To enter a
query, type in a few descriptive words and press Enter
(or click the Search button) for a list of relevant web
pages. Since Google only returns web pages that contain all the
words in your query, refining or narrowing your search
is as simple as adding more words to the search terms you
have already entered. Your new query will return a smaller
subset of the pages Google found for your original "too-broad" query.
Choosing
Keywords
For best results, it's important
to choose your keywords wisely. Keep these tips in mind:
- Try the obvious first. If
you're looking for information on the Parkville neighborhood,
enter "Parkville" rather than "neighborhood."
- Use words likely to appear
on a site with the information you want. "elementary CMT
tests Connecticut " gets better results than "what
are the current test scores in Connecticut."
- Make keywords as specific
as possible. "Lead Poisoning Children " gets more relevant
results than "environmental health hazards."
Automatic "and" Queries
By default, Google only returns
pages that include all of your search terms. There is no need
to include "and" between terms. Keep in mind that the order
in which the terms are typed will affect the search results.
To restrict a search further, just include more terms. For
example, to read an article about downtown development first
published in the Hartford Courant, simply type:
Automatic
Exclusion of Common Words
Google ignores common words
and characters such as "where" and "how", as well as certain
single digits and single letters, because they tend to slow
down your search without improving the results. Google will
indicate if a common word has been excluded by displaying
details on the results page below the search box.
If a common word is essential
to getting the results you want, you can include it by putting
a "+" sign in front of it. (Be sure to include a space before
the "+" sign.)
Another method for doing this
is conducting a phrase search, which means putting quotation
marks around two or more words. Common words in a phrase
search (e.g., "people and demographics") are included in
the search.
For example, to search for Hartford
at a Glance data, use:
~ OR ~
Capitalization
Google searches are NOT case
sensitive. All letters, regardless of how you type them,
will be understood as lower case. For example, searches for "hartford
school data ", "Hartford School data ", and "hARtFoRD SCHooL
DATA" will all return the same results.
Word
Variations (Stemming)
To provide the most accurate
results, Google does not use "stemming" or support "wildcard" searches.
In other words, Google searches for exactly the words that
you enter in the search box. Searching for "home" or "home*" will
not yield "homelessness." If in doubt, try both forms: "region" and "regional," for
instance. |
