Searching for information on the web is quite similar to any other information search. Searching for a single word in a search engine does not necessarily produce a good result. Consider these factors to improve your search results:

• The problem Put the problem into words, formulate it as a sentence/question. You could find search words, phrases, synonyms or connections based on this.
• The search strategy and search technique are important to get a good result. A search strategy helps you find out how to approach your problem. Search technique is quite simply the instructions, and can be found under “Help” in most tools.

Google is not always the best answer!

• If you are looking for older information you can often find this in printed format
• A lot of facts are more easily available in encyclopaedias, for example on the library's web pages or on the shelf
• Academic information is located in databases that the most common search engines cannot find. You will find links to academic bases on your library's homepage
• Only a small amount of the total information in the world is on the web. Just think about all the books and journals written and published before computers and networks were invented
• Anyone can publish information on the Internet without having the content edited by a second person. Internet sites can be written by an expert in his field, a journalist, a dissatisfied consumer or a primary school pupil
• Most of the information on the web is not organised. The millions of web pages out there make up a hotchpotch of information and opinions
• Most of the web information is not permanent. Some well-run sites are continuously updated with new information, while others soon become outdated or simply disappear.

One final advice: Use multiple sources!