Google Search Operators
Google automatically adds AND between all search terms. Google also automatically searches using stemming, meaning that plural/singular versions of a word and other common variations will automatically be searched for (a search for “NYC” will automatically include results for “New York City,” “New York,” “New York’s,” etc.).
What It Is |
Symbol |
What it Does |
Example Search |
phrase |
“ “ |
search for a specific string of words |
“so it goes” |
boolean OR |
OR, | |
search for one word or another |
cup|quart, cup OR quart |
boolean NOT |
- |
exclude results with a specific word or phrase |
virus –computer |
include stop word |
+ |
force a search on a normally excluded term |
star wars episode +I |
number range |
.. |
look for numbers within a set range |
DVD player $100..150 |
wildcard (word only) |
* |
substitute for an entire word within a phrase |
“all * families” |
synonym search |
~ |
includes synonyms for a word in the search |
~diet |
Math Operators |
simple arithmetic |
+, -, *, / |
Use Google as a calculator |
1 +3, 2 * 5 |
Percentages |
% of |
find a percentage |
45% of 183.20 |
raise to a power |
** |
a number to the power of another |
2**8 |
Conversions |
in |
change one unit to another |
205lbs to kg |
Other Handy Information |
get the weather |
weather: |
get local weather information |
weather:83843 |
define a word |
define: |
quickly find a definition |
define:bathetic |
movie information |
movie: |
find movie information for your area |
movie:83843 |
Search Engine Showdown http://searchengineshowdown.com
A site written by a librarian (Greg Notess) for librarians. Covers much more than Google; excellent way to compare search engines.
Librarian Central http://librariancentral.blogspot.com
A Google-sponsored site and therefore heavy on the PR, but still very helpful.
Google’s Newsletter for Librarians http://www.google.com/librariancenter/newsletter/0512.html
Another Google product, but goes more in depth about certain projects such as Google Scholar.
Google Blog http://googleblog.blogspot.com
The official blog of Google, Inc.
Topix Google News http://www.topix.net/com/google
Tends to focus on the financial aspects of Google, Inc. If you own Google stock, this is the site for you.
Search the Google Databases by Field
When you perform a Google search, you are actually searching a database. Much like using a database such as Ebsco, Gale, or your library’s OPAC, a simple keyword search searches through most of the database fields. Just as most research databases allow you to search specifically in only one field (for example, search by “author”), Google allows you to search by specific fields within its database.
Field Name |
Information Contained |
How to Search Only This Field |
URL |
the address of the website (e.g. http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/) |
site: (search within an entire website)
inurl: (look for terms within a URL) |
Page Title |
the title of the website (displayed at the very top of most browsers) |
intitle: |
File Type |
the format of the file (e.g. HTML, PDF, DOC) |
filetype: |
Text |
the actual text and content of a webpage |
intext: |
Links |
other pages that this page links to |
link: |
For example, if you only wanted to find PDF files on the University of Idaho website, your search would be: site:www.uidaho.edu filetype:pdf
The table above is a simple way to think about Google’s main database. Other incarnations of Google (e.g. Books, Scholar, Blogs, Patents) have a different set of fields to accommodate different needs. Note that all of these search options are also available through the “Advanced Search” screen for each product.
Google Product |
Some of the Searchable Fields (and an example search) |
Books
www.books.google.com |
book title (intitle:remainder)
book author (inauthor:McCarthy)
ISBN (isbn:1583220208)
publisher (inpublisher:sage)
date published (date:1990-1995) |
News
www.news.google.com |
news source (source:cnn)
news location (location:id)
headline of article (allintitle:housing boom)
body of the article (allintext:rostropovich funeral) |
Patents
www.google.com/ptshp |
patent number (patent:3216423)
patent title (intitle:centrifugal)
assignee (inassignee:barton)
US patent class (uspclass:1561)
international patent class (intlpclass:1561) |
Blogs
blogsearch.google.com |
blog title (inblogtitle:"public librarian")
search within a blog by URL (blogurl:http://keptup.typepad.com/)
search by post author (inpostauthor:”John Doe”) |
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