DO
YOU GOOGLE?
I useGoogle
almost everyday, and I have become somewhat of a search
guru! I've been using it since 1999 when it got rated in
TIME's Top 10 best sites of the year. Since that time, Google
has become more and more better. It now does image search,
has groups, and best of all, a wide collection of NEWS!!
So, if you are not googling, then you sure are missing something!!.
Searching for Lecture notes on the
internet
When I am searching for lecture notes on the internet, I
do something like this
Of course, this will turn out alot of results, and you have
to scan your way through the contents to find the best one.
If you intend to do a fast search (like me!!) ALWAYS open
the link in a new window, i.e. right-click
on the link and click on "Open in New Window"
But be careful not to open too many, or else the computer
may freeze up and the connection will slow down.
Format of notes on the internet:
PDF, DOC, HTML, XLS, etc
Always be wary of the types of notes that are available
on the net. Look at left side of the search result and Google
will say what kind of format that is. File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
This is probably the most popular format all over the world.
PDF means "Portable Document Format". These files
are read by Adobe Acrobat Reader, which
is free software to view such documents. BUT THOSE
WITH SLOW CONNECTIONS (like in Nepal), I suggest
that you download the link, rather than viewing it online.
This means you should right-click on the link and click
on "Save Target As" and save the PDF file in your
folder.
Why did I do this?
Well, sometimes PDF files can be very large (and google
will not tell you the size of the file), and with slow connections,
it will take a long long time to open up on the browser.
So, it is best to save it to a folder, and then later view
it. BUT what if that file does not have the information
I require?? For this, Google
has a very great tool. If you look again at the search result,
you can see that there is "View as HTML"
link. Click on this link to see the textual content of the
file (it will not show any graphics). This is the best way
to avoid downloading uncessary files. For other file formats
DOC is MS Word file, XLS is MS Excel file, etc..
Please email
me if you have any confusions or suggestions..
The
Basics of Google
Search Google
only returns web pages that contain all the words in your
query, refining or narrowing your search is as simple as adding
more words to the search terms you have already entered. Choosing Keywords
For best results, it's important to choose your keywords wisely.
---> Try the obvious first. If you're looking for information
on biodiversity, enter "biological diversity" rather
than "diversity".
---> Use words likely to appear on a site with the information
you want. "crocodylus palustris" gets better results
than "some strange reptilians that are found in an estuarine".
---> Make keywords as specific as possible. "Late
Proterozoic clastic sediments" gets more relevant results
than "very very old deposits". Phrase
Search
This is the best method, if you are looking for something
specific, which simply means putting quotation marks
around two or more words. Words in a phrase search
(e.g., "environmental microbiology") are included
in the search.
For example, to search for performance of biocoenoses use:
No Need to Use Common Words Google
ignores common words and characters such as "where"
and "how", as well as certain single digits and
single letters, because they tend to slow down your search
without improving the results. Capitalization Google searches are NOT case
sensitive. All letters, regardless of how
you type them, will be understood as lower case. For example,
searche s for "george washington", "George
Washington", and "gEoRgE wAsHiNgToN" will all
return the same results. Word
Variations (Stemming)
To provide the most accurate results, Google does not use
"stemming" or support "wildcard" searches.
In other words, Google
searches for exactly the words that you enter in the search
box. Searching for "book" or "book*" will
not yield "books" or "bookstore". If in
doubt, try both forms: "airline" and "airlines,"
for instance.
Search By Category
The Google
Web Directory (located at directory.google.com) is a good
place to start if you're not exactly sure which search keywords
to use. For example, searching for [ Saturn ] within the
Science > Astronomy category of the Google
Web Directory returns only pages about the planet Saturn,
while searching for [ Saturn ] within the Automotive category
returns only pages about Saturn cars. Searching within a
category of interest allows you to quickly narrow in on
only the most relevant pages to you.
Designed
and maintained by Gyanendra Gurung,
(M. Sc. in Geology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal).
For further information please email:
(Last Updated Sunday, August 8, 2004)
