Search Engines and Information Literacy

What is Search Engines and Information Literacy?

Within Computer Science, which covers algorithms, programming, data, networks, hardware and safe, responsible use of technology, this topic explains Search Engines and Information Literacy. Computing topics explain how software, hardware and data work, with diagrams and models that show each step in order.

Check that you can explain Search Engines and Information Literacy in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.

Understanding Search Engines and Information Literacy helps you design, test and explain programs, websites and systems, from small projects to exam questions.

Search Engines and Information Literacy in detail

A search engine, such as Google, finds web pages that match your query. It uses crawlers (bots) to explore the web, builds an index of what they find and ranks results with algorithms using factors such as relevance, links from other sites and quality. Advertisements may appear at the top.

Information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate and use information. To judge a source, check the author, date, purpose, evidence, and whether other reliable sources agree. Use specific keywords, quotation marks and filters to refine searches. Be aware of bias, fake news and sponsored content, and cite your sources.

How the interactive helps you understand Search Engines and Information Literacy

Watch the network in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the network responds.

Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Search Engines and Information Literacy.

Real-life uses and examples

• Recognise Search Engines and Information Literacy in an app or device you use every day.
• Apply Search Engines and Information Literacy when you design a small program, website or spreadsheet.
• Explain Search Engines and Information Literacy to someone new to computing by comparing it to a familiar process.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using the term without being able to say what the computer actually does.
• Testing only the normal case and forgetting the edge cases.
• Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.