Search Engines
Your library will guide you to finding reliable and scholarly sources for writing research papers, but you will also find yourself using search engines for casual research.
How Search Works
A search engine is a system designed to search for information on the world wide web and produce a list of results. It's basically an automated index that continually searches for new web pages and other files stored on the web and updates its results according to a complicated (and secretive) algorithm, the set of rules used to determine the significance of any given web page.
There are lots of different choices, but Google has taken over in recent years as the market leader. Popular search engines include:
If you want to learn more about other search engines, here's a list: The Best Search Engines
Google search principles and techniques
The usefulness of a search engine depends on the relevance of the results it produces, and you can help increase the relevance by learning good techniques, such as using "operators", special words and characters, alternative spellings, etc.
This infographic give you some basic tips on searching Google for the information you need:
- How to be a Google Search Star (download for reference)
Everyone knows how to do a simple search on Google but how many know how to utilise the advanced search options to obtain more relevant search results? This guide from SOAS explains some of the hidden gems that Google has on offer so you can improve your search results for finding exactly what you are looking for:
- Get the most out of your Google searches (download for reference)
"Practice your skills and be aware that university requirements are very different from school, especially that you will need to conduct research and be aware of all types of information" Emma, 3rd-year student