Just as in a traditional library database, you can use quotation marks to search for a particular phrase in Google. So searching for [cats and dogs] searches for those words and will return any resource that mentions "cats" or "dogs" or "cats and dogs." Instead when you search for the phrase ["cats and dogs"], you will only return resources that include the exact phrase "cats and dogs." When executing this search, notice the difference in the number of results between the two searches:
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Neither search yields a manageable number of results, but notice that [cats and dogs] yields 2.5 billion results while ["cats and dogs"] yields 62 million. The difference is significant.
This will be particularly useful as you are searching for exact names of regional and cultural historians for this assignment and using quotation marks will help to cut out the noise of unnecessary search results.
The site: limiter is incredibly helpful if you're looking for a particular type of source for your research. The site: limiter allows you to use the power of Google to see a particular website's coverage of a topic. For example, if you'd like to see information on Margaret Grattan Weaver on Bridgewater College's website, you can use the search ["margaret grattan weaver" site:bridgewater.edu]
This function will be especially helpful for searching through digital repositories, catalogs, and archives of newspapers. Try searching through the JMU archives in this way for your selected historian/cultural preservationist. When you do, you'll be using the power of Google to look through their collections, rather than their home search engine.
Another powerful tool is the filetype: limiter on Google. With this, you are able to tell Google that you want to look for a particular type of file on the internet. Combine this with the site: limiter to find .pdfs and/or .jpgs on digital repositories to quickly access relevant materials.
For example, you can search the name "Suter" through JMU's Special Collections, only looking for PDF documents by searching: [filetype:pdf site:lib.jmu.edu/special/ suter]
