Search Strategies with Google

Note: Search syntax has to be exact. Spaces are important 1. Explicit Phrase: Searching explicitly for the phrase "Teaching English". Enclose the search phrase within double quotes. Example: Teaching English 2. Exclude Words: To exclude any results that contain the term children, use the "-" sign in front of the word you want to exclude (no space between the minus sign and the search word). Example: Teaching English -children 3. Site Specific Search: Often, you want to search a specific website for content that matches a certain phrase. You can use Google to search the site for your term. Simply use the "site: somesite.com" modifier. Example: Teaching English site:teachchildren ESL.com You can also search within a certain types of sites, for example, only .edu sites, only .gov sites, or only .org sites. Example: Teaching English site:edu You can also exclude certain types of sites. Example: Teaching English -site:com 4. Similar Words and Synonyms: If you want to include results that contain similar words or synonyms. To do this, use the "~" (Tilde) in front of the word. Example: "Teaching English" ~method This will search for sites that contain the string Teaching English and method, methods, methodology, methodological.

5. Specific Document Types: If youre looking to find results that are of a specific type, you can use the modifier "filetype". If you want to find only PowerPoint presentations related to Teaching English. Example: "Teaching English" filetype:ppt 1

6. This OR that: If you are looking for any one of one or more terms to match, then you can use the OR operator. (Note: The OR has to be capitalized). Example: Teaching English to children OR young learners 7. Plus (+) Operator: Google often ignores common words such as the a an and for about in. If a common word is essential to getting the results you want, and you want the exact word, put a "+" sign in front of it. Example: stories +about Hawaii Compare with: stories about Hawaii Example: favorite +song Compare with: favorite song 8. Fill in the Blank: Add an asterisk (*) at the part of the sentence or question that you dont want to specify. Example: upon * that Example: upon *ing that Example: with * respect 9. Numeric Ranges: If you want to find results that contain any of a range of numbers. You can do this by using the X..Y (two dots). This type of search is useful for years, prices or anywhere where you want to provide a series of numbers. Example: United States President 1940..1950 10. Word Definitions: If you need to quickly look up the definition of a word or phrase, use the "define:" command. Example: define: teaching The Related Phrases on top of the definitions give you a list of the most common collocations with the target word. Clicking on each of these related phrases will give their definitions. 11. Translation: Translate one language to another: Go to Google.com ->Even More-> Translation Example: English -> Vietnamese: Happy -> Hnh phc You can click the swap button for a reverse translation. 2

You can also contribute a better translation if the existing translation is not accurate. 12. Search for images: Click on the Images tab on the top left; type the words or phrase you want to search for Example: a cat is chasing a mouse The size of the image is expressed in pixels, e.g., 420 315. The larger the value the better the quality of the image. 13. Search for videos: Click on the Videos tab on the top left to search for videos. Google automatically links to Youtube.com Example: Teaching English in Vietnam 14. Search for scholarly texts: Go to Google Web -> More -> Scholar Example: CALL in the classroom 15. Find a Google books: Go to Google Web -> More -> Books Example: CALL Essentials Advanced book search (a link next to the search box) allows you to search only for books, only for magazines, only public domain texts, only full-text books, and so on.

Critical Evaluation of Websites

A: Objectives: To determine if the content of a website is useful, credible, and reliable. B. Criteria for Evaluation: 1. Authority: - edu or .gov can be more reliable than .com or .org, an organization's website can be more reliable than Wikipedia or an unknown individual's blog. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Who says? Know the author? Who created this information and why? Do you recognize this author or their work? What knowledge or skills do they have in the area? Is he or she stating fact or opinion? What else has this author written? Does the author acknowledge other viewpoints and theories?

2. Objectivity: 1. Is the information biased? Think about perspective. 2. Is the information objective or subjective? 3. Is it full of fact or opinion? 4. Does it reflect bias? How? 5. How does the sponsorship impact the perspective of the information? 6. Is a balance of perspectives represented? 7. Could the information be meant as humorous, a parody, or satire? 3. Authenticity: 1. Is the information authentic? Know the source. 2. Where does the information originate? 3. Is the information from an established organization? 4. Has the information been reviewed by others to insure accuracy? 5. Is this a primary source or secondary source of information? 6. Are original sources clear and documented? 7. Is a bibliography provided citing the sources used? 4. Reliability: 1. Are the sources trustworthy? How do you know? 2. Is this information accurate? Consider the origin of the information. 3. Who is sponsoring this publication? 4. Does the information come from a school, business, or company site? 5. What's the purpose of the information resource: to inform, instruct, persuade, sell? Does this matter? 6. What's their motive? 5. Timeliness: 1. Is the information current? Consider the currency and timeliness of the information. 4

2. Does the page provide information about timeliness such as specific dates of information? 3. Does currency of information matter with your particular topic? 4. How current are the sources or links? 6. Relevance: 1. Is the information helpful? Think about whether you need this inf. 2. Does the information contain the breadth and depth needed? 3. Is the information written in a form that is useable (i.e. reading level, technical level)? 4. Is the information in a form that is useful such as words, pictures, charts, sounds, or video? 5. Do the facts contribute something new or add to your knowledge of the subject? 6. Will this information be useful to your project? 7. Efficiency: 1. Is this information worth the effort? Think about the organization and speed of information access. 2. Is the information well-organized including a table of contents, index, menu, and other easy-to-follow tools for navigation? 3. Is the information presented in a way that is easy to use (i.e., fonts, graphics, headings)? 4. Is the information quick to access? C. Practice 1. Look up a few websites on the topic of your American Culture Lesson and evaluate these websites. 2. Rank them from most useful (reliable, current, relevant, effective) to least useful.

Acknowledgment: This handout was created with the help of Thang thi Dang, MATESL student 2008-2010 at Hawaii Pacific University. Sources:
http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic32.htm http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/1264/12-Quick-Tips-To-Search-Google-Like-AnExpert.aspx http://www.public.asu.edu/~vpantoja/workshops/online_research/webeval.html