This Google Scientist Research Has 5 Tips to Change That

Just because you use Google multiple times a day doesn’t mean you’re great at search.

Google is ubiquitous in our lives. We ask it to diagnose our illnesses, solve our kitchen emergencies, and plug the holes in our memory. Despite all this practice, however, multiple studies show a great many of us remain terrible at Googling. 

One in-depth 2011 study conducted by academic librarians found that “the majority of students–of all levels–exhibited significant difficulties that ranged across nearly every aspect of the search process,” according to Insider Higher Ed. A more recent Stanford study agrees that 80 percent of students (and many adults) can’t determine if a website is credible. 

In the era of fake news, the general lack of search savvy isn’t too shocking. But while we all know that many people struggle to locate accurate information online, we assume we are the exception. Sorry, but that’s probably not true.

All the children in Lake Wobegon are not above average, and you are probably not optimizing your use of Google. 

Your Google search sensei has entered the building.  

But help is on the way in the form of the best possible expert to explain how to stop being so terrible at online search.

Daniel Russell, a research scientist at Google, has spent the last 14 years studying how people go wrong when using Google. His new book, The Joy of Search, explains in great detail how we can all do better. 

For the time-pressed, Russell has also penned articles and blog posts offering essential tips to help you rapidly improve your search skills. For the basics like finding a recipe or locating your nearest pharmacy, this advice isn’t necessary. But if you want to get accurate information on complex topics, these are Russell’s top tips. 

Source: https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/web-search-tips-from-a-google-search-scientist.html?cid=search