Abstract

In this paper we report the results of a web search study. The goal of the study is to record and analyze student web search behavior. We recorded a) how many distinct keywords were used per student and b) how many sites were explored. We also kept field notes to supplement the quantitative data. The study was conducted over a period of six months in Elementary and Middle schools in the U.S. and in Greece. Confirming anecdotal evidence and teacher insights, our results reveal students’ poor basic research skills, demonstrated in the very low use of multiple keywords, cutting the research short when an answer has been identified on a site, and almost never evaluating the quality of the content. In light of these results, we suggest a four-unit curriculum for teaching research skills in Elementary and Middle Schools.

Citation

Miltsakaki, E. (2012). A study of students poor research skills as demonstrated in a record of search behavior on the internet. In P. Resta (Ed.), Proceedings of SITE 2012--Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 3701-3706). Austin, Texas, USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved January 30, 2023 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/40178/.

Keywords

• middle school