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From
fno
Jamie McKenzie writes: "It is essential that schools teach students how to escape this stranglehold that Google creates. While helping visitors to find the information they need, Google effectively limits and narrows their searches - steering them toward the obvious and the conventional."
This would be an excellent introduction to using keywords when researching. Have students read a short biography, then have them choose three or four words from the biography to add to their search. In Jamie's example, [Isadora Duncan AND critics] led to information that probably wouldn't show up on Biography.com! When I tried [George Washington AND critics], I also found richer resources.
The key to this is that students would need some basic knowledge in order to determine which keywords to use! Likewise, Jamie's "questions of import" are great, but I know if I asked students to use them, the first thing they would do is Google the exact question, then complain that nothing came up:)
I'd love to do this as a stand alone library lesson: a short introduction, then time to read a short online biography, choose the keywords to add, and discuss their findings. It certainly would help students become more thoughtful about their research!