Search Tips
Use these basic techniques to improve the results you get when searching on most any search engine.
Choosing Effective Search Term(s)
The key to quickly finding information relevant to your needs is the use of effective search term(s). Start with the obvious …
Need general information about tobacco? Start by searching TOBACCO.
Multiple Search Terms
Looking for information on underage drinking? You'll do better by searching [UNDERAGE DRINKING] than with either [underage] or [drinking] by themselves. And [underage drinking dallas] may produce even better (or, depending on your perspective, worse) results.
Note: When searching multiple words, the only pages returned in the search results will be those which contain at least one instance of all words searched
Tips:
The order of the search words will affect returned results. Enter words in order of their importace. |
Done entering
search words? Returning your hand to your mouse to click "GO" is unnecessary. Press Enter on the keyboard to quicly initiate a search.
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Capitalization
Search words are NOT case sensitive. Letters typed into the search box are all seen as lowercase. For example, these variations will return identical results:
community coalitions Community Coalitions CoMmUnItY CoALItIoNs |
Automatic “and” Queries
There is no need to include "and" between search terms. Keep in mind that To restrict a search further, just include more terms. For example, to plan a vacation to Hawaii, simply type vacation hawaii.
Automatic Exclusion of Common Words
Common words and characters such as "where" and "how", as well as certain single digits and single letters are ignored, because they tend to slow down your search without improving the results. We will indicate if a common word has been excluded by displaying details on the results page below the search box.
If a common word is essential to getting the results you want, you can include it by putting a "+" sign in front of it. (Be sure to include a space before the "+" sign.)
Another method for doing this is conducting a phrase search, which simply means putting quotation marks around two or more words. Common words in a phrase search (e.g., "where are you") are included in the search.
For example, to search for Drug Impact Index, use:
~ OR ~
Word variations (stemming)
Google now uses stemming technology. Thus, when appropriate, it will search not only for your search terms, but also for words that are similar to some or all of those terms. If you search for pet lemur dietary needs, Google will also search for pet lemur diet needs, and other related variations of your terms. Any variants of your terms that were searched for will be highlighted in the snippet of text accompanying each result.
Phrase searches
Sometimes you'll only want results that include an exact phrase. In this case, simply put quotation marks around your search terms.
Phrase searches are particularly effective if you're searching for proper names ("George Washington"), lyrics ("the long and winding road"), or other famous phrases ("This was their finest hour").
Negative terms
If your search term has more than one meaning (bass, for example, could refer to fishing or music) you can focus your search by putting a minus sign ("-") in front of words related to the meaning you want to avoid.
For example, here's how you'd find pages about bass-heavy lakes, but not bass-heavy music:
Note: when you include a negative term in your search, be sure to include a space before the minus sign.
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