine searches
Put "OR" between each search query. For example, marathon OR race.
Search within a specific site
Put "site:" in front of a site or domain. For example, site:loc.gov civil-war or site:.gov immunizations
Search for related sites
Put "related:" in front of a web address you already know. For example, related:time.com.
Using similar search terms
Put "~" in front of a search term to find similar words. For example this will also find costume facts. ~clothing facts
Search for unknown words
Put "*:" in the space of an unknown word. For example, a * saved is a * earned
Find specific file types
Put "filetype:" followed by the type of file you are searching for. For example, filetype.pptx cell-structure
Search for a word(s) within a webpage
Use "CNTR-F:"
Search using hashtags
Put # in front of a word. For example: #2016 election
Create an alert for your search topic
You can get emails when new results for a topic show up in Google Search. For example, you can get info about news, products, or mentions of your name.
Create an alert
Go to Google Alerts.
In the box at the top, enter a topic you want to follow.
To change your settings, click Show options. You can change:
How often you get notifications
The types of sites you’ll see
Your language
The part of the world you want info from
How many results you want to see
What accounts get the alert
Click Create Alert. You’ll get emails whenever matching search results are found.
