Skip to Main Content
Google Search Results
Search engines work like this:
The software uses "spiders" (bots, "autonomous programs") that go out and scour the entire Internet for all kinds of sources of information about everything.
Those results are then indexed; that is, all of their keywords are listed within areas of the search engine.
When you conduct a search using various keywords and search terms (those mean the same thing), the software then goes to those various areas and gathers up all the sources that contain your search terms and presents them to you as your search-results list.
Advertisers have bid on the most-used keywords within search-engine results. They do this hoping you will click on their links, so they can sell items and services to you. The search engine makes money when you do that.
This image shows what a search-results list and its ad-offers might look like:
The problem is, there is no way for you to know if the results in your search list contain credible information because there is no ranking done by the search engine (from poor --> fair --> good --> better --> best) for the results in the list. Search engines don't include that work in what they are programmed to do.
Therefore, search-engine results are problematic for your academic needs because of this lack of ranking and verification of authority and credibility.
