Skip to Main Content

North Hagerstown High LibGuide

Guides for Topics, Units and Projects by Subject

Where can I get help finding a topic? 

Where can I get useful brainstorming & mindmapping tools?

Essential Tips for Google Research (by Common Sense Media)

  • 1.  Use quotation marks to find the exact wording.
    Normally, Google will take a look at the set of words you type in, then try to find matches based on those words -- not necessarily in the order you type them. Sometimes this means that Google might separate the words you’ve entered or even find matches for similar words. But you can also tell Google not to do this and instead look only for the words you entered in the exact order you entered them. To restrict your search to exact wording, surround the word or phrase in quotation marks.
  • 2.   Use "OR" to get options.

    By typing “OR” (in capital letters) between search terms, you're telling Google to look for matches to either term.

    Example: This can be helpful when you're searching for something that varying sources might describe differently. For instance, say you're looking for information on climate change. Some sources might refer to climate change as "global warming," so your search could look like this: "climate change" OR "global warming"

  • 3.  Use a hyphen (or minus symbol) to remove options.

    To narrow your results, you can omit certain words and sites from your results by adding a "-" symbol in front of the word (or words) you don't want your search results to include. Example: This comes in handy when your search query has a double meaning. Imagine that you're trying to research the company Apple, but you don't want any results about the actual fruit. Your search could look like this: apple -fruit -food

  • 4.  Use "site:" to limit your search to within one website.

    By using the word "site:" (followed by a colon), then typing a website’s address, you can limit your search to results from only that website or source. This tip is helpful when you're looking for a page on a website that doesn't have its own search function (or when a website's search function doesn't work as well as Google).

    Example: Say you want to see whether a specific source, like the New York Times, has covered a particular topic, like single-payer health care. You might assume that they have but maybe can't quite track down the exact article you're looking for. In this case, you'd type something like this: site: www.newyorktimes.com single-payer healthcare
    --Another way to use this trick, but for broader results, is to restrict your search to a type of source, like academic institutions ("edu") or nonprofit organizations ("org"). Simply follow the "site:" with "org" or "edu," then your search terms. This is especially helpful when looking for more credible or research-backed information. The same search for single-payer health care could look like this: site:edu single-payer health care. You can even combine edu or org.

  • 5.  Use "site:" and a country code to explore sources from a particular place.

    You might already know that Google's search algorithm populates users' results based on their geographic location. But for some searches, it could be important to break out of your bubble and consider information from other locations or countries.  

    Example: Say you're researching how Syrian refugees have been received in different parts of Europe. American news sources have definitely covered the issue. But how has this issue been covered in, say, Germany? By typing "site:" and the country code for Germany ("DE"), Google will give you results only from German sources. Here’s how that search might look: site:DE Syrian refugees.  To search country codes

  • 6.  Type "breathing exercise" into search for an immediate, interactive breathing break.

  • 7. Advanced Settings can be found here: https://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en&fg=1
  • 8. THE BEST THESAURUS EVER: https://www.powerthesaurus.org/best/synonyms