Most of us do some form of research every day. Sometimes, we conduct formal research with the intention of completing a big project for school or work. Other times, we just look things up to satisfy our curiosity as we go about our daily lives, like when we have a song stuck in our heads and can’t remember the name or all of the lyrics.
Whether you’re researching to answer a burning question or to complete a project, there are quite a few ways to streamline the research process to make it easier to find what you’re looking for using Google or other search engines.
Here, we’ve compiled some of the most valuable research tips and tricks to help make your research process more effective.
Start Broad, Then Narrow In
When starting research, use a broad general term to set your research on the right path. A vast number of websites offer information and insights, and by starting with a broad term, you’ll get a greater selection of results. The results may include the information you were looking for, but if they don’t, they indicate what search terms to add to your query to further refine your search (for example, the Google suggestions included in the results page will have added terms to your broad query).
Evaluate Your Sources
When researching online, there can be a lot of misinformation or biased content. Because of this, it’s essential to evaluate the quality of your sources. Ask yourself questions like, “Is this an authoritative or trustworthy publisher?” and “Why is the publisher sharing this information, and could the reason influence their opinion or point of view?”
Keep Track of Your Sources
When researching for a project, keeping track of the different sources and articles you compile can help you in the future stages of the project. Plenty of apps allow you to do this, but even something as simple as having a Google Doc or bookmarks folder works, too. With Google, all you have to do to bookmark a page is highlight the URL box and then drag and drop the link to your bookmarks folder.
The main objective of this research tip is to have a central location for the different resources you’ve reviewed so that you can look through them again as needed. A Google Doc or research app will allow you to add notes about each source, so this research trick is advantageous for extensive projects or projects completed over a long timeline.
Of course, when work and life get busy, it can be tricky to dedicate time to making notes, documents, and bookmarks. If you’re using Google as your primary research tool, it can keep track of your research process for you with Google Journeys. To access it, all you need to do is open a new tab and start using one of the keywords from your search, and an autofill option saying “Continue your journey” will appear. You can also access your Google Journeys from your account settings if opening a new tab doesn’t work.
Use Specific Sites for Your Search
While Google is great for general research questions, there are times when visiting a specific website to help you find what you’re looking for is more helpful. For instance, when looking for a casino bonus, Casinos.com will help you find the best ones, or when you need a reliable mechanic for your car, you might turn to Yelp for reviews of auto shops nearby.
For occasions when you need authoritative, high-quality, or peer-reviewed articles, opt for search engines like Google Scholar or JSTOR instead of the default Google search engine.
Find a Specific Phrase or Term
To figure out what song is stuck in your head or to find a specific quote or term, use quotation marks around your search phrase. Using this search structure will deliver an exact match to the terms you type in. For projects, this can be a great way to find the proper source for a quote or to understand a specific term you come across in the research process.
If there’s more than one term or phrase you’re looking for, you can use the Boolean operators “AND” or “OR” between each search term to yield results that include either or both terms.
Find International Results
If you’re looking for information from a specific country, add “site:[.target country’s abbreviation]” to the beginning of your search query. For example, if you were looking for a result from the United Kingdom, you’d add “site:.uk” to the beginning of your query.
Filter by Publication Date
If you’re looking for information published before or after a certain date, you can filter your results for this, too. Through the top section of your Google search results settings, go to “Tools,” select “Anytime,” and choose the period you need from the drop-down list. Alternatively, you could include “before:[date]” or “after:[date]” in your search query.
Search Specific Sites
If you need information from a specific site, add “site:[website URL]” to the beginning of your search term. This will deliver relevant results from the URL you provided. For example, if you wanted to find an article on Fizara.com that is about movies, you would enter “site:fizara.com movies” or “site:https://fizara.com movies”.
This search structure can also work to get results from .gov, .org, and .edu websites if you’re looking for more authoritative information.
Advanced Search Settings
If keeping track of all the search commands or structures is overwhelming, the advanced search settings of search engines typically allow you to do all the same commands without knowing the shortcuts.
Conclusion
With these tips and tricks, your research process will be more effective, allowing you to easily answer all your questions or execute the next stage of your project with all the information you need on hand. They’re small changes to the search query process that make a world of difference.
