Manipulating your search terms

Use alternative terms

• Broaden your search by using alternative terms/synonyms, e.g. ocean OR sea.
• In Google use the tilde (~) directly in front of a term to indicate synonyms, e.g. ~teens will include the terms teen, teenagers, adolescents. Note: synonyms assigned may not include all relevant terms, e.g. 'youth', or 'young people' in the teens example.
• Use broader or narrower terms, e.g. for 'drug abuse' use the broader term 'substance abuse'.

Exclude irrelevant terms
When a term has many meanings - narrow your results by stating which terms you want to exclude (generally, your NOT Boolean operator). In Google use a minus symbol (-) in front of those terms, i.e. apple -computer.

Control the variations on search terms
Note that Google includes variations of your search terms, e.g. “bicycle,” “bicycles,” “bicycle’s,” “bicycling,” or bicyclists” - called automatic stemming. If you don't want automatic stemming precede the term with the + operator for exact matches.

Make use of phrases
Phrase searches will give more specific results, e.g. "marine park", as those specific words in the exact order will be used in the search. Note that phrase searching excludes the automatic stemming or alternative terms Google would otherwise implement.

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DISCOVERY EXERCISES

In the last Discovery Exercise you evaluated the results of your web search, now we will practice refining the results of the searches you did in Modules 2.

Don't have those search results handy? Here are the topics so you can repeat the search.

Easier:

1. I need to make a poster about a NZ place - can you help me find out what the Moeraki boulders are made of?
2. School project - choose a planet and find out how far it is from the earth. (Student chose to look at Saturn).
3. A Year 8 student needs to find out about the life cycle of an otter.
4. A mother wants information on Marfan syndrome in children - symptoms, diagnosis, management.
5. An adult is looking for information on Natural health for animals. She has a pet with chronic health problems and is interested in finding out more about therapies, diet and New Zealand organisations that provide natural remedies. Also looking for recipes for 'home remedies'.

More challenging:

1. What are the effects of global trade on the poverty level of developing countries?
2. How is genetic engineering being used to treat medical conditions, such as diseases and genetic disorders?
3. A high school student needs some background information and details on New Zealand's involvement in the Korean War.
4. A year 12 student is doing an assignment on naval battles of the Second World War. He is focusing in particularly on the 'Battle of the River Plate' - including maps and especially in the New Zealand ship HMS Achilles. He wants some facts in general, including a timeline.
5. A year 5 student (10 years old) needs to write a speech for a speech contest. She wants information on how to write a speech.

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Now move on to Using the search options to look at other ways of refining your search.

Updated: September 2010