Learning Points on This Page:
Search Commands
Most databases and search engines do not understand the natural language we speak and need help understanding what we're looking for. For this, they require a special set of commands or conventions, including:
Watch this video by the McMaster University Library to learn how to best use these search commands.
“How Library Stuff Works: Boolean Modifiers ‘’’’, *, ()” by McMaster Libraries is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.5.
Google Search Operators
The above search commands mostly work with Google Search. In addition, here are several useful Google Search operators that we would like to highlight (learn more from this Google Search Tips Handout):
1. Use an asterisk to specify unknown or variable words
|
Examples of Search Terms |
Results |
|
“world * foundation” |
World Forum Foundation, World Wide Hearing Foundation, etc. |
|
“world health *” |
World Health Organization, World Health Emergency Operation Readiness, etc. |
2. Use a minus sign to eliminate results containing a certain word
Examples:
“online shopping” -amazon -taobao
cryptocurrency -bitcoin -ethereum
Note: there is no space between “-” and the word which is to be excluded.
3. Use “site:” to search a specific site
Examples:
site:gov.sg
site:data.gov.sg
To search for specific information on a site, add a space to the end of the query followed by your search term:
site:gov.sg covid-19
site:data.gov.sg population
You can also use it together with the top-level domain to search for information from a specific country or region:
site:.sg lasagna
site:.eu brexit
4. Use “filetype:” to find information in a specific file type
Examples:
filetype:pdf tiramisu recipe
filetype:ppt python
filetype:xls singapore demographic
One article can get you started!
In the world of literature, articles cite one another. Through the connections among literature, we are able to get started with even just one article via citation chasing!
Refer to the illustration below: Imagine you have found a relevant Article B which is very helpful to your research, you can further find Article Cs that were published earlier than B and were cited by B (through B's bibliography or reference list); you can also find Article As that were published later than B and have cited B (we'll show you how to use Google Scholar to do this!) Both Article As and Cs may be relevant and useful to your research since they are likely on the same research topics as Article B, so check them out (of course, evaluate them) and expand your pool of literature for research.
How to use Google Scholar to find 'newer' articles?
AKA: How to use Google Scholar to find Article As with Article B that I have?
Step 1: Open Google Scholar, and search Article B
Step 2: Click 'Cited by' which appears at the bottom of Article B's record
Now, you get a list of Article As on Google Scholar.
Step 3: Additionally, you can do a keyword search within the list of Article As to filter the results
Links to Related Articles
The Library Search and some publisher websites/databases provide helpful links, through which you can find related or similar articles and effectively expand your search. For example:
On the Library Search, links to 'sources citing this' and 'sources cited in this':
On some publisher websites/databases, links to similar or recommended articles, 'cited by' articles, etc.:
