It is not possible to be an independent learner without being able to search for information and find things out by ourselves. This is a skill which needs to be practised. This page is here to help you become and independent researcher.
Let's say you've 'Googled' something. A list of websites come up on the screen. You visit the first one on the list. How do you know if the information you are reading is either useful or reliable? Is it up-to-date or obsolete?
If you're copying and pasting something (more the fool you), do you understand what the words actually mean? Are you able to synthesise the information for your own purposes?
You should get into the habit of using more than one search engine (as they each have their own strengths and weaknesses) and cross-check your facts by visiting and collecting information from more than one site.
Three of the most common, powerful search engines are listed at the top of this page and you can search them directly from here.
This poster from www.kathleenmorris.com will help you decide. Click on the following drop-down text for more information.
You should get in the habit of trying different search engines as they each have their own strengths and weaknesses.
If you just 'Google' everything and only look at the first page of results, you are seriously limiting your research. Remember to go to more than one source so that you can check its reliability.
A search engine is a website with a unique search 'algorithm' (set of instructions) connected to a huge database of websites. When the user inserts a search term a page is returned with web content mapped from the database. These days a lot of search results are distorted in favour of content from sites that pay to have their content appear towards the top of a search result. Cookies also pay a large role in affecting search results.
An encyclopedia was traditionally a large book with an A to Z of facts. A good printed encyclopedia could have up to 50,000 articles in it. These days web-based encyclopedia have much more content and are able to expand on each article to include multimedia such as pictures and audio & video clips.
You will need to be logged in to your HWB account for this to work.
The first thing you need to do is open the site.
When looking through your Google search results, you may want to open sites in new tabs, leaving their search results in a tab for easy access later (e.g. right-click on the title and click “Open link in new tab”).
It is also sometimes worth looking past the first few results as some websites/webpages are artificially promoted up to the top as they are paid for in order to make them the 'top' result.
Next, skim read the site and determine whether you can read and understand the text. If it’s too complicated or difficult to understand, find another website.
Decide whether this is the sort of site that might provide you with the information you’re looking for. If the site is difficult to navigate, cluttered with ads, or has other red flags like poor spelling or inappropriate content you might want to leave straight away.
Skimming and scanning is the default way most people now consume new content.
A regularly quoted study from Nielsen Norman tells us that 79% of users always scan a new page they come across. Only 16% read word for word.
If you think the site might prove useful, you now need to find out if the information on the site actually answers your question. You could use a search box, navigation menu, or pull up your own search box by pressing Control/Command F. Type in the keywords you’re looking for.
Stop skimming, and read more closely to see if this information is useful to you.
If the information is there, you need to consider the credibility of the author or website. Can you rely on the information?
Here are some things you can look for on the website:
Domain — sometimes domains that include .gov or .edu come from more trustworthy education or government sources. Sites that end in .gov.uk are from United Kingdom government websites.
Author information — look at at the author bio or 'About' page. How qualified is this person? How reputable is this organisation? How do you know?
Design — we can’t judge a book (or website!) by its cover but sites that are cluttered, difficult to navigate, or look amateurish may be worth avoiding.
Sources — trustworthy articles usually link to other sources or cite where their facts come from.
The next step is to think about the purpose of the site and whether it meets your needs.
Is the author trying to make you think a certain way? Are they biased or one-sided?
Are they trying to sell you something? Sometimes ads might not be so obvious, for example, blog posts can be written to promote a product.
Is the author’s tone calm and balanced? Articles fueled by anger or extreme opinions are not going to be the best source of information.
Do the headlines match the article? Or are they simply designed to hook readers?
Is the author trying to educate the audience and present a balanced and factual picture? This is what you usually want.
Finally, it’s important to consider whether the information is current enough for your topic. You can look for when the article was written or it might tell you when it was last updated. Sometimes URLs (Universal Resource Locators - the long web address in the address bar at the top of the browser window) include dates as well.
Does it matter how old an article is? Well, that might depend on your topic. For example, if you’re looking for the latest research on nutrition or a medical condition, the date might be very important. If you’re looking for some facts about workshop hand tools, it might not matter if the information hasn’t been updated in a few years.
As the flowchart above demonstrates, if you’re ever in doubt, just head back to your search results and try again. You might want to alter your search terms based on the results you’re provided with. Sometimes you need to change your keywords or be more specific.
When you overcome all these hurdles and find some information that looks useful and reliable, it can be a good idea to crosscheck the information. So, have a look at a few other websites to see if they corroborate the information you’ve found.
It’s important to remember that you can’t believe everything you read and it’s essential to consider more than one perspective.
