Searching and Evaluating Online
Choose search words that match a question, explain how a program selects and orders search results, and check whether a page is relevant and supported by evidence. A high search position does not prove a claim is true.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Refine a search by changing keywords when the first results aren't useful (e.g., 'Saturn rings facts' instead of 'space')
- Explain that search results are ranked by a program and that the top result is not automatically the best or truest
- Check who wrote a page and compare it with a second source before believing a surprising claim
1 · Read
A search engine uses a program to find pages that may match your words. For a question about Saturn's rings, try 'Saturn rings facts' instead of 'space'. If results miss your question, add a detail or try another word with the same meaning. Open a result and check whether it answers your question.
A program selects and orders results using signals such as how well pages match your search. This is called ranking. A high position does not prove a page is true. Results marked 'Ad' or 'Sponsored' have paid placement, not a prize for accuracy.
Compare what each writer knows about the topic and what evidence each page gives. Relevant knowledge and evidence give more support than a name alone. Notes from watching something are evidence you can check. Omar compares pages about fish this way, then checks another source's own evidence. These checks do not prove a claim.
Two pages may repeat one claim because both copied the same source. That is not two separate checks. Look for where each page got its information. If sources disagree, check their evidence before deciding. For information that can change, such as opening times, check the date too.
A page can match your question and still need a fact check.
Match your search words to your question. Search position is not proof. Check the writer and evidence, then compare another source.
Lesson, questions and flashcards written for this dataset.
Readings and flashcards written for this dataset. Linked video: RUFF RUFFMAN | How Search Engines Work | PBS KIDS, by PBS KIDS on YouTube. No video license grant is recorded.
More to read
Words that match your question
Suppose your class is studying how bridges are built. A search for 'bridges' might show holiday photos or card games. Add words about the information you need, such as 'how bridges are built'. If the results still miss your question, change a word or add a detail. Read a page before deciding it is useful. A matching title may lead to a page about something else.
A place in the results is not proof
Imagine two search results about the same question. One appears above the other. That order tells you how the search service placed them, not which claim is true. A result marked 'Ad' or 'Sponsored' has paid placement. You can still read it, but check its claims as you would check any page. Look for evidence instead of using the page's position as your reason to believe it.
Follow the evidence
A page says an unusual plant grows overnight. Another page repeats the claim and links to the first one. The repetition gives you no new evidence. Look for who made the original claim and how they checked it. Then find a source with its own evidence. Two pages can agree because one copied the other. Agreement is useful only when you also understand what supports it.
When pages disagree
Two pages list different opening times for a museum. Check when each page was updated and where it got the times. Opening times can change, so an older page may no longer help. For a school question, compare the writers and their evidence too. If you cannot settle a disagreement, say what you found and ask your teacher for help. You do not have to pretend you know.
Explore more
2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Nothing; this is a starting point.
Optional connections
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.