Search Mastery Interest Group

Search Mastery refers to the ability to effectively search for information online and to make use of search terms, operators, tools, and specialized search engines to adjust a search based on one’s information needs. Further, search mastery encompasses the ability to effectively evaluate information that results from a search– including scanning and selecting from results as they appear on a search engine results page and evaluating a webpage once it is opened.

Search Mastery promotes informed decision-making and problem-solving by increasing the opportunities that individuals have to learn the knowledge, skills, and practices that they need to efficiently and effectively find necessary information. Proficiency in the use of search engines enables users to understand and harness both the basic and more advanced features and functionalities of the tools. After completing Search Mastery training, users understand how search engines work and how to use their many built-in (but often hidden) features that can help them to optimize their searches, navigate through and select among the results returned, and assess the credibility of online content.

Search Mastery can give you the evaluation skills, decision-making chops, and info-management powers to find and act on available information, instead of being limited by what search engines and other mediating technologies present.

There are many resources available to develop your search capabilities and to promote the concepts included in the Search Mastery program. To take the Search Mastery Modules or to learn about including them in a course or a program you are working on, contact Sarah McGrew or Mary Ann Francis.

• This spreadsheet contains links to recommended search-related videos.
• This document contains other search mastery resources that may be helpful for multiple purposes.
• Learn more about Search Mastery Interest Group past events: view a summary of past talks or see below for more details about past talks.

Information Foraging Theory

The central tenet of information foraging theory is that what is scarce is no longer information itself, but our attention – each of us must decide how to allocate our limited attention across various sources and types of information. How people allocate their attention is influenced by considerations of information overload, selective exposure, selective attention, and serendipity. Democracy is threatened when people have to wade through vast quantities of information to find the minority of information that is relevant, credible, and actionable; when they tend to only be exposed to information they already know and agree with; when they only pay attention to information that confirms their existing beliefs; and when serendipity is most likely to result in only more of the same for them.

One potential project entails a preliminary investigation into the information-seeking habits of college students as they aim to catch up on current events. How do they search for political news? What keywords do they use in their searches? Do their keywords reflect their preexisting beliefs and influence the search results they obtain? How do they select from among the various search results? Are there specific sources that they tend to turn to? What do they do when they encounter information that contradicts their preexisting beliefs? The results of this preliminary investigation will then be used to develop an online tutorial that will enable young adults to become more conscious of their searching processes and the ways in which their preexisting beliefs and their searches are simply reinforcing their views and potentially limiting what they can find out. They will also learn about a wider array of credible political news sources and learn searching skills that will enable them to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of their search results.

Curriculum enhancements developed by the Search Mastery Interest Group are designed to improve students’ understanding of search and search engines. These materials are currently deployed across the iSchool in undergraduate and graduate programs and at the College of Journalism. All faculty are encouraged to explore how improved search skills might benefit students in their programs.

While there are many opportunities for the general public to use search engines, there are FEW opportunities available to develop basic knowledge and skills to use these critical tools effectively. The Public Library Outreach initiative is working with public librarians to develop a Search Better! offering for adult library patrons. Search Better! means finding the information you want instead of what the search engine returns to you. Goals include helping patrons understand what to do when they:

• Find too many results
• Want specific sources of content
• Want specific structure of the content (image, PDF, HTML)
• Want to control a date range
• Want more relevant results
• Want to validate the information

The centrality of search platforms in almost every aspect of modern society makes searching better a critical aspect of daily life and civic engagement.

Curriculum enhancements developed by the Search Mastery Interest Group are designed to improve students’ understanding of search and search engines. These materials are currently deployed across the iSchool in undergraduate and graduate programs and at the College of Journalism. All faculty are encouraged to explore how improved search skills might benefit students in their programs.