Jack Eapen [email_address] http://www.jackeapen.com/

Search engines do things their own way; not the way you expect Search mechanism behind every engine is different. Try to understand how it works E.g. By default Google search for all the words you typed in, except for common words like an, and, or, the, etc. So, in Google, you don’t need to type in operators like +/and in between your words (but some other search engines may want you to…)

Search mechanism behind every engine is different. Try to understand how it works

E.g. By default Google search for all the words you typed in, except for common words like an, and, or, the, etc. So, in Google, you don’t need to type in operators like +/and in between your words (but some other search engines may want you to…)

5 tips to search more effectively 1. Quotes can make a big difference Most search engines support ‘phrase search’. Use “ ” around your search words, if you are looking for an exact phrase. e.g. See the difference between relationship based pricing and “ relationship based pricing ” 2. Search for file types Use Google’s filetype operator. Search for “relationship-based pricing” filetype:.pdf to get only pdf files as results. Similarly filetype:ppt will return only power point presentations

1. Quotes can make a big difference

Most search engines support ‘phrase search’. Use “ ” around your search words, if you are looking for an exact phrase.

e.g. See the difference between relationship based pricing and “ relationship based pricing ”

2. Search for file types

Use Google’s filetype operator. Search for “relationship-based pricing” filetype:.pdf to get only pdf files as results. Similarly filetype:ppt will return only power point presentations

5 tips to search more effectively 3. Make it domain specific Restrict your search to only a particular type of sites. You are looking for some information released by a government dept. instead of searching the entire web, use “your search words” site:.nic.in . This will return results from only those sites ending with .nic.in . Similarly use site:.edu or .ac.in to get reliable authentic data from academic sites 4. Use specific tools according to your purpose http://scholar.google.com/ for scholarly articles http://images.google.com for pictures http://www.scirus.com/ for scientific literature

3. Make it domain specific

Restrict your search to only a particular type of sites. You are looking for some information released by a government dept. instead of searching the entire web, use “your search words” site:.nic.in . This will return results from only those sites ending with .nic.in . Similarly use site:.edu or .ac.in to get reliable authentic data from academic sites

4. Use specific tools according to your purpose

http://scholar.google.com/ for scholarly articles

http://images.google.com for pictures

http://www.scirus.com/ for scientific literature

5. Google is Not God Yadi hasti tadanatrya Yanne hasti na tat quachil (if it’s here, you may find it somewhere else also But if it’s not here, you’ll not find it anywhere else) -- Mahabharata This is not true about search engines If it’s not in Google, that DOESN’T mean that you’ll not it find it anywhere else (Absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence)

Yadi hasti tadanatrya

Yanne hasti na tat quachil

(if it’s here, you may find it somewhere else also

But if it’s not here, you’ll not find it anywhere else)

-- Mahabharata

This is not true about search engines

If it’s not in Google, that DOESN’T mean that you’ll not it find it anywhere else

(Absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence)

5. Google is Not God What we see in Google is only a tip of the ice-berg. There are 500 times more content on the web which doesn’t figure in search engines See example Get yourself acquainted with useful databases WHO Library and Information Networks for Knowledge Database at http://dosei.who.int USAID Development Experiences Clearinghouse at http://dec.org/ Urban Health Gateway at www.urbanhealth.in 

What we see in Google is only a tip of the ice-berg. There are 500 times more content on the web which doesn’t figure in search engines

See example

Get yourself acquainted with useful databases

WHO Library and Information Networks for Knowledge Database at http://dosei.who.int

USAID Development Experiences Clearinghouse at http://dec.org/

Urban Health Gateway at www.urbanhealth.in 