Searching for sources on Google looks like a cool breeze. However, sometimes, you get so many results that you get overwhelmed. As a researcher, you just cannot go through all the search pages to find the relevant information which you are looking for. So, what should you do to find relevant information in the first go? The answer is simple. You need to learn some Google research strategies. Yes, there are a lot of strategies that you can use to collect the most relevant information without scrolling much.
As you are totally unaware of such strategies, we have decided to dedicate today’s article to discussing Google research strategies. Yes, in today’s post, you will get to know the top and trending strategies you can use to search for relevant information related to your topic. Before that, let’s define the term research.
What is research?
Research is the way of finding or searching for something. Typically, research begins with a question. First, the question hits the mid of the researcher, and then he researches to answer that question. A properly conducted research helps individuals find relevant sources. However, to research anything, you must determine what you already know and what you want to learn.
Top Google research strategies for academic research
Most students and researchers start their research quest from Google. Loaded with tons of information on almost every topic, Google sometimes does not provide satisfactory results. To obtain the most relevant academic articles, you must be able to use some kind of research strategy. The reason is that by employing those strategies, you get valuable material related to your topic. Hence, some of the top strategies are as follows:
1. Use quotation marks
The first and the most important strategy to find the right academic research related to your topic is using quotation marks. In this strategy, you put quotation marks at the start and end of your research query. When you do this, Google analyses that you are looking for something specific or something that contains these words. Hence, Google only shows you the results that contain those quoted words or are close to them. Sometimes, Google does not care about your choice and shows results on its own. Quoting the words of your query is the best way to go.
2. Use “OR” to get options
The second best strategy for academic research is to put the capital “OR” in between the research items. When you do this, Google analyses what you are looking for and shows you the results that match either term. It could be the term before the use of OR or after the use of OR. For example, you can search for “Climate change OR Global warming.” By doing so, Google will give you results that match either term. This technique is helpful when different sources describe an event differently.
3. Use a hyphen between the words
The more narrow you get in your search, the more good results you will find. One strategy to do this is to put the hyphen between the words of your search query. When you put the hyphen, you actually narrow your research results. The use of a hyphen reduces the options. This strategy is extremely useful when your research words have a double meaning. For example, if you want to search for Apple company, you can search it by adding a hyphen. Apple -fruit.
4. Domain-specific searching
It is not a very old Google research strategy. Every website on the internet has its domain. Some are shown by .gov, .edu, .com, or .org. All these words at the end of website URLs represent different words. .gov represents that the website you are accessing is a government website of the country. So, if you want something specific, you can search using domain-specific searching. If you still do not get it, go to an online research proposal help service, and it will explain to you examples of how to employ this strategy.
5. Use “site:” and a country code
This strategy is one of the best Google research strategies for academic research if you want to search for information related to a specific area. In your research, you must name that area after using “site:”. All the google results will be about that area or people belonging to that area. For example, if you want to see how Syrian refugees were received in Europe, you can search by: “Site: Syrian Refugees.” This research strategy will bring you all the information about refugees who took refuge in different parts of the world.
Conclusion
Searching things on Google is not a difficult job these days. Whether you want to find an article on the benefits of apple fruit or apple company, there are different Google research strategies that can help you extract the best results. The most famous and commonly used strategies are discussed above. So, read them and apply them accordingly.
