Wikipedia:Advanced source searching
{{notability essay|WP:ASEARCH|WP:ADVANCED|WP:ADVANCEDSOURCE|WP:RSSEARCH}}
{{nutshell|Advanced source searching can provide more comprehensive search results compared to simpler standard searches.}}
File:Hyperlink-internet-search.svg
Advanced source searching can provide more comprehensive and accurate search results compared to simpler standard searches, which can be useful for the assessment and determination of topic notability. Customizing searches to narrow results, using other search engines besides Google, and the general customization of search parameters can often provide several and sometimes many additional reliable sources that are not included in basic searches, such as those using Wikipedia's {{tl|Find sources}} template.
Search parameters
- Boolean searches and other custom searches can provide links that are not available in default searches. Simply using quotation marks in searches (e.g. "Search topic") can significantly narrow search results, whereby only results that have the entire term are generated.
- Customizing searches using your preferred search engine (for instance Google or DuckDuckGo) by simply adding "news" or "news," (both without quotation marks) and then the search term in quotation marks offers results different from the dedicated "news" tab. Quality, quantity and recency vary. It's often necessary to view several pages after the first page of search results when using this technique.
- Advanced search options in various search engines (like DuckDuckGo or Google) can help to pinpoint coverage about topics.
- To narrow searches to specific sites, here's something that works in DuckDuckGo and Google searches (be sure to include the topic in quotation marks): "Search topic" site:www.siteexample.com This generates results only from the specified site.
- To search within a top-level domain or generic top-level domain, a "site" parameter can be added. For example: "Search topic" site:*.ro lists websites under the .ro generic top-level domain.
- Omitting results by adding a minus (-) sign and url addresses for unwanted sites can result in higher-relevance hits (or at least higher relevance hits per Wikipedia's notability standards, to omit sites that aren't valid for demonstrating topic notability){{spaced ndash}} e.g. "Search topic" -siteexample.com.
Advanced search options
=Niche search engines=
- [https://www.google.com/advanced_search Google Advanced Search]
- '''Kagi
- [https://search.marginalia.nu/ Marginalia] – an index to marginal websites
=Custom search engines=
{{shortcut|WP:RSSE}}
class="wikitable"
|+ General-purpose Google Programmable Search Engines !Name !Project Page or Owner !Queries/day !Last update !Lowest-rated perennial source |
[https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=1552558935d0e4c8a GRel Source Engine]
|10 |March 2025 |
[https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=f4364aeb58c3d4902 Reliable Source Engine]{{efn|News-sources only - narrower search results with some filtering-out of opinion and other pages that are not as useful or reliable.}}
|7 |February 2025 |
[https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=007734830908295939403:galkqgoksq0 Wikipedia Reference Search]
|30 |July 2024 |
[https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=007070770218907550030:2te8fbobqno Reliable perennial sources]
| |2020? |File:Argentina_-_NO_symbol.svgWikipedia talk:Advanced source searching#c-Barkeep49-20230321152500-Dexxor-20230321084200 Generally unreliable |
[http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=010426977372765398405:3xxsh-e1cp8&hl=en Reliable sources search engine]
| |? |
{{Search for expanded|Search topic}}
=Indian newspapers searches=
- [https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=014196815420355252912:fownxmjrhle English Newspaper Custom Search Engine] - For more information, see WP:INDAFD.
=Wikiproject custom search engines=
- Some WikiProjects have their own custom Google search, to sort through websites they have agreed to be reliable sources. This often shows ample results that a Google news archive search does not. See examples below.
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Search engine – This Google Custom Search is used by WikiProject Video games.
=Scholarly works=
- [https://scholar.archive.org/ Internet Archive Scholar] - The fulltext search index includes over 25 million research articles and other scholarly documents preserved in the Internet Archive.
- [https://www.semanticscholar.org/ Semantic Scholar] - Semantic Scholar is an artificial intelligence–powered research tool for scientific literature.
- [https://openalex.org/ OpenAlex] - OpenAlex is a bibliographic catalogue of scientific papers, authors and institutions accessible in open access mode.
