Googling

Welcome !

While you are waiting, please… find in your packet:

Exercise 6 - Questions for the Final Exercise

“What Do You Want Google to Tell You?”begin writing down your questions in

three or more categories

GooglingInstructor: Joe Barker

jbarker@library.berkeley.edu

An Infopeople Workshop

2005

Googling

Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported by the California State Library. It provides a wide variety of training to California libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered around the state and are open registration on a first-come, first-served basis.

For a complete list of workshops, and for other information about the Project, go to the Infopeople Web site at infopeople.org.

This Workshop is Brought to You By the Infopeople Project

Introductions

Name

Library

Position

How do you use Google?

Workshop Overview

Google’s way of “thinking”

Taking charge of the driving

Using limits to find the hard-to-get

Finding information on a subject

Special Google databases and tools

What to do when Google doesn’t work

Go to: bookmarks.infopeople.org

Click on extreme_googling_bk.htm

Make a bookmark of this page

Add to Favorites

Click on extreme_googling_bk.htm

Make a bookmark of this page

Add to Favorites

Exercise 1

How does Google “think” about your searches?

Please pause and wait for discussion when you reach a

A Close Look at Google Search Results • Excerpt of page with your terms

• Matched terms in bold

• URL, size, date last crawled • Link to Cached copy• Pages supposedly like this one

• 2nd page from same site

• All Google pages from this site

• Which Google database used • Approx. # of hits• Terms actually searched on, as Dictionary links

Don’t believe the number of ResultsThey are approximate, changing, and not comprehensive

Default Matching on Search Terms

Default AND between terms Google takes a FUZZY approach

only some of the words if a page is “important” words may occur only in pages that link to the page words occur somewhere on the site a page belongs to

Cached reveals the page as Google found it may differ from the current page Cached exists if a page is full-text indexed

About 1 billion pages in Google are not cached Not fully searchable

no Cached if a page owner requests not to be cached

How Can You KnowWhy Google Found a Page ? Click Cache link toward end of results

top area often explains what was matched

Stemming

Google stems “when appropriate”automatically detects word stem or rootretrieves with various endings

kite flying gets kite kites kiting

fly flying, flyers, flyer’s, flyers’

to turn off +kite +flying

“kite flying” single word searches not stemmed

Words Google Does Not Search

Common or “stop” words ignoredto be or not to be

no list of “common” terms Google tells you below search box in results to turn off

+to +be +or not +to +be

“to be or not to be” single word searches possible on common words

Ranking of Results

Word order matters favoring phrases (words together) looks for phrases with something in place of

stop words word repetition and proximity also count

Google ranking is a great mystery PageRank combines many factors

popularity - links to a page and their importance “importance” - a value of 0 (low) to 10 (high) term placement - phrases, proximity, repetition

See Cheat Sheet #1

Google Preferences

Interface language Selected languages for pages SafeSearch filtering

“moderate” is default

Number of results returned 20 or 30 is best

Open new browser window for search results

Back of Cheat Sheet #1

The Google Toolbar Search any Google databases Search within a site Pop-up blocker Search history list Set Google preferences quickly Customizable in Options

download fromtoolbar.google.com

Other browsers toolbar download from

googlebar.mozdev.org

Googling

Exercise 2

Installing the Google ToolbarCustomizing Preferences

Taking Charge of Driving Google

OR

Getting the Most

from Google’s FUZZY Thinking

Improving Google’s “FUZZY” Default AND

Problems with AND default: words can occur anywhere in results pages

may have different meanings or contexts some pages may not contain all of your words some may not have any of your words

Use quotation marks to require words together turns common words into unique search terms

“working mothers” 145,000 5% of working mothers 2,680,000“dry cells” 11,500 1% of dry cells 1,010,000

