When you use the basic search the amount of websites returned can be overwhelming in number, and frustrating because most of them will have nothing to do with your topic.
Using the Advanced Search feature instead of the Basic Search can go a long way in limiting the number of web sites found. It can mean the difference between getting several thousand hits versus only a few dozen.
Simply by grouping alike terms together, searching entire phrases, or limiting your search to specifics parts of the page (like title), you can get much better results.
Limiting by domain
You are probably familiar with the four main types of websites:
- .com/.net for commercial/personal sites
- .gov for government sites
- .mil for military sites
- .org for non-profit organization sites
You can limit your searching to a particular type of website in most search engines.
Since you are doing policy research, most of the information you will be seeking will be on .gov, .mil, or .org websites. Following this simple step can eliminate a lot of useless or inappropriate information.
Use more than one search engine
This may shock you to hear this, but not everything is in Google! There are large differences in the types of websites available in the various search engines. If you limit your search to just one search engine, you may be missing other great sites that are not indexed there.
To get the most out of your searching, try using a search engine comparison tool, like DogPile, Jux2, Thumbshots Ranking, DoubleTrust, or Twingine.
By using these tools you can see gaps in coverage among the difference search engines.