Summary

The studies found for this research paper indicate several common threads with regard to the use of Internet sources for academic work. First, as the Internet came into use on a widespread basis, so did use of the Internet by college students. Students have increased their use of the Internet for three reasons, they can research schoolwork from their rooms and it is easy to locate information to use for their assignments, and they save time by researching assignments on the Internet. Second, students seem unconcerned about the quality and accuracy of information they find on the Internet. Third, faculty members are concerned with the increase in Internet resources cited for class assignments. Fourth, faculty members are concerned with the accuracy and quality of the resources used on the Internet. Fifth, faculty and librarians are concerned with educating students to better use the Internet and other electronic resources for their work.

Further study needs to be done on this topic. To date, much of the research has been done on a small scale. The larger studies are now five or more years old. Since the Internet is an ever changing resource, new studies need to be completed as to the perceptions of accuracy and quality of the resources, as well as faculty and student beliefs about using the Internet as a source of information.