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The Joy of Search: A Google Insider's Guide to Going Beyond the Basics
How to be a great online searcher, demonstrated with step-by-step searches for answers to a series of intriguing questions (for example, “Is that plant poisonous?”).
We all know how to look up something online by typing words into a search engine. We do this so often that we have made the most famous search engine a verb: we Google it—“Japan population” or “Nobel Peace Prize” or “poison ivy” or whatever we want to know. But knowing how to Google something doesn't make us search experts; there's much more we can do to access the massive collective knowledge available online. In The Joy of Search, Daniel Russell shows us how to be great online researchers. We don't have to be computer geeks or a scholar searching out obscure facts; we just need to know some basic methods. Russell demonstrates these methods with step-by-step searches for answers to a series of intriguing questions—from “what is the wrong side of a towel?” to “what is the most likely way you will die?” Along the way, readers will discover essential tools for effective online searches—and learn some fascinating facts and interesting stories.
Russell explains how to frame search queries so they will yield information and describes the best ways to use such resources as Google Earth, Google Scholar, Wikipedia, and Wikimedia. He shows when to put search terms in double quotes, how to use the operator (*), why metadata is important, and how to triangulate information from multiple sources. By the end of this engaging journey of discovering, readers will have the definitive answer to why the best online searches involve more than typing a few words into Google.
We all know how to look up something online by typing words into a search engine. We do this so often that we have made the most famous search engine a verb: we Google it—“Japan population” or “Nobel Peace Prize” or “poison ivy” or whatever we want to know. But knowing how to Google something doesn't make us search experts; there's much more we can do to access the massive collective knowledge available online. In The Joy of Search, Daniel Russell shows us how to be great online researchers. We don't have to be computer geeks or a scholar searching out obscure facts; we just need to know some basic methods. Russell demonstrates these methods with step-by-step searches for answers to a series of intriguing questions—from “what is the wrong side of a towel?” to “what is the most likely way you will die?” Along the way, readers will discover essential tools for effective online searches—and learn some fascinating facts and interesting stories.
Russell explains how to frame search queries so they will yield information and describes the best ways to use such resources as Google Earth, Google Scholar, Wikipedia, and Wikimedia. He shows when to put search terms in double quotes, how to use the operator (*), why metadata is important, and how to triangulate information from multiple sources. By the end of this engaging journey of discovering, readers will have the definitive answer to why the best online searches involve more than typing a few words into Google.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2019
159 people are currently reading
497 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 19, 2019
I do lots of research for work, and am always looking for ways to better my skills. Each chapter in this book presents a question, and Russell walks us along his steps to research the answer. Some of this was mildly interesting. Along the way he gives insight into his Google searching and general researching techniques. I highlighted a few tricks I want to remember. My best takeaway was using the other languages in Wikipedia to find, at times, better information than the English version.
Overall though, the useful information I picked up was limited. I would gear this more towards a novice, perhaps a middle or high school student getting more serious with researching. That said, it is worth reading this, even if you just pick up a few snippets. I'll at least see a marginal improvement in my skills!
Overall though, the useful information I picked up was limited. I would gear this more towards a novice, perhaps a middle or high school student getting more serious with researching. That said, it is worth reading this, even if you just pick up a few snippets. I'll at least see a marginal improvement in my skills!
May 24, 2021
In 2019, Netflix released a crime documentary called "Don't Fuck with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer". If you have not seen this show yet, let me give you Google's synopsis - A twisted criminal's gruesome videos drive a group of amateur online sleuths to launch a risky manhunt that brings them into a dark underworld. Focus on the words "a group of amateur online sleuths".
All the crimes showed in this documentary did not catch nearly as much of my attention as the tricks and techniques employed by these amateur online detectives to hunt the killer. It was very impressive how many details about the criminal, they were able to find just by sitting home and googling things.
You may be wondering why I am writing about a Netflix documentary here on this website. Well, around the same year Google's senior research scientist for Search Quality and User Happiness ( Who dafuq puts Happiness on a Job title) wrote this book - The Joy of Search. And I can bet most of these online detectives will cherish this book because it's all about effective google searching.
The Internet has become such an integral part of our lives that today the term "Literacy" does not just entail reading, writing and arithmetic but also requires researching ability on the internet.
