Information Search
Core concepts
Effective searching means choosing the right tool, forming precise queries, and evaluating results. Know that search engines index the web with crawlers and rank results by relevance and other signals; a directory or a site's own search box may suit narrower needs. Learn operators: quotation marks for an exact phrase, a minus sign to exclude a term, site: to restrict to one domain, and file-type filters. Recognise that results include ads, which are usually labelled, and that ranking is not an endorsement.
Evaluating sources
Assess authority (who wrote it), currency (is there a date?), accuracy (can it be corroborated?), and purpose (inform, sell, persuade). Prefer primary and official sources over aggregators. Cross-check facts across at least two independent sources.
Traps in questions
- Treating the first result as the most reliable; position reflects ranking, not truth.
- Assuming quotation marks broaden a search; they narrow it to the exact phrase.
- Believing everything with a recent date is accurate, or that an undated page is automatically old.
- Confusing a cached copy with the live page.
Rule of thumb
If a claim matters, find it in two independent places and check who benefits from you believing it.
Worked example
You need official guidance on passport renewal. A broad query returns forums and ads. Refine to passport renewal site:gov with the phrase in quotes. The site: operator restricts results to government domains, and the quoted phrase keeps the wording exact, giving authoritative pages first.