Early Literature

Early literature in the area of Internet research for academic purposes is very limited. At the beginning of the Internet, few studies were being done in the area of academic research. In general, the early research about the Internet revolved around the various uses of the Internet, with very little data about actual research.

In the article “Tidal Wave or Ripple? The Impact of Internet on the Academic,” a literature review is completed about academic use of the Internet. The literature reviewed deals with the areas of the Internet and library services, academic publishing, and what academics are doing with the Internet. The majority of the article is written about the first two topics. The third area of literature review, dealing the how academics are using the Internet is mainly concerned with communications: email, collaborating with colleagues, publishing, delivering information to students, and a small portion for actual research. (Pascoe, 1995).

An article by Thomas Klein discusses how the Internet will effect the lives of students and faculty members. This article is about vision, rather than research, but it illustrates how little research on Internet use was actually available in the early to mid 1990s. Klein writes about how much do libraries need to invest in the new technologies, do faculty members need assistance in learning these new technologies, how new electronic sources of information will change the way research is conducted. Klein writes about how the Internet will open up the world of information (1995).

In the article “Serving College Students in an Era of Recombinant Information,” the author writes about the emerging technologies, how costs for these technologies will decrease and how students will make use of these technologies. The information is based on a small case study conducted at the undergraduate library at the University of Texas regarding the implementation of online catalogs and periodical indexes. The case study also deals with the development of a computer center located in the library. As with other articles from this time period, there is little information on the effects of the Internet on the quality of student work (Alberico, 1995).

Information about conducting research on the web was difficult to find, however, one book about the subject was found. “Researching on the Internet” provides any type of user information regarding the Internet and how to research it. The book contains information on finding Internet providers, the changing nature of the Internet, the various types of resources available on the Internet, and issues about law and the Internet. The book gives a general overview of the Internet. What is missing from this book is how to determine the credibility of the information found using the Internet (Rowland, 1995).

The lack of scientific research is apparent in these early works about Internet use. It is clear that researchers concerned with the Internet were just starting to discover areas for research, which would expand as the Internet became a more frequently used tool in the academic world.