There is a saying - 'just because you read it in the newspapers, it doesn't mean it is true'. It is equally true about information from any source. Probably the most reliable sources of information are text books. These have been written by experts and double checked for accuracy. But a lot of research that you do for your school projects will now involve an Internet search. Some students see Internet research as being the quick and simple way of finding information for projects and homework. When done properly, it is no easier or harder than researching in a library. Internet information... Show more There is a saying - 'just because you read it in the newspapers, it doesn't mean it is true'. It is equally true about information from any source. Probably the most reliable sources of information are text books. These have been written by experts and double checked for accuracy. But a lot of research that you do for your school projects will now involve an Internet search. Some students see Internet research as being the quick and simple way of finding information for projects and homework. When done properly, it is no easier or harder than researching in a library. Internet information can be a lot less reliable than books - it is considerably more difficult to write a book than to create a web site! Checking how reliable and accurate Internet information is, is not aways simple. If the site is an authority site such as a Government site (.gov.uk), it must be accurate, reliable and without bias by law. Sites like revision websites should be accurate and reliable too. You should find information on several sites, look at the points they have in common and ignore points that are opinion. What is left is most likely to be the reliable and accurate information on the subject. Search Engines You use a search engine to find websites related to your topic. There are a lot of different search engines but most people use just one! A search engine uses software that automatically visits websites and 'reads' their contents. The information is then stored in the search engine's database. When someone types a query into a search engine, its software looks through the database and finds which sites are related to the query. It then uses a set of instructions to automatically decide which of the sites are the most relevant from the hundreds of millions contained in its database. Search engine software tries to understand what you are looking for. It has no intelligence and so the results are not always useful. When searching, there are several different techniques you can use to get better results. If you want to find a site about data validation software, if you place the phrase within speech marks, most search engines will then find any sites that contain the exact phrase. Any words that you don't want to see can be removed from the results by adding the minus sign e.g. -USA would tell the search engine not to show you sites containing 'USA'. Using these negative keywords can make your searches produce much better results. Show less
There is a saying - 'just because you read it in the newspapers, it doesn't mean it is true'. It is equally true about information from any source. Probably the most reliable sources of information are text books. These have been written by experts and double checked for accuracy.
But a lot of research that you do for your school projects will now involve an Internet search. Some students see Internet research as being the quick and simple way of finding information for projects and homework. When done properly, it is no easier or harder than researching in a library. Internet information can be a lot less reliable than books - it is considerably more difficult to write a book than to create a web site!
Checking how reliable and accurate Internet information is, is not aways simple. If the site is an authority site such as a Government site (.gov.uk), it must be accurate, reliable and without bias by law. Sites like revision websites should be accurate and reliable too. You should find information on several sites, look at the points they have in common and ignore points that are opinion. What is left is most likely to be the reliable and accurate information on the subject.
Search Engines
You use a search engine to find websites related to your topic. There are a lot of different search engines but most people use just one! A search engine uses software that automatically visits websites and 'reads' their contents. The information is then stored in the search engine's database. When someone types a query into a search engine, its software looks through the database and finds which sites are related to the query. It then uses a set of instructions to automatically decide which of the sites are the most relevant from the hundreds of millions contained in its database.
Search engine software tries to understand what you are looking for. It has no intelligence and so the results are not always useful. When searching, there are several different techniques you can use to get better results.
If you want to find a site about data validation software, if you place the phrase within speech marks, most search engines will then find any sites that contain the exact phrase. Any words that you don't want to see can be removed from the results by adding the minus sign e.g. -USA would tell the search engine not to show you sites containing 'USA'. Using these negative keywords can make your searches produce much better results.
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