Use Google's "range search" for greater specificity

When you want to narrow your search to a specific range of dates or numbers, Google has special syntax to perform your search in 1 step.

For example, suppose you're looking for a new printer, costing $80 to $150. Here's what your search would look like:

printer $80..$150

Simply put 2 periods between the numbers, and Google will return hits with printers in that price range.

Want to search a range of prices within a specific website? Add site:nameofwebsite to your search. i.e.:

printer $80..$150 site:bestbuy.com

Range searching is also useful for specifying dates. Suppose you are looking for recent research on a topic, within the last two years. Your search would look something like this:

autism research 2006..2007

And if you want results only from government agencies, your search would be:

autism research 2006..2007 site:.gov

You can get all the same results by drilling down within individual websites, but this Google syntax will get you there faster.


Pauline
teachmeinternet.com

Get a "human" answer to your question

Search engines are great, but they'll never totally replace humans. Sometimes it's hard to make your search query specific enough to get a reasonable number of hits. Sometimes your question is so obscure that you don't know where to begin to look.

In that case, ask someone. You have a few options here. You can ask your friends. You can ask a librarian. But even librarians can't always locate exactly what you want.

Fortunately there are online communities waiting to take your question. You post your question, and wait for someone from the online community to answer.

Don't expect an answer immediately. It may take a few hours or a few days.

The quality of the answers can vary from expert to downright silly or sarcastic. But when all else fails, try this collective wisdom of Internet users.

You can also browse or search the answers to previous questions. And of course, you can answer other people's questions using your own knowledge and experience.


Here are some online Q&A sites to explore:

Yahoo Answers: Very popular, with quick responses, but there's also a lot of chatter for some questions.

WikiAnswers: Over a million questions answered, and "supervisors" to monitor inappropriate content. WikiAnswers was the second fastest growing website in the first 9 months of 2007.

Google Answers: No longer taking questions, but still maintains their database of thousands of good-quality answers by paid researchers.

Yedda: This Israel-based service was recently acquired by AOL. Expect it to grow through the increased exposure.

Answer Bag: You can post images and videos as part of your question or answer - handy when a picture is worth a thousand words.

Microsoft Live QnA: Previous answers are stored via tags rather than categories. Makes them easy to find.

Askville: Owned by Amazon. Active participants accumulate points, which can be used toward Amazon gift certificates. New features include widgets that embed maps, videos, and Amazon products into the content.


BOTTOM LINE: Consider the answers that you get from one of these sources as suggestions for further research. Never make a decision - especially an important one - based on a single piece of information you find online.


Pauline
teachmeinternet.com

Google trick: Search within a range

When you want to narrow your search to a specific range of dates or numbers, Google has special syntax to perform your search in 1 step.

It works this way: Suppose you're looking for a new printer, costing $80 to $150. Here's what your search would look like:

printer $80..$150

Simply put 2 periods (no spaces) between the numbers, and Google will return hits with printers in that price range.

Want to search a range of prices within a specific website? Add site:nameofwebsite to your search. i.e.:

printer $80..$150 site:bestbuy.com

Range searching is also useful for specifying dates. Suppose you are looking for recent research on a topic, within the last two years. Your search would look something like this:

autism research 2006..2007

And if you want results only from government agencies, your search would be:

autism research 2006..2007 site:.gov

Of course you can get all the same results by drilling down within individual websites, but this Google syntax will get you there faster.


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Pauline
teachmeinternet.com

Doing research? Start from an information gateway

When starting out on researching a topic, you'll probably want a broad overview. You won't get that from a Google search. Instead use an information gateway site.

An information gateway (sometimes called a hub) includes links to hundreds or thousands of websites grouped by subject area. These are ideal when you are in the early stages of a search, or when you want to see what's related to your topic.

Here are some examples:


One of the oldest general information hubs on the Web, About.com (now owned by New York Times) is maintained by live "Guides" who collect information from various sources and put it together in different subject areas. It's like an annotated bibliography.


Librarians Index to the Internet is a publicly funded service, run by a team of librarians - information specialists.


dmoz is the Open Directory Project. The "dmoz"moniker is from the original name, Directory Mozilla. It's a human-edited directory, using volunteer editors from around the world.


Intute is a UK-based gateway to four specific subject areas: Science and technology, Arts and humanites, Social sciences, and Health and life sciences.


Pauline
teachmeinternet.com

Instead of drilling down through big websites - try this...

Today's tip is one that I usually reserve for my Internet classes.

Have you ever found yourself wading through a large website, clicking tabs and links without much luck finding what you need?

Sometimes the site has its own "site map" or search engine. Even then you may not easily hone in on what you're looking for.

Try this instead. Go to google.com and run a search, using the following syntax:

your search words site:domain

(NOTE: no space before or after the colon)


This tells Google to look for your search words or phrases, but only within the domain (usually a website that ends in .com, .net, etc) that you specify.


Here's an example: Suppose you want to cancel your AOL account. AOL does not make it easy. The cancellation policies and procedures are buried deep within the AOL website.

Try this Google search instead:
cancel account site:aol.com

The above search syntax tells Google to look for the words cancel and account, and to look for these words only within the aol.com domain.


Google site search can be used in a variety of situations:

• Looking for government-sponsored scholarships? Try this Google search:
  scholarships site:.gov
  

• Need a driver for your printer? Search:
  c86 driver site:epson.com
  (Substitute your own printer model and manufacturer website)

• Want to check out the validity of the email you got about boycotting gas stations on May 15? Snopes.com is the place to go, but you have to click several times to find the answer. Instead, try this Google search:
  gas boycott site:snopes.com
  

If you find these tips useful, check out my Internet Techniques course, including 8+ hours of audio instruction, step-by-step handbook and Web interface.

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Pauline Wallin, Ph.D.
TeachMeInternet.com