Among certain circles (my family, some of my coworkers, etc.) I'm
known for my Googling skills. I can find anything, anywhere, in no time
flat. My Google-fu is a helpful skill, but not one that's shrouded in
too much mystery — I've just mastered some very helpful search tricks
and shortcuts and learned to quickly identify the best info in a list of
results.
Sadly, though web searches have become and integral part of the academic research landscape, the art of the Google search is an increasingly lost one. A recent study
at Illinois Wesleyan University found that fewer than 25% of students
could perform a "reasonably well-executed search." Wrote researchers,
"The majority of students — of all levels — exhibited significant
difficulties that ranged across nearly every aspect of the search
process."
That search process also included determining when to rely on Google
and when to utilize scholarly databases, but on a fundamental level, it
appears that many people just don't understand how to best find the
information they seek using Google.
Thanks to the folks at HackCollege,
a number of my "secrets" are out. The infographic below offers a
helpful primer for how to best structure searches using advanced
operators to more quickly and accurately drill down to the information
you want. This is by no means an exhaustive list of search operators
and advanced techniques, but it's a good start that will help set you on
the path to becoming a Google master.
Infographic via HackCollege
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, LICreate
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