Search tips


  1. Try natural language queries.
    Type a phrase or a question such as "Where can I find a schedule for women's basketball?"
  2. Use Exact phrases.
    If you know an exact phrase, put the phrase in quotes, for example: "golden gate bridge".
  3. Search for Web pages in a specific language.
    Using the Language pull-down menu in the search box, you can find all the documents on the Web about a given topic, written only in the language you specify. This type of search excludes Web sites written in any other language.
    NOTE: this feature is only available for web page searches.

    Example: If you select the French in the language drop-down menu when searching for escargot, you will see pages written in French only and including the word escargot.
  4. Use lowercase text in your searches. When you use lowercase text, the search service finds both uppercase and lowercase results. When you use uppercase text, the search service only finds uppercase results.
    Example: When you search for california, you'll find California, california, and CALIFORNIA in your results pages. However, when you search for California, you'll only see California in the results pages.
  5. Include or exclude words. To make sure that a word is always included in your search, place a plus sign (+) immediately before the keyword (no spaces) in the search box. To make sure that a word is always excluded from your search, place a minus sign (-) immediately before the keyword (no spaces) in the search box.
    Example: To find recipes for chocolate cookies without chips, try recipe cookie +chocolate -chips.
  6. Use wildcards. By typing an asterisk (*) at the end of a keyword, you can search for multiple forms of the word.
    Example: Try big*, to find big, bigger, biggest, and bigwig.