PSYC 200: Rendon, L. (Winter 2025): Search tips
Why use websites in your research?
Why Use Websites?
Websites are the most accessible sources for research, having a format with the ability to reach across the globe to people with internet access. Convenience is a major reason for using websites in research, and many journals, publishers, organizations, and authors have taken this opportunity to reach out to the public by utilizing websites and other digital means. Websites are also a major gateway to publications from non-profit organizations and government agencies.
The flip side of using websites:
But with convenience comes risk for users -- you have to make sure you evaluate sources thoroughly, particularly sources online! Why? Because both individuals and groups can create websites and write about anything they choose--whether or not they have the education, training, or experience to make them experts.
Image source: Computer icons created by Freepik - Flaticon
TCC Library video tutorial: Website search tips
Searching the Library's Resources
- Website search tips (Panopto video, 2020)Click this link to view this TCC Library video tutorial, created in Panopto, in a new window.
Search tips when searching Google or library databases
General Google Search Tips
Limit your search results to a particular domain (called "site searching")
You can limit your Google search results to specific URL domains, like .gov (government); .edu (education), .org (organization), or .mil (military).
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Example: I want to find government sources about music therapy statistics.
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What to type in the search box: "music therapy" statistics site:.gov
Common URL domains:
- .com = commercial (ads & pop-ups)
- .gov = U.S. government (official agencies)
- .mil = U.S. military
- .edu = educational (colleges & universities)
- .org = organization (could be non-profit or for-profit, can be informative but often biased)
- .net = network (could be almost anything, including personal websites)
- .info = information (generic domain, no criteria needed for companies or individuals to use)
- .biz = business (an alternative to .com)
Limit your search results to a specific website
You can use the "site search" tip to search for something in an entire website!
- Example: I want to see if there are/were any articles in The Seattle Times about Alice in Chains.
- What to type in the search box: "alice in chains" site:www.seattletimes.com
Use Google's Advanced Search
After you've done a search, click on the Settings link, then click on Advanced search
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Search different source types in Google
The default search is Google Web. You can also search for Images, Videos, News, Blogs, and more. Look at the top of the screen, under the search box, after you have done a search.
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Phrase Searching
Phrase searching works in almost all library databases and search engines! And remember, you just want to put quotation marks around specific phrases -- two or more words together -- and not entire sentences.
You also don’t need quotation marks around single words, like teens. Also, capitalization is NOT important, but SPELLING is.
Example below for the keyword phrase, "music therapy":
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Combining Keywords & Using Boolean Operators
Narrow down results by combining different keywords. Use Boolean operators (aka "Boolean logic") to combine keywords.
AND:
- Use AND to limit your search results
- Use AND to combine different concepts together
- Example: "music therapy" AND benefits
OR:
- Use OR to expand your search results
- Use OR with synonyms or related terms
- Example: "music therapy" OR "music instruction" OR "music education"
NOT:
- Use NOT to exclude a word or phrase from your search results
- Example: madonna NOT "virgin mary"
The image below shows an example search in a database:
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Truncating
Truncation means "to shorten," which can be useful to find variations of a word. Use an asterisk,*, following the root of the word to find all variations of that word, including singular and plural.
Example:
- environment*
This finds environments, environmental, environmentalist, etc.
Database Example:
Truncating the word education* would find variations of that word, including education, educational, special education, etc.
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Using Filters to Limit Your Results
Look for ways to limit, or filter, your results from the beginning and SAVE TIME! These kinds of search limiters are usually found in the "Advanced Search" options of databases, like ProQuest or Academic Search Complete, as well as search engines like Google.
Full Text:
- Choosing this option returns only articles with the full text immediately available. Therefore, you can read the whole thing!
Publication Dates:
- In most databases and search engines, you can specify a date range of when sources were published or updated.
Peer-reviewed:
- Choosing this option returns only those articles from scholarly, or academic, sources.
Document Type:
- This looks at the kind of source you’re looking for, like magazines or newspaper articles.
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