“Just Google It.”
I’m guilty of saying this to students, colleagues, and my own children. In theory, it means that I want them to go use a search engine tool to find information to answer a question. Independently. In practice, when I say this, I’m probably encouraging bad search practice.
While Google is a great search engine, a novice user will not know how to use all of its bells and whistles. When I said “Google it,” and left students to fend for themselves, I set kids up for failure. Just as I modeled and talked kids through my thinking process when writing or analyzing prose and poetry in the classroom, I should have modeled my thought process for online searching and demonstrated it, and NOT only in the formal research unit.
So, what should I (and you) tell a student instead of “Google it”? Showing instead of telling is always better. Even if you can’t be hands-on at the moment, remind students of the steps to take. All good research should have a plan. We want to find quality answers quickly. Thinking about our question and the expected results will guide us in selecting our key words. Model this. What do you know about your topic? What main words will help you locate your answer or lead you to more resources? Take those key terms and use a basic Boolean search operator (and, or, not) to link them. And gives you smaller results because all search terms have to be present in the results to bring them back to the results list (Roads and Romans and Great Britain). Or will give you more since any of the terms can be present for them to be returned (flu OR viruses). Not excludes some results that you don’t want because they aren’t relevant to your topic (Vikings NOT football). Another quick search parameter to improve search results is the use of quotation marks to show the exact phrase you are looking for.
An even better option is to show students how to use the Advanced Search option on Google, Yahoo, Bing or a subscription database; Advanced Search takes care of the Boolean search operators for you:
Of course databases are another great alternative to search engines. The main advantages to search engines are: the results are already vetted so there is no need to do a source evaluation; students just need to determine if the result works for their purpose. Databases also help students create the Works Cited page by providing documentation entries for MLA, APA and many other formats. In addition to these two huge pluses, there are specialized databases for students to use, saving them time. The disadvantage is that there are probably two or three extra steps to get to the databases, but with practice, this becomes habit and a faster process. Guiding students to the databases that are particularly helpful to your course is a great way to help them. If you aren’t sure, ask us or use the “Database by Subject” page.
I’m guilty of saying this to students, colleagues, and my own children. In theory, it means that I want them to go use a search engine tool to find information to answer a question. Independently. In practice, when I say this, I’m probably encouraging bad search practice.
While Google is a great search engine, a novice user will not know how to use all of its bells and whistles. When I said “Google it,” and left students to fend for themselves, I set kids up for failure. Just as I modeled and talked kids through my thinking process when writing or analyzing prose and poetry in the classroom, I should have modeled my thought process for online searching and demonstrated it, and NOT only in the formal research unit.
So, what should I (and you) tell a student instead of “Google it”? Showing instead of telling is always better. Even if you can’t be hands-on at the moment, remind students of the steps to take. All good research should have a plan. We want to find quality answers quickly. Thinking about our question and the expected results will guide us in selecting our key words. Model this. What do you know about your topic? What main words will help you locate your answer or lead you to more resources? Take those key terms and use a basic Boolean search operator (and, or, not) to link them. And gives you smaller results because all search terms have to be present in the results to bring them back to the results list (Roads and Romans and Great Britain). Or will give you more since any of the terms can be present for them to be returned (flu OR viruses). Not excludes some results that you don’t want because they aren’t relevant to your topic (Vikings NOT football). Another quick search parameter to improve search results is the use of quotation marks to show the exact phrase you are looking for.
An even better option is to show students how to use the Advanced Search option on Google, Yahoo, Bing or a subscription database; Advanced Search takes care of the Boolean search operators for you:
Of course databases are another great alternative to search engines. The main advantages to search engines are: the results are already vetted so there is no need to do a source evaluation; students just need to determine if the result works for their purpose. Databases also help students create the Works Cited page by providing documentation entries for MLA, APA and many other formats. In addition to these two huge pluses, there are specialized databases for students to use, saving them time. The disadvantage is that there are probably two or three extra steps to get to the databases, but with practice, this becomes habit and a faster process. Guiding students to the databases that are particularly helpful to your course is a great way to help them. If you aren’t sure, ask us or use the “Database by Subject” page.