Latest Obsession: The Wonder Wheel
Sitting in Laura Christianson’s Google workshop at Mount Hermon, my new buddy Carrie and I turned to each other, mouths hanging open. Laura had just introduced us to Google’s Wonder Wheel. Aptly named.
The Wonder Wheel has dual appeal – if you’re a visual learner (like I am), you’ll love this thing. But even if you’re not, it’s the perfect tool to use when you’re not exactly sure what you need to Google. Basically, the Wheel gives you a visual representation of your search term. Clustered around the main term are spokes, each containing a more refined (or related) term that will help you narrow your search. These items are grouped by topic, not by popularity like a normal Google search. You get to follow these spokes for as long as you like, then revert back to list form. It’s extremely useful for research.
You’ll see in my enlarged screen capture below that I’ve arrived upon the search term “battle ready swords.” (Yes, this is something I’d actually Google while doing book research.) I started at medieval weapons, then followed a spoke to medieval swords, then onto what you see in the shot. Genius, right? And it’s easy as anything to use.
Simply go to Google.com, then enter your broad search term. The usual list of results will come up. Then go to the left-hand column along the side where there are a bunch of Google’s hyperlinks and click on “Wonder Wheel.” (You may find this under “More search options” if you don’t see it right away.) Voila. When your search is narrow enough and you’re ready to see the sites, you can click on “Show all results,” also on the left, and you’ll go back to listed results but using your more refined search term (or you can use the abbreviated list of results that Google provides to the right of the Wonder Wheel graphic).
I’m just waiting for the rest of the world to discover this nifty tool. Then maybe we’ll turn it into a verb, like we have with Google. “I have a major research paper due tomorrow and I haven’t even started. I’ll be doing some serious Wonder-Wheeling tonight.”
Posted in: Latest Obsession
Your new buddy Carrie says, “Heck Ya!” This tool will revolutionize my research. And it was just sitting there all this time.
Carrie!!
I know, right? Such a cool thing. I showed it to my mom the other day and she said, “This is free?” lol Yes, Mom. It’s free.
Hi Lindsay,
Carrie just informed me that you had done a post about the Wonder Wheel. Good for you!
May I have your permission to reprint this as a guest post on my blog? I figure, why invent the (Wonder) Wheel if you’ve already written about it?!
Laura
Absolutely! Just let me know what (if anything) you need from me.
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