A basic Google search will give you quick results, but they can be very broad and imprecise, and there may be millions of irrelevant hits.
Using the advanced search techniques, or Google Advance Search is far more precise, targeted and efficient, and will retrieve more specific search results, saving you both time and effort.
Advanced searches can also find specifically relevant information that may otherwise be difficult to find.
Advanced Search is listed under Settings, which only appears after you have done an initial search in Google.
You can also search Google more effectively by using advanced search techniques.
Check the Research Skills Guide for more information about searching for resources
| Basic Search operators | Example 1 | Example 2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AND search both/all words | wage equality | equal+pay | Google automatically defaults to an AND search so results will include both words/terms |
|
"exact phrases" in quotation marks |
"education outcomes" |
"home based care" |
Results will all include the exact phrase |
| Minus sign (-) excludes words | animals -dogs | bread -yeast | No space between minus sign (-) and word |
| OR find either word/s | cats OR kittens | gender OR women | Must capitalise OR |
| Wildcard * replace words, where * can be any word | "cats * dogs" | "Francis * Coppola" | Useful in a phrase when you don't know one of the words. Include spaces around * |
|
Advanced Search operators |
Example 1 | Example 2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| site:specific website or type of site (refer to Website domains box below) | site:abs.gov.au | site:org | No space between site: and URL |
| filetype:specific file type | filetype:pdf | filetype:docx | No space between filetype: and file suffix |
| intitle:words in the title | intitle:"my cat loves" | No space between intitle: and keywords | |
| intext:words in text | intext:puppies | intext:"best dogs" | No space between intext: and keywords |
| AROUND(#) number of words between two terms | cats AROUND(4) dogs | dogs AROUND(9) humans | Must capitalise AROUND and have no spaces before (#) |
For a full list of Advanced Google operators refer to the GoogleGuide Reference Sheet
The domain is the name of the website and the URL is the address of the website. The domain is made up of elements that you can use to help you search Google.
| Country/location domain | Types of organisation domain |
|---|---|
| .au = Australia | .gov = government |
|
.vic = Victoria (other states are .nsw, .qld, .tas etc) |
.edu = education |
| .co = Colombia, but often used by companies | .com = for profit companies |
| .uk = United Kindgdom | .net = networks or also for profit organisations |
| .us = United States of America (often not included but assumed) | .org = not-for-profit organisations |