Effective Google searching will not only save you time when surfing the infinite cyberspace but also help you access higher quality content, faster than anyone else, which in my opinion is a considerable advantage.
Btw, this is one of those books that started as a blog by the author and then got expanded into a book. The blog is called SearchResearch and it is still very active and helpful.
Another good thing about being able to get a satisfying answer from the internet is that it will reward your curiosity and keep the flame of awe and wonder about the real world burning.
You be able to answer for all kind of questions such as - What exact types of plants are growing in your neighbourhood? What historical event happened in your local town? Where on Earth was a certain picture taken?
The book is divided into 18 questions as chapters, where the author in an attempt to find the answers walks us through his strategies and techniques. The Book separates the investigation details for a given question from research lessons gathered from the chapter. Hence, if you are not interested in the author's investigation and want to skip it, you still won't miss out on the research lessons learnt from this chapter. The last 2 chapters (Chpt 19 and 20) are different from the previous chapter as they speak about Behaviours, Attitudes and Rule of Thumbs for being a great researcher
In my opinion, there last two chapters are gold.
Overall, I loved this book and I can't really pick anything to complain about this book, (which is rare). Definitely recommended.
All the crimes showed in this documentary did not catch nearly as much of my attention as the tricks and techniques employed by these amateur online detectives to hunt the killer. It was very impressive how many details about the criminal, they were able to find just by sitting home and googling things.
You may be wondering why I am writing about a Netflix documentary here on this website. Well, around the same year Google's senior research scientist for Search Quality and User Happiness ( Who dafuq puts Happiness on a Job title) wrote this book - The Joy of Search. And I can bet most of these online detectives will cherish this book because it's all about effective google searching.
The Internet has become such an integral part of our lives that today the term "Literacy" does not just entail reading, writing and arithmetic but also requires researching ability on the internet.
Effective Google searching will not only save you time when surfing the infinite cyberspace but also help you access higher quality content, faster than anyone else, which in my opinion is a considerable advantage.
Btw, this is one of those books that started as a blog by the author and then got expanded into a book. The blog is called SearchResearch and it is still very active and helpful.
Another good thing about being able to get a satisfying answer from the internet is that it will reward your curiosity and keep the flame of awe and wonder about the real world burning.
You be able to answer for all kind of questions such as - What exact types of plants are growing in your neighbourhood? What historical event happened in your local town? Where on Earth was a certain picture taken?
The book is divided into 18 questions as chapters, where the author in an attempt to find the answers walks us through his strategies and techniques. The Book separates the investigation details for a given question from research lessons gathered from the chapter. Hence, if you are not interested in the author's investigation and want to skip it, you still won't miss out on the research lessons learnt from this chapter. The last 2 chapters (Chpt 19 and 20) are different from the previous chapter as they speak about Behaviours, Attitudes and Rule of Thumbs for being a great researcher
In my opinion, there last two chapters are gold.
Overall, I loved this book and I can't really pick anything to complain about this book, (which is rare). Definitely recommended.
June 18, 2020
Given the author’s obvious expertise and affable style, and the broad relevance of the subject matter, I was surprised at how much I disliked reading this book. The book is a series of vignettes, with each of the first 18 of 20 chapters discussing a particular search, usually a question that came up in conversation or in the author’s travels. The style is borderline stream of consciousness, with occasionally useful insights mixed in with a lot of random forking paths and rabbit holes of a variety most amateur compulsive researchers will be familiar with. I think the book could have benefited from some aggressive editing. Reading it felt a bit like watching a very clever and excited college student explaining a variety of randomly chosen topics that, with few exceptions, don’t reward this level of interest. The book finally finds some focus in the last two chapters, which I would recommend to anyone. They’re well structured and contain very nearly all of the actionable suggestions for how to be a more effective researcher.
November 8, 2022
I found this book through a recommendation in a YouTube video by Giles McMullen (Python Programmer channel)
How to Google like a pro. 10 methods you (probably) don't know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_c-e...
This book is based on the author's blog SearchReSearch https://searchresearch1.blogspot.com/ which has many "Search Journeys/stories" like those in the book.
How to Google like a pro. 10 methods you (probably) don't know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_c-e...
