Searches on the Open Web can often return irrelevant or non-scholarly results. Nonetheless, Google and other search engines can still be useful—if limited—discovery tools if you know how to refine your searches. For example, you might try limiting your search by various domains or using another one of the search tips offered here:
Use quotation marks to get more exact results:
Search any one of multiple terms (as opposed to searching all terms, which is the default):
Limit your search to words in the title:
Remove unwanted results:
Limit your search by domain:
Limit by date:
Use the the Google Advanced Search screen to conduct advanced searches including, but not limited to, those on the left.
See Google's Cheat Sheet for further tips on constructing and refining your searches.
See Nancy Blachman's GoogleGuide for even more tips.
