Free lesson with a practice sheet
Searching the web and checking sources
Choose good keywords, read search results wisely, and check who wrote a page, when, and whether other sources agree before you trust it.
Let us begin
The big idea
The web has more pages than anyone could ever read, and not all of them are true. A search engine helps you find pages, but you must decide which ones to trust. This lesson shows you how to search well and how to check what you find.
A search engine is a website that keeps a huge index of other pages. When you type words, it shows pages that match. Short, exact keywords work best: "largest planet solar system" finds better results than "can you please tell me which is the biggest planet". Putting a phrase in quotation marks asks for those exact words together.
The results page is a list of links with a title and a short snippet each. The first results are not always the best. Some are advertisements, marked with the word Ad or Sponsored. Read the title and the website address before you click.
To check a page, ask four questions. Who wrote it: a known organisation, a school, a museum, a newspaper, or an unknown person? When was it written: is it recent enough for the topic? Why was it written: to inform, to sell something, or to make you angry? Do other good sources say the same thing?
Website addresses give clues. Addresses ending in .gov.in or .nic.in belong to the Government of India, .ac.in and .edu.in are used by educational institutions, and .org is often used by non-profit groups. Anyone can buy a .com or .in address, so those need more checking. If something seems too amazing to be true, check it in two more places before believing it.
Worked examples
See how it works
Choosing keywords
Question: what is the height of Mount Everest? Weak search: "how tall is that really big mountain in the Himalayas". Better search: "Mount Everest height metres". The result 8,849 metres appears on survey and encyclopedia pages, and several sources agree.
Comparing two pages
Page A about the water cycle is on a science museum site, written last year, with the author named and a list of references. Page B is on a personal blog, has no date, no author and many pop-up advertisements. Page A is far more trustworthy. Page B might still be right, but you must check it.
Spotting a trick
A page says "Scientists prove chocolate cures all illness, share before it is deleted!". Warning signs: a huge claim, no named scientist, a push to share quickly, and no other source reports it. This is almost certainly false.
Try it at home
The source detective
You will need
- Paper and a pencil
- Any three printed things in the house: a newspaper, a textbook page, a leaflet or advertisement
What to do
Draw a table with four columns: Who wrote it, When, Why, and Would I trust it for homework.
Fill in a row for each printed item. The advertisement is written to sell, the textbook to teach, the newspaper to inform (and sometimes to entertain).
Pick one fact from the newspaper. Where else could you check it? Write two places.
Now write three good search keywords for a homework question you have this week, without extra words like "please" or "tell me".
If an adult allows it, try your keywords online together and apply the four questions to the first result.
Going online should be done with a parent or guardian present, with safe search switched on.
Practice sheet
Check what you learned
Practice sheet: Searching the web and checking sources (Classes 6-8, Computers and coding)
- What does a search engine do?
- Which search is better: "please tell me about elephants in India" or "Indian elephant habitat"? Why?
- What do quotation marks around a phrase do in a search?
- What does the label Ad or Sponsored next to a result mean?
- List the four questions for checking a page.
- Which address ending belongs to the Government of India?
- A page has no author, no date and asks you to share it quickly. Is it trustworthy?
- Why should you check an amazing claim in two more places?
- Are the first results on the page always the best?
- Give one clue that a page was written to sell something.
Answer key
Answers: Searching the web and checking sources
- It keeps an index of web pages and shows the pages that match the words you type.
- "Indian elephant habitat", because short exact keywords match better than a long sentence.
- They ask for those exact words together, in that order.
- Someone paid to have that result shown; it is an advertisement.
- Who wrote it, when was it written, why was it written, and do other sources agree.
- .gov.in (also .nic.in).
- No; those are warning signs, so it should not be trusted without checking.
- Because a single page can be wrong or made up; if good sources agree it is much more likely to be true.
- No; some are advertisements and others may be poor pages, so read the title and address first.
- Any of: lots of advertisements, a Buy now button, prices, or praise for one product only.