This book is based on the author's blog SearchReSearch https://searchresearch1.blogspot.com/ which has many "Search Journeys/stories" like those in the book.
August 14, 2022
The “tips” seemed obvious to me. I can sum it up as “be persistent and don’t believe everything you read.”
October 11, 2019
The Joy of Search is such a humanistic look into such a technical topic. Each chapter really read like a mystery-- I loved the images and using them to follow Dan's line of thinking. I also enjoyed his story approach, and the parallels to education and students is so strong. I look forward at using some of his strategies in my teaching. His curiosity is contagious -- you'll put it down with your own crazy questions and, now, be equipped to better find the answers. His nod to the future and how these skills will be timeless is so important right now, too!
January 31, 2021
Daniel Russell is a Senior Research Scientist for Search Quality & User Happiness at Google. In The Joy of Search, each chapter is dedicated to a strategy for improving a wide range of searches, focusing on Google tools (Google Scholar, Google Books, Google Maps, etc.). What I liked best about this book- apart from the excellent examples and photos of his search strategies, is the way that he frames the behaviors of great searchers and the attitudes of great researchers (the latter connects perfectly with ATL skills- for any IB-teachers / librarians out there reading this). Each chapter ends with a "Research lessons" set of tips (key take-aways from the chapter), and a "Try This Yourself" challenge, which would be great to use with students of any age (with some adapting as needed).
January 7, 2021
This book should be required reading for librarians. Most of the skills Mr. Russell espouses a good researcher must have are skills that librarians have been using for decades. Here's some of the highlights from my notes:
There should be a 4 R to go along with Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmatic, Research (p. 1).
Research is not just an activity but is also a frame of mind. (paraphrase of top of p.6)
“If you take ten seconds to write down your question BEFORE you start your research process, you’ll find your process is much, much more effective.” (7)
General Note- Use Google Books (and then the library) for sure fire authoritative sources and Google Scholar (and then the JSTOR sub of the library?) for scholarly work sources.
From Chapter 4: If you put one word in a phrase in quotes, you’ll turn off the Did You Mean function of snagging different spellings of that word.
Chapter 6: Googling “number of deaths per year in US” and “how many people die each year in the US” can give you two different numbers because they can bring answers back from different sources. The lesson here is to delve deeper into the authority of the source and also examine how (and when) they get their number. Also finding how a source gets it’s info can help you avoid a false corroboration. Ex: The UN and The CDC death totals are the same because the UN gets the totals from the CDC
Use the * to use one search phrase to get info that comes in a boilerplate format. Ex: “in 2015 total number of * resident deaths” to get stats of residents deaths from different countries.
Chapter 7: Wikipedia had starred articles that a group of editors finds particularly well done. For
There should be a 4 R to go along with Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmatic, Research (p. 1).
Research is not just an activity but is also a frame of mind. (paraphrase of top of p.6)
“If you take ten seconds to write down your question BEFORE you start your research process, you’ll find your process is much, much more effective.” (7)
General Note- Use Google Books (and then the library) for sure fire authoritative sources and Google Scholar (and then the JSTOR sub of the library?) for scholarly work sources.
From Chapter 4: If you put one word in a phrase in quotes, you’ll turn off the Did You Mean function of snagging different spellings of that word.
Chapter 6: Googling “number of deaths per year in US” and “how many people die each year in the US” can give you two different numbers because they can bring answers back from different sources. The lesson here is to delve deeper into the authority of the source and also examine how (and when) they get their number. Also finding how a source gets it’s info can help you avoid a false corroboration. Ex: The UN and The CDC death totals are the same because the UN gets the totals from the CDC
Use the * to use one search phrase to get info that comes in a boilerplate format. Ex: “in 2015 total number of * resident deaths” to get stats of residents deaths from different countries.
Chapter 7: Wikipedia had starred articles that a group of editors finds particularly well done. For
June 19, 2025
If you know very little about how to search well on Google (he exclusively refers to Google as a current employee), or research skills this is an excellent book. I appreciated how the author walked us through from research question to finding the information to answer the question. He situates the question in a narrative context for interest, but the skills he outlines are useful. He often summarises the skills learned in that chapter at the end of the chapter. I will be using this as a skeleton for teaching students some of this deeper research skills.
