Google's Advanced Search

While Library Search provides you with authoritative and free information, it is
also possible to find similar information via Google. This tutorial shows how to
conduct targeted searches using Google's Advanced Search to gather reports
and publications from governments, companies and organisations. These can
then be used for your assignments.

PAR T 1

What is Google's Advanced Search?

The Sample Assignment

How do I access Google's Advanced Search?

How do I construct a search?

How do I search domains and websites?

How do I access PDFs from domains or websites?

Further help
Lesson 1 of 7

What is Google's Advanced Search?

What is Google's Advanced Search?

The Google Advanced Search is essentially an "order form" that allows

researchers to find targeted information. Click on the markers below to
learn more.





 

'Find pages with...'

Enter different combinations of words into these boxes to Find [web] pages with your terms in them.
 

Run your search

Click on the Advanced Search button or Enter key to run the search.
 

'Usage rights'

Filter by usage rights if your assignment may benefit from diagrams or videos. More information can be found at
USQ Library's Open Access and Creative Commons webpage
 

'Then narrow your results by...'

Further refine your search by using many of these drop down boxes.
 

'Region'

For example, a search can be limited to a set region.

 

'Site or domain'

Use the site or domain box to specify which websites or domains to search in.
 

'File type'

Limit your searches to a specific file type - for example, choose pdf to access reports.

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used
with permission.

To demonstrate Google's Advanced Search we need a Sample

Assignment.
Lesson 2 of 7

The Sample Assignment

The Sample Assignment

Demonstrating Google's Advanced Search is best

done with a Sample Assignment
Click on the images below to understand the Sample Assignment. As
you may have already guessed, it will be about global warming.
Imagine your assignment
asks you to investigate the
impact of global warming
on Earth and in particular
farming.

The key words of the

assignment are:
impact
"global warming"
Earth
farming

You decide to access

background reading from
Google and focus on the
terms:
impact
"global warming"
Earth
Lesson 3 of 7

How do I access Google's Advanced Search?

How do I access Google's Advanced Search?

Access Google's Advanced Search once key terms are identified:

1. Type in Google Advanced Search into Google's Search box.

2. Select Google Advanced Search from the results list.

Alternatively:

1. Click on 'Settings'.
 2. Then click on 'Advanced Search'.

Or:

1. Type in: https://www.google.com/advanced_search

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google

LLC, used with permission.
Lesson 4 of 7

How do I construct a search?

How do I construct a search?

Constructing a search is easy

Constructing a search involves five basic steps:

1. Enter key terms already identified in the Sample Assignment into

the Google Advanced Search form.

2. Run the search.

 3. Understand where your search results come from.

4. Evaluate the results.

5. Improve the search - with synonyms if required.

Note 1: Repeat steps 2 -5 as required.

Note 2: You can further enhance your searches through domain, website
and PDF searching (these are introduced in the menu).

S t e ps 1 & 2 : E n t e r y o u r t e r m s a n d r u n t h e s e a r c h

Steps 1 & 2: Enter your terms and run the search

Enter key terms already identified in the Sample Assignment into the
Google Advanced Search form. Click on the markers in the picture
below to learn more.



 

'Find pages with...'

Enter the terms impact and Earth into the box for all these words.
 

'Find pages with...'

In the box for this exact word or phrase enter in the phrase "global warming".

Note: In case you're wondering, a phrase is a set of words that always appears together. To successfully search for
a phrase, the words must have double quotes placed around it. This is a rule that many databases use.
 

Run the Search

To gain results either:

1. Press the Enter key or

2. Click on Advanced Search (which will be found at the bottom of the form).
 

Note

Google will now search for pages that have impact and Earth and the exact phrase "Global warming" in them.

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used with
permission.

S t e p 3 : U n d e r s t a n d w h e r e y o u r s e a r c h r e s u l t s c o m e fr o m

Step 3: Understand where your search results

come from
The results of the search are displayed below. Click on the markers in
the picture to learn about the website types (or domain types) that are
commonly returned when Google Searches are performed.
 


 

First! Note the double quotes in the search box

Notice the double quotes around "global warming"? This indicates the phrase search is active.
 

Domain types

A number of different domain types appear. Click on the markers below to learn more.
 

.org domains

Websites containing a .org domain indicate ownership by not for profit organisations. The information
contained within may or may not contain bias.
 

.gov domains

Websites containing a .gov domain belong to government websites - in this case, the United States. In a perfect
world, information coming from a government site should NOT contain bias.
 

.com domains

Websites ending with the .com or commercial domain will have commercial interests behind them. As a result,
their information is often biased.

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC,
used with permission.

