K I N G U S L I B R A R Y

how to
SEARCH smart
Q U I C K T I P S F O R FA S T A N D P R O D U C T I V E S E A R C H I N G

z
Basic Searching z

Everything is on the internet, but that’s the problem: Everything is on the internet! With well over 11 billion
pages to search, how can you find the one site with the information you need?

TIP #1: DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL....

Web Portals and Megasites

Before you jump on to Google or Yahoo!, let someone else do the searching for you. Web portals are sites
where someone knowledgable (theoretically!) has taken the time to collect the best or most useful information
in one place. These are almost always a good place to start looking, and will save you time sifting through
thousands (or millions!) of results.

General:

Virtual Learning Resource Center:

http://www.virtuallrc.com/
IPL2: Internet Public Library. http://www.ipl.org/

HISTORY
Best of History: http://www.besthistorysites.net/
Internet History Sourcebook: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/
World History Archives:http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/index.html
Electronic Text Collections: http://history.hanover.edu/etexts.html
Early American Archives: http://www.earlyamerica.com/

English
Voice of the Shuttle: http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=3
PAL: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/table.html
Luminarium: http://www.luminarium.org/
Science
Discovery Education: Science http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/sci-tech/scisp.html

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 K I N G U S L I B R A R Y

SEARCH smart
TIP 2: CHOOSE THE RIGHT SEARCH ENGINE
Half the battle in finding relevant sources is choosing the right search engine. Google and Bing are good
general resources, but there are search engines dedicated to academic searches.

Infomine searches for scholarly, A UK based academic search ArtCyclopedia searches all art
academic research on the web and engine. Subject specialists review related topics: painters,
allows search by general subject content; like Intute, you can movements, art works, etc.
area. Good for searching the deep narrow your search by subject
web: databases, journals, area. Especially useful, Intute http://www.artcyclopedia.com/
etc. provides a series of tutorial guides
on searching for each subject area.
That is, searching tips for the
http://infomine.ucr.edu/ humanities, vs. searching for the
social sciences. Look for all things anthropology
related on anthro.net
http://www.intute.ac.uk

Tutorials:
http://
www.vts.intute.ac.uk/
For more detailed suggestions go to http://www.noodletools.com and select “Choose the best search”

Google Scholar also searches This provides a wide range of

scholarly books and articles. It results, but you many not be able
pulls results from Google Books, to access many of them, if the
online databases such as JSTOR, school doesn’t subscribe to that
university libraries, etc. particular database.
http://scholar.google.com

1. Use key words, rather than questions

General Search Tips 2. Use “ “ around names or phrases (e.g. “cold war”)
Remember these basic skills to 3. Use a - sign to remove unwanted results
improve and refine your search
(e.g. Vikings -football)
results!
4. In Google Bing or Yahoo, limit your domain with site:
(e.g. Jackson “election results” site:gov)

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 K I N G U S L I B R A R Y

SEARCH smart
TIP 3: KNOW YOUR OPTIONS!
Most search engines have some built-in tools to help you refine or expand your search. Taking the time to use
them can improve your results.

A common tool among search engines is the “related”

option. Somewhere along your results, you’ll find a box
or tab that suggests other search terms you might use, if
you’re not happy with the results you’re getting. In Yahoo!, you’ll find this by
clicking the small tab under the search box. In addition, you’ll find a set of
“also try” links at the bottom of the page. Often, just changing the form of a
work can also improve results: “feminist” or “feminism,” for example.

In Bing you’ll find the

related search options in a
box on the left side of the
page, or at the bottom of
the page. Bing is also working on a visual
search option, which is promising, though
rather limited at the moment.

For example, with a search of the periodic

tables, it gives you a graphical view of the
elements, which you can click on for more
detailed information.

Google provides several tools you can use to enhance

your search. First, from your search results page, click the
“Show Options” link. A sidebar will show up on the left,
with several, well, options. We’re going to focus on a
couple of these.

1) Wonder Wheel: This turns your search into a web of related terms. Click
one of the branches, and a new web appears, with even more terms. This is
a great way to see the relationships between ideas, by the way. Search results
will appear on the right.

2) Timeline: This view allows you to focus on a specific date and find pages
relevant to that. Click on the “Search other dates” tab and you can narrow your results to a specific range of
dates.

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 K I N G U S L I B R A R Y

SEARCH smart
3. Any Time: The different options here allow you to choose results by when they were
posted online. This is great for when you need current information--if you are trying to
follow events as they happen, for instance.

