Why just typing random words in the Google search box doesn't work

Many students start by just typing words in the Google search box and arrive (mostly within 1 minute) at the conclusion that "nowhere on the internet" information is to be found.

Well, what do you expect?

You might as well type "Expecto Cognitionis" in the search box, give your wand a wave and hope for the best.

So no magic here. Use your grey cells and the next tips:

  1. Always start with a good encyclopaedia or other work of reference and read subject articles
  2. These articles always contain a bibliography
  3. GROVE  and/or MGG (Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart) should always be your first choice
  4. Don't use "just" Google but also use scholar.google.com
  5. Use operators in your search: AND, OR, NOT, NEAR, ... and text strings between " "
  6. Use Key words in your search
  7. Use wildcards in words (?) (*) to deal with differences in spelling
  8. Search in Databases and portals
  9. Read book reviews to decide if a book could be relevant for your purpose