Know and understand use of search engine including speed of searching, amount of information, the speed of finding relevant information, ease of finding reliable information

Published by Patrick Mutisya · 14 days ago

ICT 0417 – Communication: Using Search Engines

10 Communication – Using Search Engines

Learning Objective

Students will know and understand how to use a search engine effectively, focusing on:

  • Speed of searching

  • Amount of information retrieved

  • Speed of finding relevant information

  • Ease of finding reliable information

1. What Is a Search Engine?

A search engine is a software system designed to carry out web searches, which means to search the World Wide Web in a systematic way for particular information specified in a textual query.

2. Key Factors Affecting Search Performance

  1. Speed of Searching – How quickly the engine returns results after a query is entered.

  2. Amount of Information – The total number of results (hits) that match the query.

  3. Speed of Finding Relevant Information – How fast the user can locate the most useful result among the list.

  4. Ease of Finding Reliable Information – How simple it is to identify trustworthy sources.

3. Evaluating Search Engines

CriterionGoogleBingDuckDuckGoYahoo
Speed of SearchingVery fast (sub‑second)Fast (≈1 s)Fast (≈1 s)Moderate (≈1.5 s)
Amount of InformationLargest index (trillions of pages)Large index (hundreds of billions)Smaller index (tens of billions)Medium index (hundreds of billions)
Speed of Finding Relevant InfoAdvanced algorithms, personalised resultsGood relevance, less personalisationFocus on privacy, relevance moderateOlder ranking system, relevance variable
Ease of Finding Reliable InfoFeatures: “Verified”, “Fact‑check”, “News” tabsFeatures: “Trusted Sources” filterFeatures: “Safe Search”, no trackingFeatures: “Verified” badge, limited

4. Steps to Conduct an Efficient Search

  1. Identify the key concepts of the information need.

  2. Choose appropriate keywords – use synonyms and related terms.

  3. Use search operators to refine results:

    • Quotes (“ ”) for exact phrases.

    • Minus sign (‑) to exclude words.

    • Site: to limit to a domain (e.g., site:edu).

    • Filetype: to find specific formats (e.g., filetype:pdf).

  4. Review the first page of results – most relevant results are usually listed first.

  5. Evaluate each result for reliability (see Section 5).

  6. Use the browser’s “Find” function (Ctrl + F) to locate specific terms within a page quickly.

5. Assessing the Reliability of Information

When you locate a web page, ask the following questions:

  • Who is the author or organisation?

  • Is the source reputable (e.g., government, educational, well‑known news outlet)?

  • When was the information published or last updated?

  • Does the page provide references or citations?

  • Is the content biased or does it present multiple viewpoints?

6. Practical Activity – Speed and Reliability Test

Students will work in pairs to compare two search engines using the same query.

  1. Choose a topic (e.g., “renewable energy statistics 2023”).

  2. Enter the query into Google and Bing.

  3. Record:

    • Time taken for the results page to load (use a stopwatch).

    • Number of results shown (usually displayed at the top).

    • How many clicks are needed to find a reliable source (based on the reliability checklist).

  4. Summarise findings in a short report and discuss which engine performed better for each criterion.

7. Summary Checklist for Effective Searching

  • Define the information need clearly.

  • Select precise keywords and use operators.

  • Choose a search engine suited to the task.

  • Skim results quickly – focus on titles and snippets.

  • Evaluate reliability before using the information.

  • Document the search process for future reference.

Suggested diagram: Flowchart of the search process from query formulation to reliability assessment.