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Student Use of the Internet for Research Projects: A Problem? Our Problem? What Can We Do About It?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2005

Andrew M. Robinson  and
Karen Schlegl
Andrew M. Robinson
Affiliation:
Wilfrid Laurier University
Karen Schlegl
Affiliation:
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
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Extract

The Internet and other electronic media have changed the way undergraduate students conduct research. The effects of this technological change on the role of the professor are still not well understood. This article reports on the findings of a recent study that evaluated the scholarly content of student citations in a political science course and tested two interventions designed to improve their quality. The study finds that these students' use of electronic sources was not as poor as some may have assumed, and that the quality of bibliographies improved when in-class instruction was combined with academic penalties. This article reflects on the study's findings, and offers suggestions for how instructors might encourage students to improve the quality of their research.

Type
THE TEACHER
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , April 2005 , pp. 311 - 315
Copyright
© 2005 by the American Political Science Association

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