Tutorial 2: how to search for information online effectively using google and other search engines

A lot of times we spend too much time on the internet while researching on a given topic, this can be frustrating especially when we have limited time, data or power supply to work with. Ever wondered why you search for some things and you don’t find the right or detailed information that will be helpful? While I was still an undergraduate a friend of mine confessed that she wasn’t really swift and skilled in searching for information online using google and the likes.


Effective searching is a powerful skill, think about how often you go on google even to search for something so simple such as spellings of words.. I do that at times. I thought of all these and decided to share a few tips I know and that I also found out even as I asked skilled computer gurus. Here are some below, I hope you find them helpful.


In searching effectively, the search engine one uses matter. Results are based on relevance ranking and search algorithm used by the search engine. I once heard from one of my lecturers that the use of google scholar is more appropriate for students. But then there are other search engines such as google, bing, surfwax, complete planet, edu finder, yahoo search and so on.


Use fewer words : when you are typing into the search box, according to an online article I came across, it said every time you add a new word to the mix, you limit your result.

Use quotes : this tells google or whatever search engine you are using that you are looking for that exact statement or word. This is more effective when you are searching for an exact statement

Search a certain website, or a website that links the subject of your search if you are sure of it

Try and search for things in multiples, I mean giving multiple options using OR especially when you are looking for alternatives of the same link e.g FUNAAB admission list 2009 OR 2010.

If you are searching for a range of numbers, instead of using “–“ USE …… e.g 12 ……..100 , $ 40……. $ 100

You may also use search operators, search operators are words that can be added to searches to help narrow down results e.g searching the NBA website to get any mention of Olympics or Olympic games.

The use of autocomplete, I m certain a lot of us have used this at some points and may not realize. But it really is a good search aid as it saves time and also it helps you to chose from multiple predicitions. It corrects misspelt words as well and this helps especially when you only have an idea of what you are looking for but you are not so sure of the spelling. Autocomplete helps you to be sure. As soon as you type in some of the keywords from what you are researching autocomplete brings in the predictions.

I sincerely hope this has been helpful. Look out for the next tutorial.