Effective Online Searching

These days, when we want to know about something, it's very easy to go onto the internet and do some quick searches to find more information. "Just Google it" becomes a common saying. How can we most effectively search? How do we know that what we've found is good information? As I mentioned, Google is one popular search engine available on the internet. From the Google main page, you can type your search in such as... San Diego Zoo. In this manner, millions of possible websites will come up, though not all directly related to what you are looking for. There are more advanced ways to search however, such as putting your desired information in quotations... "San Diego Zoo" or you can go to the bottom of the page and click on advanced search for more options to refine your search results. Once you've located what you're looking for, you may want to check a few things to ensure that you are reading good information--especially if you are reading an article or researching information. Some things you can check on a website to help ensure good information include: the purpose of the article or website, whether it appears biased, who the author or publisher is, the quality of writing to include grammar and tone, whether reference links are still active, and if the article is up to date or recent. Using these tips will help refine your searches and ensure your information is more accurate.