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Research Strategies

An introduction for CWU students new to research at the University level.

Tips for Searching in Google

Google isn't always the perfect tool, but it can bring you a lot of results. It can bring you even better results with a few search strategies as well.

Here are some search tips to help you narrow your google results.

  • Use keywords instead of full sentences
  • Combine terms OR to look for either term
  • To look for a file type use "Filetype:pdf"
  • Use a minus sign (-) to search options without a particular term
  • Use AROUND (#), this is used between two search terms to find pages where those terms are written in close proximity
  • Order your words carefully in your search (order will change the results!)
  • Use astericks (*) to distinguish spaces between terms (great for quotes)

Example: A * saved is a * earned
  • Use quotation marks " " to help string together an exact phrase, ensure that a specific word is included, ensure specific spelling of a word, and disable automatic synonyms

Google Scholar

Setting up Google Scholar Library Links

Did you know that you can link directly from Google Scholar to the fulltext content available in various library databases?

If you search Google Scholar from any computer on campus, you will see either a "Resources @ CWU Library" link at the bottom of the citation, or a "Full-Text @ CWU Library" option to the right of the title.

In addition, you can set your browser to use this great functionality on any computer you use at home, work, or wherever.

To set this up for off-campus access:

1. Click the "Settings" option in the upper right corner of the Google Scholar homepage.

2. Then click the option, "Library Links" link on the left side of the Google Scholar Settings Page.

3. Enter CWU in the box in the middle of the screen.

4. Check the "Central Washington University - Full-Text @ CWU Library" and "Open WorldCat - Library Search" checkboxes (this provides better linking for books) and click the Save button.

Here are some examples of what this looks like:

Advanced Search

Use the advanced search button to help narrow down your research results.

 

Citations

To generate citations of an existing article, click the icon. This will include different formatted citations, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. To view other articles that cited a particular article, click on the Cited by icon.

 

Other Search Engines

When might you NOT want to use Google? 

Google sells ads, which affects your privacy. This means your searches are tracked, mined, and packaged up into a data profile which advertisers use to follow and present you banner ads while you search. 

What other search engines are out there? 

Aside from google and other general search engines, there are also private search engines. Private search engines are ones that do not collect personally identifiable user data such as search history, IP addresses or user agent strings.

Video Tutorials on Google Search and Google Scholar