Search Tricks and Tips

Here are some of the most useful Search Tricks and Tips that can be used in Google from basic tips to new features. Let us start with helpful Search Tricks and Tips that can be useful for search queries by mathematicians and statisticians.

Google Search Trick 1: Double Quotes (for Exact Search)
The use of double quotes yields only the pages with the same words in the same order (containing a specific phrase) as what’s in the quotes.

Google Search Trick 2: Asterisk within quotes (to specify unknown words)
Searching a phrase in double-quotes with an asterisk will search all variations of that phrase. For example “* matrix in regression analysis” will yield in pages that have different words before and after ‘matrix in regression analysis’ such as “hat matrix in regression analysis”, “the inverse-partitioned-matrix method in linear regression analysis”, “a matrix form, in regression analysis”, and “second important matrix in regression analysis” etc.

Google Search Trick 3: Minus Sign to Exclude Words from Search
If you want to exclude (eliminate) certain words from your search, you can use the minus sign. For example, the “hat matrix in regression -outlier” will result in all the pages related to the hat matrix in regression but will not contain outlier words in the searches.

Google Search Trick 4: Tilde symbol (~) to search Similar words
The tilde symbol used in the phrase will search for a word and all its synonyms. For example, ~Cross Table will result in crosstable, crosstabulation, cross-table, and cross table query, etc.

Google Search Trick 5: OR Operator for Multiple Words Searching
The “OR operator searches the pages that include either words before and after OR operator. For example, residuals or error will result in the words “residuals” and either “error”.

Google Search Trick 6: Numerical Range
The use of a numerical range of numbers results in pages that match these numbers. For example, “History of Statistics 2000…2019”.

Google Search Trick 7: Finding the Meanings of Word or Phrase
The define keyword is used to define a word or phrase. For example, define: statistics, define: define: residuals or error, and define: goodness of fit test

Google Search Trick 8: Search a particular website
The site: function searches a particular website. For example, Learning statistics site:edu will result in pages found on .edu websites. The other examples can be “Learning statistics site:com”, and Learning statistics site:itfeature.com, etc.

Google Search Trick 9: Search Webpages Linked to a Particular Website
The link: function searches for webpages that link to a particular website. For example, link: itfeature.com, link: stat.bzu.edu.pk

Google Search Trick 10: Math Answers
Google performs basic math functions for example, 4.7, 30% of 55, 20^2, sqrt(4), exp(4), log(10), and cos(90) etc.

Google Search Trick 11: Unit conversion
Converts the units of a measure. For example, 5cm in foot, 100$ in PKR, 42 days in fortnight, 10 mph in speed of light, 100 miles in leagues, and 100 Km in miles, etc.

Google Search Trick 12: Compare using “vs”
A one by one comparison can be searched used the “vs” keyword. For example, statistics vs parameters, descriptive vs inferential statistics, AIC vs BIC, and statistics vs mathematics.