Hints for Using Searching Engines

To locate exact phrases:

use quote marks, " ", around the terms.

Example: "quick brown fox jumped"

To make sure that all your terms appear on a web page:

use the plus sign, + , in front of each word.

Example: +quick +brown +fox +laxy +dog

To locate alternate endings and plural spellings:

use the asterisk, * , to truncate the term.

Example: fox* (finds fox, foxes, foxy, foxed, etc.)

To exclude terms:

use the minus sign, - .

Example: -cats +dog +fox

Don't use commonly found terms in your search:

Example: the, of, a, an, it, for, etc.

Additional Sites with Search Hints for Internet Search Engines

Recommended World Wide Web Searching Strategy

University of California, Berkeley Library's guide to search strategies for the web. Easy to read and follow.

Comparison of Search Engine User Interface Capabilities

Gillian Westera's easy to use table format makes learning how to search the different search engines easy.

How to Choose a Search Engine or Research Database.

University of Albany Libraries' recommendations of selecting the most appropriate Internet search engine for the type of information you want to find.

Search Engine Watch

Site covering how to search, changes in search engines, etc.