12 Ways to Be More Search Savvy

Google has made it possible for us to have instant information gratification. Just start typing
the first letters of your search word and the site intuits your question and offers you the
smartest choice of answers.
Seems simple enough. But as quick and facile as the process is, there are ways to be even
more efficient, more search-savvy. And its our responsibility to teach kids how to find and
research information, how to judge its veracity, and when its time to ask for a grownups
help. I spoke to Daniel Russell, Googles search anthropologist in charge of Search Quality
and User Happiness (yes, really), who brought to light some important tips you may not have
known.
1. CONTROL F. A deceptively simple tool, the Control F function (or Command F on

Macs) allows you to immediately find the word youre looking for on a page. After
youve typed in your search, you can jump directly to the word or phrase in the search
list. According to Russell, 90 percent of Internet users dont know this, and spend
valuable time scrolling through pages of information trying to find their key word.
Theyre being terribly inefficient, Russell says.
2. KEEP IT SIMPLE. Use search terms the way youd like to see them on a Web site.
But think of how the author would phrase it. Its not about you, its about the author,
Russell says. What would they say and how would they say it? What are some
common terms and phrases theyd write? Its the kind of thing that people over-think
and are hyper-analytical about. Stay on topic and keep it simple.
3. DEFINE OPERATOR. This has to be one of the best items of Googles offerings. To

learn the definition of a word, just type Define, then the word.
4. ONE MORE SEARCH. Its one thing to do a quick search for Lady Gagas birthday.

But for more important questions that have a direct implication on your life, do one
more search. Go deeper and find a second corroborating source, just like a journalist
would. We are a credulous society, Russell says. When you have something you
care about, something youre going to spend a lot of money on, or an issue with your
help, do one extra search. Never single-source anything.
5. FIND THE SOURCE. Russell knows first-hand that Web sites can sometimes

publish false information. Though we all know how to find contact information for an
organization, confirm the phone number, look for the authors names and trustworthy
hallmarks like logos, Russell says the bad guys know that too. Theyre very good at
mimicking credible sources of information. On the site Who.is, searchers can find
details about the source: where its located, when it was established, and the IP
address.
6. CONFIRM CONTENT. Its common to find the same phrases and sentences on

different sites all over the Web because people duplicate content all the time. To
determine the original source of the content, you can look at the date it was written,
but thats also not entirely accurate. When authors edit an article, that changes the
posting date. So even if it was originally written in 2005, the date will say 2011 if it
was edited last week. Again, heres when you put on your journalist hat. Trustworthy

websites typically have an errata column or something like it where mistakes or

corrections are posted. Sites where you see strikethroughs (it looks this) publicly
show where previously published information has been corrected or stricken. Youll
also see Updates at the top of articles, where clarifications are published, which
shows the Web sites intention of providing the most accurate information. Those
idioms were not practicable or doable in pre-technology days, Russell says. You
have to understand how the practice of writing and publishing is changing.
7. LINK OPERATOR. The way Google ranks sites can be confusing. Sometimes even

when a site has negative comments or reviews, it still rises to the top of the search list
simply because its been mentioned the most. When you want to know what other
sites are saying about the site youre searching, type in Link:
www.yourwebsitename.com and youll see all the posts that mention that site.
Whether its following up on a debatable article or the reputation of an online shop or
person, its another incredibly useful research tool that didnt exist in pre-Web
times, as Russell puts it.
8. DONT USE THE + SIGN. It might have negative side effects, Russell says. Adding

the + sign will force the search engine to look for only that phrase and may tweak the
search in a way you didnt intend. That said, its a useful tool for looking up foreign
words or very low-frequency words.
9. PAY ATTENTION TO GOOGLE INSTANT. In most cases, Googles instant

search function, which is fairly new, will accurately predict what youre searching for
and offer suggestions. Pay attention to it, Russell says. You dont need to keep
typing! And sometimes itll help you come up with the right words for your search
phrase. Its all part of tapping into the wisdom of the crowd, he says. Its good when
youre stuck in a hard research problem. Like Which kind of hybrid vehicle should I
buy? might result in hybrid minivans or other ideas you might not have known
about.'
10. SWITCH ON SAFETY MODE. If youve got kids in the house, Russell suggests

enabling safe search. In your Search Settings, scroll down to SafeSearch Filtering (or
use Control F to find it quickly!) and choose what level filter you want to use. You
can tailor it to every computer in the house. Google offers all kinds of safe search tips
and functions on Googles Family Safety Center. And what to tell kids if they
accidentally stumble upon an inappropriate site? I always tell my kids the Internet is
a big, wide place, and if you find something inappropriate, hit the back button, he
says. A teacher he knows tells her class to just instantly close the laptop when they
find something objectionable. Its an instant signal to the teacher in a K-8 class that
something is not right, and it gives the teacher the opportunity to talk about how the
student got there, and how to avoid that in the future. The tactic might not work as
well in the high school setting, though, Russell jokes.
11. FUNCTIONS GALORE. You can use Google to do calculations (just type in

Square root of 99 or Convert 12 inches to mm). You can search patents, images,
videos, language translations. And even if you cant remember a Google function, you
can easily search it. I use Google to Google Google, Russell says. You dont have
to remember URLs.
12. LEFT-HAND SIDE TOOLS. Most people dont notice these exist, but when you

search a topic, a list of useful, interesting tools come up. For example, when you type

in War of 1812, on the left hand side, youll see Images, Videos, etc., but below
that youll see things like Timeline, which maps out a time sequence of events
around the War of 1812 and links to each of those events. Theres also a dictionary,
related searches, and a slew of other helpful links.

