Introduction

The purpose of this research paper is to identify the effect that the Internet has had on academic work. Over the years there has been a lot of anecdotal evidence bandied about in academic circles about how Internet sources have lowered the quality of student work, how students no longer use the library to conduct research and how students do not know how to evaluate information sources. Through a search of literature and studies on the subject of Internet use by college students, this paper will provide scientific fact to either prove or disprove the anecdotal statements made about the topic. For the purposes of this paper, the term Internet will be used to describe both the Internet and the World Wide Web.

The literature used for this paper includes literature produced at the beginning of Internet use. Without an historical background for future studies, how can progress be evaluated in the area of Internet research. The paper includes studies and literature about how students perceive their use of the Internet. In contrast to the students view, there are also studies containing data about faculty perceptions of Internet use in academic work. The final group of literature includes studies and literature regarding the idea of critical thinking and how this plays a role in Internet use for research purposes. Even though plagiarism is an important issue with academia, this paper will not include the area of plagiarism and Internet use, as an entire research paper could be written on that subject alone.

The paper will also include ideas for future research and a summary of the studies and literature presented. Future research is always needed and is especially important to area of Internet research in academic settings. It is important because the nature of the Internet continually changes and use of the Internet changes as well.