MS/HS Library: Research Tips

Which "google" search will give better results?

What are the effects of climate change or global warming on Thailand? "climate change" OR "global warming" thailand site:.edu

Here's how to craft a better search to get fewer and more relevant results:

• Identify the main ideas in your research question. These are your keywords
      What are the effects of climate change or global warming on Thailand?
• Use quotation marks around 2 or more words that need to be together.
       "climate change"  "global warming"
• Limit your search to a specific domain, such as .edu, .gov, or .org.
         "climate change"  "global warming" thailand site:.edu 
• Use nouns, not verbs or prepositions 

More information on Advanced Google and Google Scholar searching

Use Boolean Operators

BOOLEAN OPERATORS

• For more precise searching, connect your keywords in a meaningful way using the words AND, OR, and NOT. 
• Think of these connecting words as a bridge between keywords or concepts which allows you to narrow or broaden your search.

Use Truncation
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TRUNCATION 

• Truncation is also known as wildcard searching. 
• It lets you search for a term and variant spellings of that term.

To truncate a search term, do a keyword search in a database or in any web search box but remove the ending of the word and add an asterisk (*) to the end of the word. Results will include every word that begins with the letters you entered.

Example: If you type in the keyword, child* and get results for:

• child
• children
• childrens
• childhood

Try this online tutorial to understand more about TRUNCATION: click the blue button 

How Wikipedia CAN be useful in the beginning stages of research:

IF a grade B or better, use the article for: A basic overview of topic Keywords, names, dates Table of contents  > sub-topics References and External websites ... but evaluate them to be sure! Why and When NOT to use Wikipedia? X  The accuracy and authority questioned--lots of edits suggested X  Research is missing X  Biased article X  Grade C or below