Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Useful Google Searching Tip

Every researcher I know is always on the lookout for ways to make our work more efficient and accurate. Here’s a little tip that will help with both of those goals!
Did you know in Google Search you can search an entire website for a specific word or phrase? It’s true! This is especially useful when a website does not have an integrated search feature. Just type “site:” and the domain (no space), then a space, then your search terms.
For example, this search (in Google) produces a list of every time my name appears on our chapter’s blog:  site:apramidsouth.blogspot.com rossini
Using quotation marks, you can also search for phrases. Like this:  site:nashville.gov "shakespeare in the park"
There are many applications for this trick! You can quickly find every mention of a person’s (or institution’s) name on another website. It is also useful when you want to limit your results to just those found on a particular domain.
Happy searching!

Caroline Rossini, Treasurer, APRA MidSouth

treasurer@apramidsouth.org

6 comments:

  1. I use for years the following search syntax
    e.g. "search word(s)" + inurl:bbc.co.uk
    to find the results limited to those on bbc website
    or
    e.g. "search word(s)" + inurl:pdf
    than you get only pdf-files in your search result - handy for names of lists published online (e.g. donor names)
    Same you can do with +inurl:doc or inurl:xls for these types of results ...
    Thank you for sharing !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Or filetype:pdf (or doc or xls or whatever you'd like).

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    2. This is a wonderful tip! Thanks for sharing!

      Delete
  2. Thank you for sharing this HOT tip! Another great use is to search a domain, such as ".org" or ".edu" If I am looking for my prospect's giving or volunteer leadership I like to search: prospectname site:.org or .edu

    ReplyDelete

  3. i like this post and its very helpful to us. Thankyou For shearing This Information With Us.Software Development

    ReplyDelete