Learning when searching for web data

Searching on the web increasingly involves searching for data as well as searching for traditional web pages. To support learning from data on the web and facilitating learning through searching for data, the different characteristics of these sources need to be considered. Data usually needs additional context in order to be transformed into information and subsequently knowledge of an individual. Searching for data on the web requires a means to understand, analyse and interpret the data found. This can either be provided by the system; by the way context is presented; or by the user’s prior knowledge of the topic and general data literacy skills. Therefore searching for data on the web should be considered an area in its own right for future research in the context of search as a learning activity.