Step 4: E valu ate th e res u lts

Step 4: Evaluate the results

Evaluating the initial results requires you to:

1. Look at the results.

2. Pursue some relevant and credible sources to gain a background

understanding of the topic.

a. Use the REVIEW and CRAP techniques to evaluate each website's

credibility

S t e p 5 : I m pr o v e t h e s e a r c h - w i t h s y n o n y m s i f r e q u i r e d
Step 5: Improve your search

The next step is to improve the search in two ways:

1. by focussing on the impact of global warming on farming - as this is

what the assignment requires.

2. by using synonyms for farming.

To begin, return to the Google Advanced Search form by pressing the back
arrow key (as shown in the picture).

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google

LLC, used with permission.

Improving your search with synonyms

The search will now focus on the last words of the sample assignment:
"Investigate the impact of global warming on Earth and in
particular, farming."

The term farming has many synonyms like agriculture and cultivation
- resources containing any of these words, will be useful. The Google
Advanced Search form can assist with using synonyms to find
information. Click on the markers in the picture below to learn more.


 

'Find pages with...'

Keep your prior search terms (that is impact, Earth, "global warming").
 

'Find pages with...'

Enter in the terms farming, and the synonyms agriculture and cultivation into the box for any of these
words.
 

Run the search

To gain results either:

1. Press the Enter key, or

2. Click on Advanced Search, which will be found at the bottom of the form.

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used with
permission.

Repeat the steps as required

Understand where your results come from (Step 3)

This picture shows how Google interprets the search. The results
include:

1. commercial sites (in this case the newspaper site

"theguardian.com")

2. not for profit sites (for example wwf.org.au)

3. educational sites (for example colombia.edu) and

4. research sites (for example researchgate.net).

The next steps require an evaluation and improvement of the search.

 Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC,
used with permission.

Evaluate the results (Step 4)

As with the basic search, the next steps are simple:

1. Look at the results.

 2. Pursuesome relevant and credible sources to gain a background
understanding of the topic.

a. Use
the REVIEW and CRAP techniques to evaluate each website's
credibility

Further improve the results (Step 5)

We can further improve the search by gaining information from key

sites.

To do so, we return to the Google Advanced Search form by pressing the

back arrow key.

Continued use of the form now requires an understanding of domains

and websites.
Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google
LLC, used with permission.
Lesson 5 of 7

How do I search domains and websites?

Focusing the search - within specific domains and

websites

Focus your search within specific domains and

websites
The previous sections demonstrated how to find web pages containing:

1. key terms: impact, Earth

2. exact phrases: "global warming" and

 3. synonyms: farming, agriculture, cultivation.

Most assignments, however, will require reports and scholarly

information. Government and university websites are rich sources of
this type of content respectively. The information they contain are useful
when investigating a nation's or state's official position, guidelines or
data on a topic.

This section will show you how to access information from government
websites using domain name searches. A domain name is essentially
a registered name that people can use to create web addresses from.

In general a domain name search requires consideration of:

1. Top level domains. These include:

a. Overarching domains. For example:

.com (commercial site)

.gov (government site)

.edu (educational site)

.org (non profit site)

.int (international treaty based sites)

.net (a commercial site alternative to .com)

b. Country level domains. For example:

.au (Australia)
 .uk (The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland)

.jp (Japan)

2. Secondand lower level domains. These are found to the left of the
top level domains. These include:

a. Regional domains. For example:

a. nsw.gov.au (New South Wales government)

b. ca.gov (California state government)

b. Company domains. For example:

a. bbc.com (the British Broadcasting Corporation)

b. abc.net.au (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

c. who.int (the World Health Organisation)

Note: Researchers who conduct a search using lower and top level
domain combinations are essentially conducting website searches of
registered domains. Phrased differently, they are searching within
specific websites which belong to companies or governments etc who
have registered their identities for the internet.

Click on the bar below to understand how to access information

provided by the Queensland State Government using a domain search.
The aim is to continue finding information for the Sample Assignment:
"What is the impact of global warming on Earth and in particular,
farming."
 Creatin g a d o m ain s earch

Creating a domain search on the Queensland State

Government
Based on the information above, a search using the Queensland State
Government domain name means that the:

1. Overarching domain is identified as .gov.

2. The country level domain is .au.

3. The regional or company domain is .qld.

To retrieve information on the impact of global warming on farming,

located in all Queensland department sites, on the Advanced
Search Form:

1. Keep the prior search terms

a. key terms: impact, Earth

b. exact phrases: "global warming" and

c. synonyms: farming, agriculture, cultivation.

down to the box for 'site or domain' (as seen in the picture
2. Scroll

below) and

Click on the markers (below) to learn more

 


 

'Site or domain'

Type .qld.gov.au in the box for site or domain.

 

Run the search

To gain results either:

1. Press the Enter key, or

2. Click on Advanced Search, which will be found at the bottom of the form.

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used with
permission.

