According to school.familyeducation.com, knowing how to ask the right questions is one of the major thinking skills for kids. This applies to online studies, as well. Before beginning a project, kids should be able to identify what information they're trying to find and how to word this briefly and effectively for an Internet search engine. For instance, if they're supposed to write a report on an insect, they should first search for "types of insects" to get a list of insects to choose from. If they decide to write about a grasshopper, for example, they should then type in various phrases, such as "habits of grasshoppers" or "what do grasshoppers eat?" to collect information on the topic.
Kids must learn which Web resources they can trust and which ones they cannot. For instance, they should understand that websites ending in ".edu" or ".org" tend to be more dependable than .com websites, although there are exceptions to this. Kids should examine the credentials of website makers. According to surfnetkids.com, some helpful research resources for kids are the Encyclopedia Smithsonian (si.edu), High Beam's Encyclopedia.com, Britannica.com and Bartleby.com.
Just as with reading print resources, such as books and magazines, kids must have critical thinking skills when reviewing and analyzing online material. They should be able to identify main points in the text and the evidence used to support these and to understand the viewpoint of the writer. Kids should also note conflicting data and be able to resolve them by consulting other online resources.
The information is a vast collection of information, and many online resources contain a wealth of detailed information, which may overwhelm young researchers. The ability to evaluate which data is the most important, and separate this from less critical information is vital when kids are collecting information on the Internet.