Hyphen makes phrases and searches with and without hyphens

bite-sized retrieves bite-sized, bite sized, bitesized

Force “FUZZY” with OR Searches

Singulars and plurals not covered by stemming

parent OR parents Equivalent or synonymous terms

parent OR guardian Misspellings

libarian OR librarian Apostrophes and their misuse

april's OR aprils OR april "fools day"

Ask Google to be “FUZZY”Synonym search

~ immediately before a wordsometimes “thinks” of very broad, related terms

~food recipes, nutrition, cooking

~facts information, statistics

~help guide, tutorial, FAQ, manualOften: Terms appear in links pointing to a retrieved page

Take advantage of stemmingLet stemming handle variant endings:

“wild flowers” OR wildflowers hike “point reyes” april OR may OR spring

hike, hikers,hiking, hikes

Ask for “FUZZY” Number Ranges

Numrange search uses . . (no spaces)

babe ruth 1921..1935

results have highlighted dates within this range

3..6 megapixels digital camera

most numbers will be associated with megapixels

DVD player $250..

can be open-ended -- any number above starting

number

The Whole-Word Wildcard:Allowing FUZZY within “ ”

Can’t remember the exact wording in a phrase?Who wrote something like, “The stag at night drank his

fill”?Try searching:“the stag * * * his fill” OR “the stag * * * * his fill”ANSWER: “The stag at eve had drunk his fill” - in most sources

--Sir Walter Scott, “Lady of the Lake”

Construct proximity searches "george bush""george * bush""george * * bush""bush george""bush * george"

Or try GAPSwww.staggernation.com/cgi-bin/gaps.cgi

Excluding to Control “FUZZIness”

You want: Medical info about a pancreatitis diet

Start with: pancreatitis diet 172,000 Eliminate undesirable words in results:

pancreatitis diet -cat -dog

132,000

pancreatitis -cat -dog -"support group"

128,000

Select exclusions carefully

Ask Google to be Very “FUZZY”: Related & Similar

Two commands for the same function click Similar at end of result search related:www.infopeople.org

Sometimes hard to see how related links to and from the target page major words in and ranking of related pages

Possible uses comparison shopping find more sites like a site

related:www.econsumer.gov

use to evaluate a suspect page

Googling

Exercise 3

Taking Charge of Driving Google

Googling

Limiting to Find the Hard-to-Get

Limiting: Words in <Title> intitle:

finds pages concentrated on your termhybrid cars intitle:mileage 7,060

hybrid cars mileage 296,000

with quotes:intitle:”cuban embargo” 581

“cuban embargo” 28,000

with OR:intitle:”global warming” OR intitle:”greenhouse effect”

Use allintitle: to require all words in titleallintitle: hybrid cars mileage 86

can combine only with site:allintitle: hybrid cars mileage –site:com 11

Exploiting a Page’s URL Limiting to domain (edu, gov, etc):

site:edu OR site:gov OR site:ca.us complete list at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_TLDs

Searching within a Site site:

site:memory.loc.gov lincoln “sheet music” works only in top/first part of URL omit http:// and final / makes Google into a search engine for pages that are indexed

in Google inurl: less specific

term may be anywhere in URLs

inurl:lincoln “sheet music” finds “lincoln” anywhere in any URL and “sheet music”

somewhere in the pages

Limiting to Types of Documents

filetype: OR to find more than one

form 1040 filetype:pdf - finds forms

-filetype: exclude certain filetypes

form 1040 -filetype:pdf - finds help with forms

View as HTML link can be useful avoids viruses a document might carry if opened allows viewing without the software or reader

Cannot always be combined link: similar: must stand alone allintitle: allintext: allinanchor: allinurl: with site: only

You can mix all other limit commands, usually:inurl:ucla intitle:admissions statistics

intitle:”thyroid disease” site:edu OR site:com

Be careful not to ask for the impossible:site:ucla.edu -inurl:edu

site:com site:edu site:gov

Some require understanding HTML hypertext links: inanchor:links looks for text in link tags in the HTML code:

