Basic Search Engine Etiquette
Embedded Files
The problem: Ineffective habits in personal research, including zero-click search, surface-level engagement with complex topics, and imprecise search query composition.
Objectives: Learners will routinize conscious search engine habits, including limited zero-click searches, verification of information reliability, and enhanced search query precision.
This training offers guidance for deciding when—and how—to engage with high-impact topics during personal research.
Considerations within this topic
This eLearning project showcases my approach to a behavior-based issue, where it takes some intentionality to minimize the potential patronizing undertone. Each of the guidelines in this eLearning experience are delivered in ways that honor user judgement or expertise.
For example, I believe that most learners will arrive with an existing understanding of the abstract consequences possible in a world dominated by the zero-click search. So, to justify the focus on this topic, I aim to hook the learner by showcasing an engaging example of a zero-click search consequence.
Short story about a zero-click search mishap.
The SERP (search engine results page) referenced during the incident.
A Zero-Click Search Story
A Zero-Click Search Story
The training kicks off with a tangible example of a zero-click search gone wrong. Based on a true story, a traveler finds herself restricted from boarding the plane for her tropical vacation. She didn't bring a passport—and according to her zero-click research, this traveler believed she wouldn't need one. It turns out, she found her information in a featured snippet, but never clicked the link to view its surrounding context. This story attempts to hook the learner while illustrating a key concept.
Storyboarding
While conducting research about the trends and impacts of search engine user behaviors, I drafted a selection of conceptual issues that could be approached by eLearning solutions. The eLearning result is a blend of content-delivery and interactivity, which is embedded with practical takeaways.
Elements of Engagement
A 3-question survey guides a learner to reflect on the role of search engines in their life, before continuing to explore the concepts presented in the training.
An optional drag-and-drop "timeline" activity acknowledges the rapid evolution that led search engines to play their monumental role in contemporary global society.
To verify the learner's comprehension of the issues possible during a zero-click search, they are prompted to identify "what went wrong" on a short series of search engine results pages (SERPs).
Each of the presented SERPs demonstrate consequential scenarios that occurred in real life. This serves as a prerequisite for the next exercise, when a learner is asked to make decisions about what sorts of queries make for appropriate or inappropriate zero-click searches.
Then, the learner is presented with a self-paced gallery of search-refining tools that can enhance their search query composition. After viewing, they are prompted to decide which refinement tools will be most useful in a variety of search query scenarios.
By the closing of this experience, a learner is offered some practical guidelines for better engagement with high-impact personal research.
Job Aid Downloads
These resources are available to learners at the eLearning conclusion.
Why "etiquette?"
Why "etiquette?"
"Etiquette" is an intentional descriptor of the topics in this training. It isn't about "rules." Etiquette describes the customary code of appropriate behavior, within a given setting—and this training provides learners an exercise in choosing the behaviors to apply during a variety of personal research contexts. Our individual behaviors matter because they have collective implications, so we can (and should) have customary expectations for the ways that people engage with high-impact search queries.
Google Sites
Report abuse