Student Views of the Internet

Since the advent of the Internet as a tool in academia, there have been multiple small studies performed to determine student use of the Internet as well as their self-described competence with the Internet. A study was also conducted to determine how Internet sources have effected student’s work. As well, there have been a couple large studies conducted, searching for similar information. These studies collect data from a wide range of students and scholastic disciplines.

In one focus group study, performed at the University of Idaho, researchers learned that the biggest change in academic research was the growth in Internet use, which had changed the way both students and faculty gathered information. When asked about sources for material, the Internet was consistently cited as a major source of information. These same students and faculty members also discussed their frustration with getting tangled in links on the Internet. A major change in obstacles to finding information was also noted in this focus group study. In the past, students and faculty had difficulty finding books and other materials in the library because they weren’t on the shelves where they should have been. Now, students and faculty say the obstacle is too much information. They stated that the Internet contained too much information and that it was difficult getting through the information. One item was apparent to all members of the focus study, there is a need to watch for accurate and reliable information on the Internet (Young, 2001).

Barbara Quarton, in her article “Research Skills and the New Undergraduate,” discusses the need for undergraduate instruction in research skills, both in libraries and the Internet. Her premise is that students need help from instructors in determining which sources are the most appropriate. They also need guidance in learning the differences between databases available online through the library and the free Internet. By having faculty provide short exercises to help students learn about the plethora of good information sources, they will make better decisions about research paper resources in the future (2003).

Another study was implemented on the differences in how students conduct Internet searching. This study was conducted with Masters students performing research on predetermined topics, using a single search engine. What these researchers found was that gender and cognitive styles play a key role in how well search engines searches retrieve information that is of value to the student (Ford, 2001). This poses the question, how do the search engines change to meet the cognitive styles of different individuals, and how to students know which search engines will best fit their cognitive styles?

A study was conducted at Cornell University among Introduction to Microeconomics students that studied the Internet citations used in research papers over several years. The study began in 1996 and continued through 2001. At the beginning of the study, the number of Internet citations was lower than those of books, scholarly journals, and magazines. Through the years of the study, the number of Internet citations climbed, the length of the bibliographies got longer and faculty became concerned with the quality of the student papers. During the last year of the study, faculty members implemented guidelines for the students for acceptable reference sources. Because of this implementation, the number of Internet resources significantly declined, but the total number of resources did not. The researchers found that reliance on Internet sources increased until faculty members stepped in to curb the use of Internet sources for research papers (Davis, 2003).

A similar study was conducted at universities and colleges in the Philadelphia area. This study found that students did not use a lot of electronic/Internet resources for their work. They also found that students were unable to properly cite electronic/Internet sources, even though they received instruction in how to do so. In some cases, the researchers also had difficulty in determining with a source was from the Internet, due to the student’s inability to properly cite an Internet source (Malone, 1997).

A small focus group study at Monmouth University found that all the participants in the study had used Internet sources for at least one assignment in the previous five months. The researchers also found that in feedback from faculty, as reported by the students, most faculty would accept Internet sources, as long as these weren’t the only sources used. The study also found that students were aware of changing nature of information on the Internet and that the sources might not be current, that it was important to look for when the page was last updated. The researchers were satisfied with the results they received from the study, but were cognizant of the limitations from a small focus group study (D’Esposito, 1999).

A study by Metzger, Flanagin, and Zwarun dealt with the issues of student internet use, information credibility and student verification of the information. In the first section of the study on internet usage, the researchers found similar results to those of other studies about college student internet use. In the second part of the study, the researchers found that students find news and reference information to be more credible that either entertainment or commercial information. They also found that students rarely verify the accuracy of information they find on the Internet (2003).

Three larger studies have been conducted about student use of the Internet. One of the studies was conducted at Duke University, the two other studies are national. John Lubans conducted a series of three studies at Duke University over a couple of years. In his 1998 survey of freshman, he found that the majority of students use Internet sources for their assignments. For the majority of these students, the number of Internet sources do not make up more that 50% of their total resources. Twenty percent of students felt Internet sources helped improve the quality of their work. Lubans’ study also found that students had a balanced view of the accuracy of the Internet. Many students found that the information found on the Internet was accurate, timely, and authoritative, while others didn’t take such a positive view of its accuracy. The study also found that these students are using the Internet for a lot more that research (Lubans, 1998).

In Lubans’ article, “When Students Hit the Surf”, the author compared the results from three different studies he conducted, two with Duke University students and one with 7th-10th graders who came to Duke during the summer of 1998. He compares the two groups (college students and 7th to 10th graders) because eventually, the younger students will come to college and their survey results can only help librarians and faculty members prepare for them. Between the two groups, he found very little difference in the way the students utilized the Internet. The students felt the Internet opened up greater opportunities for resources (1999).

A national study conducted by Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) found similar results as Lubans’ study in terms of the use of the Internet by college students. In addition, the OCLC study found that students believe the Internet falls short in accuracy of information available. Students also question whether the information on the Internet is up to date (2002).

The Pew Internet & American Life Project also conducted a national survey of college students. As with the other two large surveys, most of the data collected had little to do with how students use the Internet for research. The study did have a section related to this area of study. The researchers found that students use the Internet more than the library for research. Based on this, the researchers concluded that the Internet has become a major factor in student research and will continue to become even more important in the future (Jones, 2002).

Overall, the amount of research completed about student use of Internet resources for academic work is small, compared to the research conducted on the ways students use the Internet. The consensus among the studies presented is that the majority of students use Internet sources to complete assignments for classes. How many Internet sources used depends on the guidelines given by the faculty. Through the years, it also appears that Internet use has increased for research purposes, although students may question the accuracy of the information they find.