WEB SEARCHING
Remember, Google and other search engines are not humans! Search engines do not understand full sentences/questions. If you insist on typing a sentence/question into a search bar, what will most likely happen is the top results will be social-input sites (like Answers.com or Yahoo!Answers).
Avoid citing sites like these for formal (graded) research since anyone, anywhere can "answer" a question. You have no way of verifying answers from sites like these or knowing the expertise or credentials of the person who has answered the question. There is so much more efficient and reliable information out there.
That doesn't mean you can't use Wikipedia at all! Check out this video about ways to use Wikipedia for starting research to get a basic understanding of your topic. The video references doing college-level research (it was made by a college library), but the ideas are still very helpful for you in middle and high school!
Avoid citing sites like these for formal (graded) research since anyone, anywhere can "answer" a question. You have no way of verifying answers from sites like these or knowing the expertise or credentials of the person who has answered the question. There is so much more efficient and reliable information out there.
That doesn't mean you can't use Wikipedia at all! Check out this video about ways to use Wikipedia for starting research to get a basic understanding of your topic. The video references doing college-level research (it was made by a college library), but the ideas are still very helpful for you in middle and high school!
|
Video Credit: Hartness Library
|
The Structure of a URL (web address), Video credit: Imagine Easy
|
How Google Search Works, Video credit: Google