Search Strategies

Search Stragies

Good research starts with a good search. Here are some strategies to help you find better information faster.

Choose your source type wisely

Not all websites are equal. Sites ending in .edu (schools), .gov (government), and .org (organizations) are often more reliable than random websites. For school research, library databases, like Britannica or ProQuest, are even better than Google because everything in them has already been checked for accuracy. It is always a good idea to use the library database instead of Google for school research, or start with Google for the broad ideas and then narrow your focus with databases.

When you use a search engine (like Google)

• Use quotation marks to search an exact phrase ("water cycle steps")

• Use keywords instead of full questions (search for water cycle evaporation instead of how does the water cycle work?)

• Narrow results by date in Google

Wikipedia is a starting point, not a final source

Wikipedia can be a helpful way to get an overview of a topic, but anyone can edit it, so it may contain mistakes. Instead of citing Wikipedia, scroll to the bottom of the page and check its sources, those are often great articles and books you can cite instead.

Reverse image search to verify photos

If you're not sure whether an image is real or has been taken out of context, you can right-click it in Google Chrome and select Search image. This shows you where else the image has appeared online.

Evaluate every source before you use it

Before you trust a source, ask yourself: Who wrote this, and why? When was it published? Does it back up its claims with evidence? Is it trying to sell me something or change my opinion? If you can't answer these questions confidently, find a different source.

Finding Good Sources

Not every source you find online is worth using. Learning how to evaluate sources is one of the most important research skills you can build. Two helpful tools for checking a source are the CRAAP Test and S.I.F.T.

The CRAAP Test

Use these five questions to decide if a source is worth using:

Currency: How recent is it? For most school topics, look for sources published within the last five to ten years. Science and current events need the most up-to-date information you can find.

Relevance: Does it actually answer your question? Make sure the source covers your specific topic, not just something related to it. Ask yourself: would my teacher consider this a good source for this assignment?

Authority: Who created it? Look for an author's name, their credentials, or the organization behind the site. A doctor writing about medicine or a university publishing research is more trustworthy than an anonymous blog post.

Accuracy: Can you verify the information? Good sources back up their claims with evidence, data, or links to other credible sources. If a site makes big claims without any proof, be skeptical.

Purpose: Why does this source exist? Was it created to inform, to sell something, to entertain, or to persuade? Understanding the purpose helps you recognize bias. A company's website about its own product, for example, is not a neutral source.

S.I.F.T.

S.I.F.T. is a quick set of moves you can use the moment you land on a new source or see something shared online.

Stop: Before you read, share, or use anything, pause. Ask yourself whether you recognize this source and whether you already have strong feelings about the topic. Strong reactions, either positive or negative, are a sign to slow down and check carefully.

Investigate the source: Before you read the article, find out who is behind it. Open a new tab and search the name of the website or author. A quick search can tell you a lot about whether a source is trustworthy before you invest time reading it.

Find better coverage: If you're not sure about a claim, look for other sources that report the same thing. If only one website is saying something, that's a red flag. Reliable information is usually confirmed by multiple credible sources.

Trace claims, quotes, and media: Go back to the original source. Many articles summarize or paraphrase other sources, sometimes inaccurately. If a source cites a study or quotes someone, find that original study or quote to make sure it's being represented fairly.

Understanding results

Finding sources is only half the job. Knowing what you're looking at when results come up is just as important.

Ads vs. real results The first few results on a Google search are often ads, not the best answers to your question. Ads are marked with a small "Sponsored" label. Scroll past them to find organic results — pages that showed up because they matched your search, not because someone paid for them.

The difference between websites, articles, and databases A website is a general collection of pages published by a person, company, or organization. Quality varies widely. An article is a piece of writing published in a magazine, newspaper, or journal — these usually have an author, a date, and an editor who checked the content. A database (like Britannica, ProQuest, or your library's catalog) is a curated collection of articles and books that have already been reviewed for accuracy. For school research, databases are almost always more reliable than a general website.

What the URL can tell you The web address of a page gives you clues about who published it. A .gov address means it's a U.S. government site. A .edu address means it's a school or university. A .org address usually means a nonprofit organization, though anyone can register one, so still evaluate it carefully. A .com address just means it's a commercial site — which covers everything from news organizations to personal blogs.

Featured snippets aren't always right Sometimes Google displays a quick answer in a box at the top of results — this is called a featured snippet. It can be helpful, but it's pulled automatically from a website and hasn't been fact-checked by Google. Always click through to the actual source before trusting it.

Why your search order matters Results at the top of a search page ranked highly because of popularity and website structure — not necessarily because they are the most accurate. A flashy, well-designed site can rank higher than a more trustworthy but less popular one. Don't assume the first result is the best one.

Sponsored content and biased sources Some articles online are written by companies or organizations to promote a point of view, even when they look like neutral news stories. These are sometimes labeled "sponsored content" or "presented by," but not always. Ask yourself who benefits if you believe what this source is saying.

Boolean Operators

Boolean operators are special words you can type into a search engine to control what results you get. The three main ones are AND, OR, and NOT.

Use AND to narrow your search — it tells the search engine you want results that include both terms. Searching volcanoes AND Hawaii will only return pages that mention both.

Use OR to broaden your search — it tells the search engine you're okay with either term. Searching hurricane OR typhoon will return pages about either one.

Use NOT to exclude something — it filters out results you don't want. Searching jaguar NOT car will return results about the animal, not the vehicle.