<a href="http://www.pancreasweb.com”>Pancreatitis links</a>

<a href="www.pancreaticdisease.com/links/links.htm”>Links</a>

Caveats for Limit Commands

See Cheat Sheet #3

Advanced Web Search pageRestricted Opportunities

Useful if you want to: Try limiting to pages

updated in 3 mos, 6 mos, year

Change language of results pages

Select from list of filetype formats

Change content filtering (also in Preferences)

Not useful if you want to: Construct complex

searches OR with phrases multiple phrases

Use OR for more than one limiter site: filetype: inurl:

Use intitle: inurl: only the allin... commands

in Advanced SearchI almost neveruse it

Googling

Exercise 4

Limiting

Googling

Finding Info on a Subject

Finding Directories & Link Lists EXAMPLE - looking for links or directories about:

“women’s history” “middle east”

Use words likely to occur in link-list or directory pages

links OR "directory of" OR guide “women’s history” “middle east”

“what’s new” OR “what’s cool” “women’s history” “middle east” <Title> field limit to focus pages you want

intitle:links OR intitle:”directory of” OR intitle:”encyclopedia of” “women’s history” “middle east”

intitle:”women’s history” intitle:directory “middle east”

Are there agencies or organizations with links on this topic?inanchor:links society OR association

"middle east" "women's studies"

Be creative. Substitute database for “directory” to find searchable databases

Google’s Directory

1.5+ million pages (compare with 8+ billion in web search)

DMOZ Open Directory Google “importance” ranking within directory

EXAMPLE:women's history middle east OR eastern

Click on useful subject categories for more:Science > Social Sciences > Area Studies > Middle Eastern Studies

Society > People > Women > Women's Studies > By Topic

Society > Issues > Human Rights and Liberties > Regional > Middle East

Search Google for Weblogs Current commentary, opinions, misc. musings

Google indexes “important” blogs frequently more than most web pages

Thorough search impossibleblog OR weblog OR “web log” your subject words

inurl:blog OR inurl:weblog your subject words

If you know the software a blog is using:“powered by blogger” your subject words

site:blogspot.com your subject words

“powered by geeklog” your subject words

Try searching the Google Directory

Search Google Groups for Info Usenet news groups back to 1981

archive of UNevaluated public thoughts, advice & opinions

some not found elsewhere select threads with more than one article for context

Search differences: search for a group by name search within a group + required for common words even in “ “

“hair loss” OR "loss +of hair" OR balding group:alt.support.thyroid

use Advanced Search to limit by group or date posted

Create new mailing lists with registration

Google as Encyclopedic Glossary Use the command define:[no space]

Google finds and ranks Web pages with definitionsdefine:internet

define:due diligence Or build searches for pages with definitions:

internet “what is”“what is the internet”“internet stands +for”internet ~beginners

internet ~FAQ Also many common facts available:

population of japancurrency in algeriabirthplace of hitler

Exercise 5

Finding Info on a SubjectBrainstorming

How would you approach Google to solve each of the following problems?

1. How can I find some good collections of links and information on migraine headaches? 2. I want to find websites directing me to good places for bird watching in Northern California. 3. Where can I find blogs about California and the

use of blogs in libraries, particularly blogs to keep in

touch with other librarians and libraries in the state

and how they’re using blogs?

4. Where can I find debates, from a wide range of perspectives, about what constitutes a near-death experience? I'm interested in proofs that what people report can be believed.

5. What is the birthplace of Teddy Roosevelt?

7. What is the currency of Nepal, and how much of it could $100 US buy as of January 15, 2004?

6. What is the size of California?

Googling

Special Google Databases and Tools

Shortcuts and Services Shortcuts:

dictionaries and other definitions phonebooks - white and yellow movie showtimes stocks with recent news maps, weather converters, math problem calculators, physical constants number searches

UPS, FedEx, USPS, VIN, UPC codes, area codes, airplane reg. #, patents, more

http://www.googleguide.com/shortcuts.html Translate

click [Translate this page] or URL or enter text atwww.google.com/language_tools

Page Info - better to enter a URL @ alexa.com

Many search engines offer useful shortcuts & similar tools:See Search Cheat Sheet #4 & Supplement

