Skip to Main Content

Google: Search Strategies for your Research: Home

Learn how to effectively use Google to find information.

Google Searching

Why Google?  Google is the biggest search engine database in the world
PageRank™ is the search technology used by Google. It works on a unique combination of factors, including:

  • Popularity - based on the number of links to a page and the importance of the pages that link
  • Importance - traffic, quality of links
  • Word proximity and occurrence in results

Google Web Search

Search Tip: Find Related Pages

Search for pages related or similar to a URL by using the "related:" command. Example:                            related:healthcare.gov

Google Web Search

Original Creator

This guide was originally created by Eimmy Solis in the summer of 2014.

Tools for Using Google Effectively

Created by: HackCollege

Find Information Quickly

Filetype: Find documents of the specified file type (pdf, xml, ppt). Use it like this: Form 1098-T IRS filetype:pdf

         Site: after a term to search within a type of site. Use it like this:

population site:.gov
egypt site:nytimes.com
printing site: lehman.edu

Minus Sign - before a term excludes pages containing that term. Use it like this: cats-musical

        Dictionary. Put [define] in front of any word to see its definition.

        Calculations. Enter a math equation like [3*9123], or solve complex graphing equations.

        Unit conversions. Enter any conversion, like [3 dollars in euros].