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Using Advanced Searching Effectively


I. Use Advanced Search Options whenever you encounter an unfamiliar database


John Williams Challenge

II. Google Advanced Search Operators (sample):

filetype: Search for this type of file
site: Search this domain
~ Search for synonyms
link: Search for links to this page
allintitle: Search for all these terms only in the title of the page
intitle: Search for this term in the title of the page
allinurl: Search for these terms only in the url of the page
inurl: Search for this term only in the url of the page

Use advanced operators to locate the following information:

  • Web pages with the words information fluency in the title.

  • Web pages with the word literacy in the url.

  • Web pages that link to the page http://imsa.edu

  • Web pages about information fluency that do not include any .com pages.

  • Information literacy games, specifically swf files.


More Google Advanced Operators

Operator Tutorial (beyond the basics)