More resources
=By topic=
- WikiProject Anime and manga/Online reliable sources – a list of recommended online sources for anime- and manga-related topics
- WikiProject Food and drink/Tools/sources – a list of recommended sources for food- and drink-related topics
- WikiProject Albums/Sources – recommended sources for music-related topics
- WikiProject Christian music/Sources – recommended sources for Christian music
- WikiProject Video games/Sources – recommended sources for Video games
- WikiProject Professional wrestling/Sources – recommended sources for Professional wrestling
- WikiProject Korea/Reliable sources – recommended sources for Korea-related topics
- Identifying reliable sources (history) – History-related topics
- Identifying reliable sources (medicine) – Medicine-related topics
- Identifying reliable sources (natural sciences) – Natural sciences-related topics
- WikiProject Football/Fully professional leagues – usable as an aide in considering the WP:NFOOTBALL guideline for Association football
- Medicine related topics:
{{Tmbox
|small = {{{small|}}}
|image={{{image
|text= You can improve this article by using ideal sources as references to support medical and health content added to this article. These sources are defined in the guideline Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources (medicine). Medical text books, governmental health agencies and medical review articles are excellent sources. Here are links to some sources of information about {{PAGENAME}}.
- PubMed provides [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term={{urlencode:( "{{PAGENAME}}" {{#if:{{{synonym1|}}}|OR {{{synonym1}}} {{#if:{{{synonym2|}}}|OR {{{synonym2}}} {{#if:{{{synonym3|}}}|OR {{{synonym3}}}}}}}}}) AND Review[ptyp] AND "last 5 years"[PDat]|QUERY}} review articles from the past five years] (limit to [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term={{urlencode:( "{{PAGENAME}}" {{#if:{{{synonym1|}}}|OR {{{synonym1}}} {{#if:{{{synonym2|}}}|OR {{{synonym2}}} {{#if:{{{synonym3|}}}|OR {{{synonym3}}}}}}}}}) AND Review[ptyp] AND free full text[sb] AND "last 5 years"[PDat]|QUERY}} free review articles] or to [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/?term={{urlencode:( "{{PAGENAME}}" {{#if:{{{synonym1|}}}|OR {{{synonym1}}} {{#if:{{{synonym2|}}}|OR {{{synonym2}}} {{#if:{{{synonym3|}}}|OR {{{synonym3}}}}}}}}})|QUERY}} systematic reviews])
- The TRIP database provides [https://www.tripdatabase.com/search?categoryid=1,11,16,18,10,9,4&criteria={{urlencode:"{{PAGENAME}}"|QUERY}} clinical publications about evidence-based medicine].
- The Cochrane database provides access to full text evidence-based medical content: [http://www.cochrane.org/search/site/?{{urlencode:"{{PAGENAME}}"|QUERY}} clinical publications about evidence-based medicine].
- The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination issues Health technology assessments. Enter {{PAGENAME}} into the [https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/CRDWeb/ searchbox].
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides access to medical and health content: Enter {{PAGENAME}} [https://search.cdc.gov/search? in the searchbox]
}}
=Source searching=
- The Wikipedia List of online newspaper archives – Very extensive and useful list of websites to find sources at
- The Wikipedia List of free online resources page – provides many resources for source searching
- The Wikipedia List of search engines article – provides a list of additional search engines that can be utilized.
- Specific uses of search engines in Wikipedia
See also
- Criticism of Google § Possible misuse of search results
- Wikipedia:Overreliance upon Google – an essay
- Wikipedia:Reliable source examples – an essay
- Wikipedia:Suggested sources – an essay
- Help:Searching – about searches within Wikipedia
- Article Rescue Squadron Guide to saving articles – Includes source searching tips
- Help:Find sources
- List of academic databases and search engines
- Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources (science)
- Wikipedia:Journal sources
{{reflist|group=$1}}
Notes
{{notelist|No paywalls, narrower search results with more filtering of opinion and other pages that are not as useful or reliable}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
Category:Wikipedia essays about building the encyclopedia
Category:Wikipedia how-to essays
{{Essays on notability|state=expanded}}