How to Choose the Right Words for Best Search Results

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/02/21/how-to-choose-theright-words-for-best-search-results/
Dear Savvy Searcher,
My students keep wanting to enter their entire research question into the search bar. I keep
trying to tell them thats a bad idea. How do you teach students to identify the right words to
use in a search?
Frustrated Educator

The 6 Online Research Skills Your Students Need

1. Check Your Sources
The Skill: Evaluating information found in your sources on the basis of accuracy, validity,
appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context
The Challenge: While most kids know not to believe everything they read online, the
majority also dont take the time to fully evaluate their sources, according to the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The same study showed that, on average, kids as young
as 11 rate themselves as quite proficient Internet users, which may inflate their confidence.
The Solution: As a class, discuss the benchmarks for evaluating a website: currency (Is the
information up to date?), security (Does the site ask for too much personal information or
prompt virus warnings?), scope (Is the information in-depth?), and authority (Does the
information come from a trusted expert?). Challenge partners to find one site that meets these
benchmarks and one site that fails to do so. During research projects, encourage students to
check the benchmarks off a list for each of the sources they use.

2. Ask Good Questions

The Skills: Developing and refining search queries to get better research results
The Challenge: Students will enter a search term, say, Abraham Lincoln, and comb
through pages of results that arent related to their research (think Lincoln beards, Lincoln
Logs), rather than narrowing their original query (Lincoln assassination).

The Solution: Give small groups three search terms each, ranging from the general to the
specific (e.g., national parks, Yellowstone, and Yellowstone founding date). Ask the
groups to record how many results are returned for each term. Discuss how specificity can
narrow their search to the results they need. Next, challenge groups to come up with three
alternate search terms for the most specific item on their lists. (For the Yellowstone example,
alternate terms might include When was Yellowstone founded? history of Yellowstone
and Who founded Yellowstone?) Compare the results and discuss how changing a few
words can generate different information.

3. Go Beyond the Surface

The Skill: Displaying persistence by continuing to pursue information to gain a broad
perspective
The Challenge: Studies have shown that when using a search engine, kids often stop at the
first search result, which they deem the most trustworthy.
The Solution: Invite students to create fact trees about whatever they are researching. The
starting question is the root of the tree for example, How many planets are in the Milky
Way? Then, on branches coming out from the tree, students write facts or pieces of
information that answer the question (Scientists dont know the exact number, There
could be billions). The catch is that each fact must come from a separate, documented
source. Encourage students to find at least 10 sources of information to complete their fact
trees.

4. Be Patient
The Skill: Displaying emotional resilience by persisting in information searching despite
challenges
The Challenge: Todays students are used to information on demand. So when they cant
find the answers to their questions after theyve spent a few minutes poking around online,
they may grow frustrated and throw in the towel.
The Solution: Challenge teams to come up with a well-researched answer to a question that
isnt Google-able. Opinion questions about popular culture work well for this activity. For
example, Whos the best actor ever to have played James Bond? Which band is better: the
Jonas Brothers or Justin Bieber? Encourage teams to use a wide variety of sources in
answering their questions, including what others have said, box office receipts, and awards.
Determine a winner based on which team presents the most convincing case.

5. Respect Ownership
The Skill: Respecting intellectual property rights of creators and producers
The Challenge: Increasingly, young people dont see piracy as stealing. One survey found
that 86 percent of teens felt music piracy was morally acceptable.

The Solution: Make it personal. Invite students to write about what it would feel like to get a
record deal, star in a movie, or have a book published. As a class, discuss the emotions
involved. Then introduce the idea of piracy. Ask, How would you feel if someone
downloaded your music, movie, or book without paying for it? You might also talk about
how it would feel to not get paid for other types of work, such as working in an office or a
school. How is piracy similar? How is it different?

6. Use Your Networks

The Skill: Using social networks and information tools to gather and share information
The Challenge: Some kids dont understand the line between sharing information and
plagiarizing it. A survey by plagiarism-prevention firm Turnitin found that the most widely
used sources for cribbed material are sites like Facebook, Wikipedia, and Ask.com.
The Solution: Talk to kids about when you might use social sites for research. Provide a list
of topics and have partners decide whether it would be a good idea to use these tools.
Suggested topics: your familys countries of origin, the life of Alexander the Great, and the
events of September 11, 2001. What could members of your network contribute to each of
these discussions? How wouldnt they be helpful? How would you include information that
friends and family share in your work?
Also explain that Wikipedia must be evaluated like any other website. In particular, students
should focus on the sources cited in a Wikipedia article and ensure these sources are
legitimate. You might have small groups analyze all of the sources for one Wikipedia article
for currency, authority, scope, and security. Emphasize that its usually better to go back to
the original source than to quote directly from Wikipedia.