Choose a search route by the evidence you need: a known website, an exact phrase, an image's origin, a technical document, or a broad introduction. Begin with a clear question, refine it from the results, and open the underlying sources before relying on a claim. The directory below provides direct starting points.
Search directory
Match the route to the question
For a broad unfamiliar subject, start with ordinary descriptive words, then collect the terminology used by credible sources. For a product manual or a policy, include the exact model, issuing organization, country, or version. When you know the publisher, search its own site as well as the wider web: internal search and a public search engine may expose different parts of its collection.
| Need | Starting route | Check before using it |
|---|---|---|
| Official procedure | Issuing organization's site | Jurisdiction, effective date, version |
| Exact product information | Manufacturer and model number | Variant, region, document revision |
| Research finding | Research publisher or scholarly index | Methods, population, publication status |
| Image origin | Image search and original publisher | Creator, context, rights and licence |
Several engines may show overlapping sources. Agreement among result lists is less informative than agreement among independent underlying evidence. Try another engine or a specialist collection when the first route yields only repeated summaries.
Refine one part of the query at a time
Google documents quotation marks, site restrictions, and excluded words as ways to refine results. Operator support can differ between engines; check the relevant help before treating a syntax as universal.
Exact wording helps find titles or known quotations but can miss synonyms and revised headings. A site-restricted search only shows what the engine returns from that domain; an absent result does not establish that the organization lacks the document. Check its navigation, search function, and publication catalogue where appropriate.
For time-sensitive questions, use date controls as a discovery aid and then inspect the document's own date. A recently indexed page can contain an older rule or study. The event date, publication date, and revision date answer different questions.
Open the source and check its scope
Identify who published the material and whether that source is in a position to support the claim. A manufacturer's manual can establish a product instruction; a customer story describes one experience. A study's methods determine which population and conditions its results address.
Read beyond the result snippet. Find the passage, table, or document section that supports the answer. Check whether a newer revision exists and whether nearby qualifications change its meaning. When several pages repeat the same press release, trace them back to the original evidence.
If a search service provides an AI summary, open the cited pages and verify that they support each consequential claim. Preserve direct source links and the date of checking in your notes. For medical, legal, or other consequential decisions, prioritize the applicable primary guidance and the professional expertise the decision requires.
Finish with an answer you can explain: the claim, its source, its date and scope, and any unresolved uncertainty. For investigating interest over time, see reading search trends. For permission to reuse an image you find, see UK website content and copyright.