Searching online Getting online and searching the web
A search engine is a website that allows you to type in words and phrases (search terms) and search the internet for other websites that contain those words and phrases. Search engines all work in a similar way, although they rank the results of searches by different criteria. Google is by far the most popular but others are available.
There is an interesting alternative called DuckDuckGo which doesn't track your online activities and so doesn't set advertisers onto you. See how to search on Google and refine web searches.
Search smarter
By being specific about word order and connections you can get a more relevant result set. You can also search for images in Google by either selecting the word 'Images' at the top of a results page or by going to the advanced image search page.
The OU Library's Being digital has a section devoted to Effective searching.
The OU Library has a wealth of other useful information to help you improve your online searching, including
To search through the OU Library website itself, use the library search page.
