{"id":1716,"date":"2015-03-30T07:30:33","date_gmt":"2015-03-30T07:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/make-your-google-searches-more-precise-a-few-tips-for-researchers\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T06:14:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T06:14:42","slug":"make-your-google-searches-more-precise-a-few-tips-for-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/make-your-google-searches-more-precise-a-few-tips-for-researchers","title":{"rendered":"Make your Google searches more precise: A few tips for researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an author of research papers, you are a producer of information but, more often, when you build your research on what has been done before, you are a consumer of information. This is why it is useful to know\u00a0how to search for information more efficiently<\/a>. These days, searching for information usually means \u2018googling\u2019 (a verb now recognized by the Oxford dictionaries), and you may find the following tips useful in making your searchers more precise.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Switch to \u2018private\u2019 browsing<\/strong>: To customize your searches, Google takes into account your browsing history, the device being used for the search, data from other Google services, and so on. This affects the search results. To run a search not constrained by these details, search in the \u2018private browsing mode\u2019 by using a keyboard shortcut, namely ctrl + shift + p, which works for both Firefox and Internet Explorer; if you are using Chrome, use ctrl + shift + n. You could also use Tools > Start private browsing in Firefox, Safety > InPrivate Browsing in Internet Explorer, or Main menu > New incognito window in Chrome.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Add the symbol * between search terms<\/strong>: When a pair of terms that you are looking for may be separated by a few words, typing an asterisk between them tells the search engine to include pages in which the two terms have 1\u20135 words between them. For example, if you are looking for the words \u2018renewable energy,\u2019 typing \u2018renewable * energy\u2019 will retrieve pages that contain any of the following phrases: \u2018renewable sources of energy,\u2019 \u2018renewable and sustainable energy,\u2019\u00a0and \u2018renewable and non-conventional energy.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Use versions of Google other than what is default for your country<\/strong>: Google is known to customize search results, and one approach to customization is to consider the country from which a search is being made. For example, if you are in India, the default is Google.in; if in Britain, the default is Google.uk; in France, Google.fr; and so on. However, you can change the default by typing the alternative web address: typing Google.com makes for a more international search.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Repeat a term and change the sequence of terms<\/strong>: If the search results are not satisfactory, repeating a term more than once in the search box often works by bringing in more relevant results. For instance,\u00a0<\/span>you can search for “regeneration stem cells stem cells” to get a different set of results.<\/span>\u00a0On the other hand, typing a search phrase in a different sequence can bring forth new results. For instance, if \u2018adverse effects climate change\u2019 fails to bring in satisfactory results, try \u2018climate change adverse effects.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

In general, if you spend a good deal of time searching, these two resources are well worth a visit:<\/span><\/p>\n