In recent years we’ve learned that when seeking information Google is the first place we generally go. Even in more complex areas, such as law, many begin with a Google search. Social Law has compiled the top five ways to do more powerful searches in Google:
1. Search Like a Pro
Many of the same tools that improve searches in specialized databases can also make a Google search more effective. For example:
| Quotation Marks ( “term” ) | Searches an exact Phrase |
| Ampersand ( term & term ) | Strongly Connected Words and Phrases |
| OR ( term OR term ) | Searches pages that matches either term |
| En Dash ( -term ) | Excludes a Term (Similar to But Not) |
| Asterisk ( term * term ) | Searches for Unknown Word in a Phrase |
| Underscore ( term_term ) | Searches the Term With No Space and With Space |
For More Information on Search Operators See
Google Search Operators.
Don’t want to commit all this to memory? No problem! You can use Google’s
Advanced Search Page to craft the ideal search.
2. Search For Specific File Types
Have you ever needed a PDF, PowerPoint, or Excel Spreadsheet and were forced to comb through a number of websites to find your results? On Google you can locate only specific file types by searching with either of the following prefixes followed by the extension of the file type you’re looking for:
“Filetype:” or “Ext:”
3. Search By Date Range
Searching for numbers in Google can be highly effective especially if you’re looking for historical materials. Let’s say you know that there is a famous case about trade unions decided sometime in the 1840s in Massachusetts, but can’t recall the case name or the exact year. By adding “…” between the two ends of the date range Google will search all numbers in between.
For Example:
.jpg?sfvrsn=e6d1019_0 "Google Tip 3(a)")
By clicking on the first result you can find your case name:
.jpg?sfvrsn=386d1019_0 "Google Tip 3(b)")
Note how Google returned results including 1842 and 1848 though none of those numbers were included in the search box. You can also use this for other number ranges such as prices or percentages.
4. Limit by Resource Type
In Google you can limit your searches to only specific types of websites, such as government websites or websites using the “.org” extension. Also, Google indexes more than just the main page of most websites. Using Google you can often find the exact page of a site you’re looking for even if the page’s main site is difficult to navigate. There are two different ways to search the website address:
Inurl:term | Returns results from any website with the term in the address bar |
| Site:term | Returns results from the site indicated |
If you wanted to know about stem cell research in Massachusetts and want to search only government websites to get more official sources you could search the following:
.jpg?sfvrsn=2a6d1019_0 "Google Tip 4(a)")
This search will provide a number of different websites but all will contain the “.gov” extension.
Want to narrow your search exclusively to the Massachusetts Legislature? No problem. You can use the “site:” extension to find results from only the Massachusetts Legislature’s web page that contain the term “stem cell research.”
.jpg?sfvrsn=d46e1019_0 "Google Tip 4(b)")
It’s still wise to search the Massachusetts Legislature website to see if there are any additional pages that Google may have missed. But this can be a powerful way to get started.
5. Ngrams
Google has a number of great services, Scholar, News, Books, etc. However,
Google Ngram remains a fairly well-kept secret. Did you know that you can search for any phrase in the full text of any book Google has ever scanned? Not only will Google show you the use of the phrase in actual books but you can see statistics on how often the phrases were used over time. For example, want to know what famous Massachusetts Supreme Court member has been written about most?
.jpg?sfvrsn=c66e1019_0 "Google Tip 5(a)")
Curious why Lemuel Shaw gained popularity in the 1950s? Click the year range to see what was published about him during that time.
.jpg?sfvrsn=f06e1019_0 "Google Tip 5(b)")
When searching in Ngrams remember that, unlike Google Web Search, it is case-sensitive. When using Ngrams, remember, you must check the case-insensitive box and use the exact phrase you’re looking for to get results.
One Final Note: Google is constantly changing and evolving. These search options are subject to change at any time without warning. So enjoy them while they last!