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Find and select information

This page gives a basic summary of the skills you must demonstrate for the Find and Select Information component of the ICT Functional Skills qualification.

Please note these are not full explanations, just basic guidance to help students understand the level of skills required.  For the full explanation you should see the QCA Functional Skills standards (PDF) although please note this is not really written for students. Please speak to your teacher for a fuller explanation.

Entry Level

Learners can:

recognise sources of information
  • recognise sources of information
    select and use appropriate sources of ICT-based and other forms of information
    information point, poster, newspaper, conversation, TV, web page, radio, text message, book, picture, map,
    conversation, CD, DVD, website, podcast, web log
find information from an ICT based source
  • find appropriate information from an ICT-based source (using appropriate facilities)
    text message, voicemail, on-screen information, menu, contents list, index, follow links, forward and back

use ICT to search for and select information that matches given requirements
  • use internet sources of information
    enter a web address, use a search engine, use bookmarks, follow links
  • use appropriate search techniques to find required information
    contents list, index, find or search tool
  • select and use information that matches given requirements
    write down, copy and paste, capture images, download audio or video files

Level 1


select and use a variety of sources of information independently to meet needs

  • select and use appropriate sources of ICT-based and other forms of information
    newspapers, books, images, maps, conversations, CDs, DVDs, text messages, podcasts, web logs, web-based reference sites
  • recognise copyright constraints on the use of information
    music downloads, acknowledgement of sources, avoiding plagiarism

access, search for, select and use ICT-based information and evaluate its fitness for purpose

  • access, navigate and search internet sources of information purposefully and effectively
    enter a web address, use a search engine, browse, save and use bookmarks
  • use appropriate search techniques to locate and select relevant information
    search criteria, quotation marks, search within results, relational operators, find or search tool
  • use information from a variety of sources and evaluate its match to requirements and fitness for purpose
    recognise intention and authority of provider, currency of the information, relevance, bias

Level 2

select and use a variety of sources of information independently for a complex task

  • select and use appropriate sources of ICT-based and other forms of information which match requirements
    newspapers, books, images, maps, conversations, CDs, DVDs, text messages, podcasts, web logs, web-based reference sites
  • recognise copyright and other constraints on the use of information
    music downloads, acknowledgement of sources, avoiding plagiarism, provisions of the Data Protection Act
access, search for, select and use ICT-based information and evaluate its fitness for purpose
  • access, navigate and search internet sources of information purposefully and effectively
    enter a web address, use a search engine, browse, save and use bookmarks
  • use appropriate search techniques and design queries to locate and select relevant information
    multiple search criteria, quotation marks, search within results, relational operators, logical operators, find or search tool including wildcards
  • use discrimination in selecting information that matches requirements from a variety of sources and evaluate fitness for purpose
    recognise intention and authority of provider, currency of the information, relevance, bias

Please note in places we have copied directly from the standards.  This is necessary to prevent ambiguity and we acknowledge the copyright of the QCA