Searching the Web: A think aloud investigation into college students' online behavior.

摘要

It is critical that tomorrow's employees have information literacy skills---skills that enable them to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively in socially responsible ways. Yet there is evidence that college students do not always apply the information literacy skills that they have been taught. This study used verbal protocols to explore college students' online search and evaluation behavior. Data analysis techniques were adapted from grounded theory to identify themes from transcripts derived from students' think aloud comments and a visual image of accompanying desktop activity. Students' search behavior was compared to Carol Collier Kuhlthau's Information Search Process and W. James Potter's Cognitive Model of Media Literacy. Findings indicate that most students (a) did not follow the models exactly or (b) apply rigorous criteria in evaluating possible websites for their speech assignment. Instead, students were involved in activities from different model steps at the same time, and used heuristics to eliminate websites from consideration as a speech source rather than critical analysis. A new information search model is proposed that accounts for multi-tasking search behavior. Recommendations are made for incorporating information skills training into the speech class curriculum.