Gain in g in s igh t o n th e s earch

Gaining insight on the search

Google represents the search as seen in the picture below.

Note how there is no space between the word site, the colon or the full
stop ? If there are spaces, then the coding breaks and the search fails.
 Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of
Google LLC, used with permission.

Th e res u lts

The results

These are the results of the search. They all come from the qld.gov.au
domain (and website).

You can use the same process to create searches on domain names
belonging to other state governments.
 Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of
Google LLC, used with permission.

Hi n t s fo r s e a r c h i n g s pe c i c w e b s i t e s
Hints for searching specific websites
The previous section showed how to conduct domain name searches
for information from the Queensland government website. This section
will demonstrate how to conduct website or site specific searches, in
individual government departments and professional bodies.
 Introduction

Site specific searches (or website searches) are useful as government

departments and many professional bodies work under government
regulations and standards. Both organisation types also create
guidelines and reports for professions to use. These are all often
provided in the form of pdfs located on their websites. It is therefore,
important to enter the correct site names in the Google Advanced
Search Form to access this information.

The next few slides provide pointers to building site specific searches
using this form.

Again, we focus on the Sample Assignment: "Investigate the impact of

global warming on the Earth and in particular farming."
 Example 1

To access federal government departments

The Federal Government of Australia has many departments that

address our assignment. You may have a department you'd like to
search already in mind. As seen in the picture above, to start your
investigations:

1. Google the department you're interested in.

a. In this case it is the Department of Agriculture and Water

Resources.

2. Note the URL associated with the department and note the term
just before the .gov.au . (This term corresponds to the second level
domain.)
 a. The term is agriculture.

3. Enter that term and the .gov.au into the box for domain or site in
the Google Advanced Search Form.

a. .agriculture.gov.au has been entered into the box for site or

domain.

Note: Remember to place a fullstop in front of agriculture.

 Example 2

To access educational sites

Similar steps can be carried out if you are an education student who
needs to submit an assignment on this same project. You may already
have an organisation you'd like to search in mind. As seen in the
picture above, to start your investigations:

1. Google the organisation you're interested in.

a. In this case it is the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and

Reporting Authority.

2. Note the URL associated with the organisation and note the term
just before the .edu.au . (This term corresponds to the second level
domain.)
 a. The term is acara.

3. Enter that term and the .gov.au into the box for domain or site in
the Google Advanced Search Form.

a. .acara.edu.au has been entered into the box for site or

domain.

Note: Remember to place a fullstop in front of acara.

 Summary

Other sites can be similarly addressed using the method described. For
example, as the table shows, a search of Google for discipline specific
websites identified the corresponding url sections to be placed inside
the box for site or domain.

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used
with permission.
 Kn o w l e d g e C h e c k

Knowledge Check
Answer the following questions to determine your understanding of the
material just taught:

If you were to enter in .gov.au into the box for site or domain where

would you be searching in?

Queensland government sites

Victorian government sites

Federal government sites

 All of the above

SUBMIT

In Australia, if you were to enter in the domain .edu.au what sites

would you get back?

Primary schools and high schools

Universities and TAFEs

All of the above

 SUBMIT

If you were to enter in the domain .edu what sites would you get back?

Universities in the United States of America

Universities around the world

Universities and schools around the world

SUBMIT
Lesson 6 of 7

How do I access PDFs from domains or

websites?

Accessing PDFs from domains or websites

Now that domains and specific websites can be identified and entered
into the Google Advanced Search form, we can further narrow the
search to return only PDFs. As mentioned previously, domains and
specific websites can be a treasure trove of regulations, standards, latest
reports, guidelines and research - these are often found in PDF format.
Let's revisit our sample assignment topic: "Investigate the impact of
global warming on Earth and in particular farming"

The picture below shows what our search form looks like currently. The
key words impact, Earth have been entered, as has the phrase "global
warming", in double quotation marks, and the synonyms farming,
agriculture and cultivation. The domain .qld.gov.au will also be
searched.

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of

Google LLC, used with permission.
Now click on the markers in the picture below to learn what to do at the
next set of boxes.


 

'File type'

At filetype select Adobe Acrobat PDF (.pdf)

 

Run the search

To gain results either:

1. Press the Enter key, or

2. Click on Advanced Search, which will be found at the bottom of the form.

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used with
permission.

Th e res u lts

The results

These are returned results. Every result:

1. contains a PDF

2. belongs to either a city of Queensland and/or the Queensland State

Government and

3. contains a selection of the words we entered.

Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks

of Google LLC, used with permission.
Lesson 7 of 7

Further help

If you are still having trouble, please contact the Library. We are here to
help.

Further help

library.usq.edu.au

Images used in this course are licensed under CC0 unless otherwise stated. All screenshots of Google
Search have been unaltered apart from red boxes and underlines meant to highlight educational
search strategies.