The University of Queensland

Module 3: Effective Internet Searching

3.2 Google and Google Scholar

Activity - Take a closer look at Google Advanced search. Go to http://www.google.com.au and find the advanced search link. The Google advanced search tool illustrates the features available in a good search engine.

How does advanced search differ from the initial Google search screen?

Let's consider the topic "Discuss the impact of agricultural chemicals on the Great Barrier Reef".

The screen below shows one possible way to search. Note that alternative terms are entered in the 'at least one of the words' box and the search is restricted to the domain .gov.au

Activity - Use Google Advanced Search to locate information for a current assignment. Find at least three web relevant sites.

TIP - Use your search strategy planner from Module 2 to break down the topic for your search.

Activity - Compare Google with Google Scholar. Select Google Scholar and find the Advanced Search link.

Let's again consider the topic "Discuss the impact of agricultural chemicals on the Great Barrier Reef".

The screen below shows one possible search. Note that alternative terms are entered in the 'at least one of the words' box and the search is restricted to the domain .gov.au

Go beyond Google

Try More search engines to check the list of search engines available through the Library's Internet page.

The list includes:

• General search engines
• Australian search engines
• Meta-search engines - those that include results from several search engines

TIP: Subject coverage varies between search engines so use at least two search engines for your searches. Look at the Help screens or search tips for shortcuts and/or special features. Use an advanced search method if it is available. This will provide you with more options for reducing 'the rubbish'. Search for words that normally occur together as phrases by enclosing them in quotation marks. For example: "Great Barrier Reef". Advanced search screens usually provide an option specifically for phrase searching. A vast amount of high quality information is available in Acrobat Reader format as scanned copies of the original print documents. These documents are often referred to as pdf documents and a good search engine will allow you to select this file type (and others) in your search. Use domain searching to exclude 'rubbish' (by restricting .com) or to limit your results to specific domain types (such as .edu or .gov). Use the Internet to support the information you find in books, journals and other reputable sources. Using web sources only is not good practice. Some agencies only publish online: for example some government reports.