“Hacking” Google URLs Structure of a Google search result URL

Your search is for: “web searching” tutorial

http://www.google.com/search? Google URL ? indicates querynum=20& Number of results per pagehl=en& Interface languagelr=& Search language blank (ALL)safe=off& SafeSearch offq=%22web+searching%22+tutorial Query search terms

%22 means quote mark+ joins terms

Will vary according to your Preferences setting

You can modify results by changing values

A “Hack” for Country Searches

Type the search: egypt history 1950..1970http://www.google.com/search?num=20&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&

q=egypt+history+1950..1975

Append in Address/URL box (no spaces):

&restrict=countryEG

More countries and pages than in Language Tools search page

www.google.com/language_tools

&restrict=countryEG

General format - capitalized country code:

&restrict=countryXX Complete country codes list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_TLDs

Google’s Other Proprietary DatabasesBesides Web, Directory, and Groups

Images 1.3+ billion SafeSearch filter only works in English language

News 4,500 news sources 30 days international versions - other news slants

Froogle for shopping shopping sites from Google - a subset + merchant uploads of catalogs not on the web no fees, no pay for position

Catalogs (Google Labs still) scanned mail-order catalogs (not web), text searchable to navigate within a catalog, click an image and use the

special catalogs navigation bar

Use Advanced Search formsUseful, specific limit settings

Local Information local.google.com

“businesses & services” from Google web database + several yellow pages

topic box address/location box restrict to 1, 5, 15, 45 miles away

geographic proximity, maps EXAMPLE:

vegetarian restaurants100 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA

maps.google.com draggable images, satellite view local (yellow pages), driving directions

earth.google.com requires download, 200 MB memory exotic toy or useful tool?

Google Labs More upcoming Google services (beta)

Sets - create and explore sequences of things Suggest - browse possible search terms video.google.com – some TV programs My search history – registration and privacy

considerations Print.google.com – search only in Print

database project to make full text books available online

Scholar.google.com – special page to search from scholarly articles (mostly) on the web

abstracts if full text not available integrated with OCLC for library holdings integrated with some college campuses See Cheat Sheet #5

Exercise 6

Where would you look?

1. Choose ONE or TWO questions to answer

2. Write down what you did & learned

3. It’s O.K. to talk, ask questions, and help

each other as needed

Googling

When Google Doesn’t Work

Other Effective Search Engines

Yahoo Search (3+ billion) no 10-word limit

accepts ( ) around Boolean OR(“global warming” OR “greenhouse effect”)

(site:edu OR site:gov OR site:uk)

pay-for-position sites not identified

Teoma (1+ billion) popularity within subjects sometimes finds link collections as Resources

Bookmarklets for Searching

Java Script applications that reside in your Bookmarks or Favorites (Favlets)

Search engine tools:run a search in another search engine

@Teoma @Yahoo!search highlighted text in a search engine

Information and more about them atsearchengineshowdown.com/bmlets

Recommended Directories

By library peopleLII.ORGAcademic Info Infomine

Complement to searchingwhen search engines do not seem to

workwhen you know or have a hunch there

is a site about your question

Thinking in Sync with Search Engines

Search engine balancing act: Do we agree with Google’s “importance”?

tyrannical or democratic? favors established more than new websites favors trendy, high-speed, consumer, vroom & zoom

Are Google’s secretiveness & fuzziness trustable?

Have search engines changed us? Do we accept “good enough” quicker? Have we given up “thorough” and “certain”?

Will semantic & linguistic analysis help? Or bring in a new age of “whatever” thinking

Googling

Exercise 7

Make your own Cheat Sheet

Write down up to seven things you want to

remember to do or practice

Circle the ONE you like most

Googling

Workshop Evaluation

infopeople.org/WS/eval