Preliminary Results: Why First-Year College Students Select Online Research Resources as Their Favorite

Here’s info about one of several articles found in the just released issue of First Monday (Vol. 17, No. 9; September 2012) that we think will be of interest.

Title

Why First-Year College Students Select Online Research Resources as Their Favorite

Author

James P. Purdy
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, Pa.

Source

First Monday (Vol. 17. No. 9)

Abstract

This paper reports results of a preliminary study on why first–year college students select certain online research resources as their favorite. Results, based on a survey of over 500 U.S. college students in first–year writing classes, offer a more complex picture of student motivation than popular accounts of these students as disinterested, lazy, and ignorant. Students reported most frequently that they favored resources for reasons of ease, quality, and connectivity. They reported least frequently that they favored resources for reasons of relevance, variety, and speed. These results suggest that students value finding scholarly sources above relevant sources.

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Complete Table of Contents (17.9; September 2012)

Filed under: Journal Articles, News, Reports