4. Visited Pages: Have you ever forgotten a website, and can’t find it in your history,
either because it was too long ago and you don’t remember what day you were there? As long as you can
remember relevant search terms, the “visited pages” link will take you to websites you’ve already been to within
the results.

Tip 4: Searching for Images

All search engines now offer a dedicated engine to look just for
images. But did you know you can do even more?

Copyright friendly: In Google Images, click on “advanced

search” then in the usage rights pop-up menu, choose “labeled
for reuse.” In Yahoo it’s even easier, at the top of your search
results page, select the “creator allows reuse” box. These are
images you can use in your media projects. You will still need to cite them, of course!

Filter by Size: Google, Yahoo and Bing all allow you to filter images by size. In Google, click the “Show
Options” button for a list of filters. In Bing they are automatically along the left side, in Yahoo along the top of
the page. This is important for media projects using iMovie or VoiceThread, where you want a large file size to
avoid grainy pictures.

Filter by Color or Type: Google offers the best options here. All of the engines let you choose whether you
want color or black and white, but Google also allows you to choose what color. Need a lot of pictures with blue,
Google will find them for you. You can also choose whether you want just a face (portrait), a sketch or clip art.

Similar Images: Is the photo close, but not quite what you want? Click “Similar Images” underneath each
image for more choices.

Google Image Swirl: As cool as it gets! Type in your search

term, and image swirl returns groups of images organized by
similarity, but not the same. A search of “french revolution, for
example, returns paintings of the revolution, paintings by
revolutionary artists, buildings of the french revolution and
more. This could be an especially useful tool for comparative
purposes.
http://image-swirl.googlelabs.com/

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 K I N G U S L I B R A R Y

SEARCH smart

Tip 5: Compare Results!

No one search engine catalogues every site, or even returns results in the same order, so it behooves you to check
several search engines when you search, but who remembers or wants to take the time. But fear not! Several
search engines currently allow you to compare results easily.
Here are my two favorites:

Soovle: A customizable search engine, Soovle is also great

for finding key words. Enter your term, and you’ll find
related terms for 6 different search engines. Better yet, click
on the “engines” link above and you can set which search
engines Soovle displays. Hit the right arrow key, and you’ll
change which engine results will be displayed when you enter
your term (it’s also just fun to watch!). You can even save
suggested search terms by dragging them into the book in the
upper left corner.
http://soovle.com/

Panabee: Panabee combines an easy interface

with arguably the broadest range of customizable
searching. Using the “Favorites” tab, you can choose
among the vast majority of search engines, news
sites and more. A quick click allows you to add it to
your toolbar, too.

http://www.panabee.com/

Tip 6: Browser Add-Ons:

A number of cool tools can be added to Firefox to expand or
organized your search.

Ambiently: Another way to broaden your search to related

topics. Ambiently adds onto your bookmark toolbar and
allows you to find sites related to the one you’re currently on. So, if you’ve found the perfect site, just click on
Ambiently to find more. To install, just drag and drop the bookmarklet onto your toolbar.
http://ambiently.com/

CC licensed by Jeri Hurd

 K I N G U S L I B R A R Y

SEARCH smart

Cloudlet: Cloudlet helps you focus your search by generating

a tag cloud based on your search terms. Better yet, it doesn’t
clutter up your browser: it appears when you’re in Google or
Yahoo! It appears at the top of your search page, and you can
turn it on or off. Just click on one of the words to refine your
search. Click on the “sites” tab and you can search results in
Wikipedia, Britannica and more. Coolest of all, click on “Net”
and you can limit your domains to .edu or .org sites.

http://www.getcloudlet.com/

Diigo: Diigo is another Firefox add-on that allows you not only
to bookmark websites, but also to add comments and even
highlight text or post sticky-notes on the website. You can keep
notes private, so that only you can see them, or you can share
with others if you are working on a project together.

Basically, it is a tool that helps you organize your online research.

http://www.diigo.com

Zotero: If you want to get REALLY serious about

researching online, you need Zotero, a powerful add-on
that helps you collect, manage, cite and share your
resources. While more powerful, it also has a higher
learning curve than Diigo, but is excellent for serious
research.

The features are too extensive to list here, but you can
view this video for a quick overview. Just click “Play
video” on the right.

http://www.zotero.org/

For some seriously search-nerd tips: http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_reference.html

CC licensed by Jeri Hurd