Advanced Searches
1. Multiple Word Search
As you learned earlier, when you type two or more search words, the first pages Google displays will be those that contain all of the words you typed. In other words, if you don't tell Google otherwise, it always assumes that you want it to search for pages containing all of the words you typed.
For example, suppose you've heard that a kid's treat known as the Pop Tart has been implicated in several house fires. You'd like to find out if this really happened, and figure there's probably a Web page or two describing such an event.
There are probably plenty of pages that deal with pop, but fail to mention tarts or fire.
And there are even more pages that deal with fire, but that don't mention Pop Tarts.
So you'll want to search for pages that contain the words pop, the word tarts, and the word fire.
To perform such a search, simply type the following three words in Google's text box:
pop tarts fire
You could just as easily have typed
fire pop tarts
or
tarts fire pop
the order in which you type the words doesn't matter much to Google. You'll get roughly the same results no matter how you order things. However, it is important that you type your words in lower case. This tells Google to perform a search that is not case-sensitive.
2. One Word Or The Other Search
When you type two search words separated by the word OR, Google will search for pages that contains either one or both of the words you typed.
For example, suppose you're looking for information about GM's classic sports car, the Corvette. Some folks refer to this vehicle by its proper name, but many insist on calling it a 'vette.' To see pages that contain either the word 'corvette' or the word 'vette,' you could return to Google, click in the text box, and type the following:
corvette OR vette
Be sure and type the word OR in all uppercase letters. All other letters you type should be lowercase.
When you finish typing, click the Google Search button. After a brief pause, you should see a list containing links to the National Corvette Museum, Vette Magazine, Corvette Central and Vette Vues, among others.
Look at the top right of the screen. Google lists about how many results were found when you searched for corvette OR vette. Copy that number and PASTE in your Microsoft Word document under the heading Exercise 6. Please make certain you include what you searched for.
An example of what your Word Document might look like for Exercise 6:
Exercise 6:
23,200,000 for corvette OR vette with Safesearch on
3. Synonym Search
Google is smart enough to find words that have meanings similar to the words you're looking for. However, if you want it to do this for you, you have to ask. First, do a Google search for the word screenplay.
Look at the top right of the screen. Google lists about how many results were found when you searched for screenplay. Copy that number and PASTE in your Microsoft Word document under the heading Exercise 7.To widen any search so that it includes synonyms of any of your search words, simply precede the search word with a special character called a tilde. You'll find the tilde in the upper left corner of your keyboard (it looks like this: ~). When you type a tilde immediately in front of any word, Google will know you're looking both for the word you typed and synonyms of that word.
To widen the search, you decide to search for other words that mean the
same thing as "screenplay". Return to Google and type:
~screenplay
Hit enter, and you'll see sites featuring scripts, screenwriting, and screenplays.
4. Exclude a Word Search
If you ever want to search for a page that contains one word, but not another, simply precede the word you don't want with a minus sign.
Suppose you'd like to learn more about a young new filmmaker named Coppola, but you can't remember the first name. Go to Google and type the following in the text box:
coppola filmmaker
If you click the Google Search button, Google will present you with a list of pages and pages dedicated to a very famous filmmaker named Francis Ford Coppola. But that isn't the person you were looking for. Francis Ford Coppola isn't young, nor is he a new filmmaker.
Look at the top right of the screen. Google lists about how many results were found when you searched for coppola filmaker. Copy that number and PASTE in your Microsoft Word document under the heading Exercise 9.
Let's try eliminating all the pages that contain the word Francis from our search results. To do so, return to Google and type the following in the text box:
coppola filmmaker -francis
Now that Francis Coppola is being excluded from our listings, you just might see some pages dedicated to Sofia
Coppola, Francis' talented daughter.
Look at the top right of the screen. Google lists about how many results were found when you searched for coppola filmaker - francis. Copy that number and PASTE in your Microsoft Word document under the heading Exercise 10.
5. Another Definition Search
To see a definition for a term with which you might be unfamiliar, type the word define followed by a colon and the term you want defined.
For example, try typing:
define:didactic
Copy the FIRST definition ONLY and Paste it in your Word Document under the heading Exercise 11.
6. Calculator Search
Well, this isn't exactly a search, but did you know Google can also act as a calculator? You can use the + key to add, - to subtract, * to multiply, and / to divide.
Try this: type
755*2/3
Then, click the Google Search button and you'll have the solution.
7. Conversion Search
Ever need to know how many liters are in a gallon? How many decigrams in a kilogram? How many feet in a meter? Google can help here, too. All you have to do is type one unit of measure (with or without a number), the word in and a second unit of measure.
For example, type:
27 miles in kilometers
Copy the answer and Paste it in your Word Document under the heading Exercise 13.
10 pints in gallons
Copy the answer and Paste it in your Word Document under the heading Exercise 14.