Note: I am also reading “Algorithms of Oppression”, and while Russell doesn’t really tackle this side of searching there were a couple of implied comments that suggested Google is less economic or bias driven than I have learned from that book.
Note: I am also reading “Algorithms of Oppression”, and while Russell doesn’t really tackle this side of searching there were a couple of implied comments that suggested Google is less economic or bias driven than I have learned from that book.
March 31, 2021
This book had helpful tips but I think after getting about halfway through I realized that what I really wanted was a Google Guide to the basics, and not one on going beyond the basics. Still, good to get a better handle on some of the boolean operators, and there are some tips here and there I can still see myself using.
Honestly, I think doing work as a research scientist and editorial author had already prepared me with a lot of the overarching tips that the book contained so I started feeling quickly bored. I'm already a big library fan, so I didn't need to be cajoled into being willing to look into interlibrary loan or talk with archivists. I can ask a librarian for help, I was hoping that this book would give me more info about what I could manage to achieve from home before having to get to the library or the wider world.
Honestly, I think doing work as a research scientist and editorial author had already prepared me with a lot of the overarching tips that the book contained so I started feeling quickly bored. I'm already a big library fan, so I didn't need to be cajoled into being willing to look into interlibrary loan or talk with archivists. I can ask a librarian for help, I was hoping that this book would give me more info about what I could manage to achieve from home before having to get to the library or the wider world.
March 30, 2021
very worthwhile read, engaging examples, enjoyable. would have been 4 stars but needs an editor (or a new one) for some punctuation, organization, and wording clarity issues here and there - perhaps for a welcome updated edition in a few years? and Mr. Russell, please lose the snarky comment about the term "Native American" being "politically correct."
May 15, 2021
Great explanations and examples of the principles of searching. Russell is plain spoken and relatable, making him highly quotable for use with my students, for whom the imprimatur of Google carries weight. I started quoting passages from this book during research instruction shortly after I started reading it.
January 18, 2020
Started reading with high expectation ... the author uses different search examples to reveal the methods. The initial few chapters did provide certain tricks useful, after that it became not much interesting to me, especially for the kinds of search I consider not likely applicable for me.
September 6, 2022
Simple Search Engine
This was an interesting book on Google search.
I use it constantly throughout the day, every day!
A lot I already knew about, but it was nice to read a book on the joy of searching.
3.9/5
This was an interesting book on Google search.
I use it constantly throughout the day, every day!
A lot I already knew about, but it was nice to read a book on the joy of searching.
3.9/5
February 18, 2020
Insightful, fun narrative on the joy of exploring the internet and researching the internet memory called Google.
April 21, 2020
Short review (in Dutch) https://alimolenaar.nl/stukjes/thuis-...
December 2, 2020
Inside is an intriguing lesson in forming queries, searching resources and tips for anyone curious. Following the author along his searches was a fun road trip without having to leave the room.
January 8, 2022
Not worth the time to read. Just talks about how to use google. Basic.
June 9, 2022
Great resource
August 2, 2022
Literally somebody telling you how he searched for things on Google.
September 10, 2022
I have to say there was no joy in 'The Joy of the Search.' It's just not practical.
March 30, 2023
It is quite interesting to read the book and playing the questions inside with chatGPT. I am looking forward to a sequel on search with chat bot.
March 26, 2024
Really fun to read--or boring, if you're not a huge nerd. Could've been a little more detailed for already-proficient searchers, or more explicit for newbies. Overall pretty good.
August 3, 2024
Not as useful as I'd imagined. Fairly boring with some useful resources here and there.
February 13, 2025
60% obvious, 20% an add for google, 20% new things I learned. Worth it for the 20%.
August 22, 2023
The other 2 star reviews is very good...
I might add this book seems to be one hundred pages too long.
I might add this book seems to be one hundred pages too long.
June 10, 2023
This book provides various examples that illustrate important principles in search. One advantage of this approach is that readers can easily figure out why the principles matter by going through the examples. One disadvantage, however, is that the examples may not appeal to readers because they may just don’t care about the research questions in these examples. Specifically, I have background in finance, but I saw few examples about finance, thereby making me merely skim some of the examples. If the author had provided research questions in different fields as additional examples or exercises, readers might feel more engaged in this book.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews