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An Inquiry Project onAn Inquiry Project on

Students Finding, Using &Students Finding, Using &

Evaluating InternetEvaluating Internet

By: Hasan Mahmud

MSU CEP806

For: Dr. David Wong

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Students need to be able to search and find accurate and

reliable information on the Internet.

An inquiry was conducted to study the process of how highschool AP chemistry students between the ages of 15 to 17search for information, and evaluate reliability using the UCBerkeley library checklist1.

There were eight students that participated in the study thatincluded six boys and two girls.

As predicted, students mostly used Google as their primarysearch engine, Wikipedia for their information source, Googleimages for their pictures, and YouTube for video clips.

Students were taught about evaluating Web sites using the UCBerkeley checklist. They did not have prior knowledge ofchecking for reliability while searching the Internet.

Ideas, Predictions, and ExplanationsIdeas, Predictions, an

d Explanations

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The team discussions helped to identify the need toevaluate the process as a class and on an individual basisto uncover specific problems to Internet research andreliability evaluation, and implement working solutions.

As a result of the study, reliability evaluation has beenadopted as a standard practice in my classroom.

The concept was introduced to our English department tobe included as part of the research protocol being revisedfor all students in high school.

Hopefully it will filter down to middle and elementary

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Students were assigned a chemistry topic on chemicalwarfare or chemical disasters that needed to beresearched on the Internet.

They needed to find information pertaining to the topic,pictures and a video.

The presentation needed to be a maximum ten minutesin length using PowerPoint and a multimedia projector.

The lesson was taught on reliability of Web sites andexamples shown on evaluating Web pages with the UCBerkeley method.

Students needed to use the checklist as a tool forevaluating each source they used in their presentations.

Description of Inquiry PlanDescri

ption of Inquiry Plan

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Students were given afifty minute period oflibrary time of individualtime to search, evaluateand record their resultson the checklist.

Qualitative observationsand confidentialverifications were madeas they researched.

The remainder of theassignment wascompleted for homeworkin a one week time span.

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For the assigned topic on chemical warfare or disasters,

students searched for information, pictures, and videosto include in their PowerPoint presentations.

They were presented with ideas about site reliability andneeded to use a UC Berkeley checklist to verify eachsource used to prepare their presentations.

Students handed in their evaluation checklists, and weregiven an Internet searching feedback questionnaire thatasked them to list the steps in their searches, andindividual interviews discussing any problems andsolutions encountered.

It was necessary to have them write down theirexperience from a first person account of their Internetresearch.

Interesting Patterns in the DataInterestin

g Patterns in the Data

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Their additional interview feedback was recorded inwriting, however, did not reveal anything more thancollected on the feedback questionnaire.

Perhaps the interviews should have been audio recorded,with their permission of course, for further reflective

study by the teacher.

The results were recorded in writing as follows andstudents were quoted to maintain the accuracy of thefeedback data.

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Table 1: Statistical Data of the AP ChemistryStudents Internet Searches for FindingInformation

8 out of 8 or 100% used Google as their preferred searchengine

4 out of 8 or 50% used Wikipedia as their primary sourceof information

4 out of 8 or 50% used .gov or .mil as their primary sourceof information

7 out of 8 or 88% did not report any problems andsolutions

1 student out of 8 or 13% reported the following problemand solution

Problem: initial search words did not bring up requiredinformation

Solution: trial and error method for narrowin search to ic

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Table 2: Statistical Data of the AP Chemistry StudentsInternet Searches for Finding Pictures or Images

Students used one or two of the following:Google images: 7 out of 8 students or 88%Wikipedia: 3 out of 8 students or 38% .gov & .mil sites: 1 out of 8 students or 13% 7 out of 8 or 88% did not report any problems and

solutions 1 student out of 8 or 13% reported the following

problem and solution

Problem: some pictures were not allowed to copy

Solution: copied the page by pressing and and then paste and cut out theimage and save it

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Table 3: Statistical Data of the AP ChemistryStudents Internet Searches for Finding Videos

YouTube: 8 out of 8 or 100% as their preferred site 4 out of 8 or 50% did not report any problem and

solution 4 student out of 8 or 50% reported the following

problems and solutions

Problem: wrote in chemical warfare and didnt findanything

Solution: wrote mustard gas and found a video I liked Solution: wrote chemicals used in warfare and found

another video

Problem: typed in chemical warfare and a music bandcame up

Solution: changed wording to chemical weapons and

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Problem: searched Web for chemical warfare videobut the quality of the one needed was poor

Solution: searched YouTube and found a better

quality of the same video

Problem: typed in effects of mustard gas there werea lot of videos which were irrelevant to the topic

Solution: needed to check each video to see if itwas reliable or not

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In this inquiry, students found, used, and evaluated Internet

information, pictures, and videos. Certain details of Internetsearching practices were revealed.

Students used Google as their primary search engine, andmany used the UC Berkeley checklist successfully to evaluatethe reliability of their site.

Prior to the UC Berkeley lesson and this Internet inquiry theydid not think about evaluating sites.

In his article entitled Searching the Web: New Domains forInquiry2Bertram C. Bruce says, When students search theWeb, it often seems that the problems are greater than the

rewards.2

The inquiry revealed the opposite idea, that the rewards weregreater than the problems. Problems occurred, however,students found solutions quickly and were able to successfullyfind material.

Emergent Ideas, Questions, and Lessons About StudentEmergent Ideas, Questions, and Lessons About StudentInternet Research MethodsInternet Research Methods

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Bruce also comments aboutthe size of the Web being amixed blessing with some

things easier to look up thanothers. I have discovered

something else. For certainkinds of queries, my search

is far from a simple look-up. Instead, it appears tobe part of the general

process of inquiry, which istentative and fallible.2

This was confirmed by somestudents finding theirinformation easily andothers requiring a change insearch words.

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In another article by Bruce, he identifies four types ofInternet readers, ie exegetical, dogmatic, agnostic, ordialectical3.

It was difficult to ascertain the exact type of reader thatthe students were in this inquiry, however, libraryobservations revealed the agnostic reader for allstudents.

Bruce says, In a fashion that is a priori appropriate in theinformation age, agnostic readers adopt a technicalstance toward Web quality. They acknowledge that thereare both good and bad resources, and so develop schemesfor finding good sites and separating one from the other.

The agnostic mode entails attention to developing andfinding better tools for accessing the Web, to conductingeffective Web searches, and to evaluating the quality ofWeb sites.3

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The model was tested against theresearch practices of AP chemistrystudents in this inquiry and foundthere was an accurate fit to thedata.

In the first stage students eitherused a search engine or visited aknown site. She also mentionsthat students often do not performthe evaluation step.

Students in this inquiry had noprior knowledge of evaluatingsources and would have skippedthis step. However, they weretaught the evaluation step and itwas a requirement for grades.

Kathleen Guinee talks about thenecessity of being able to rewordsearch strings and says,

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Students must be able tospecify relevant search terms,synonyms for these terms, andrelated terms (Nahl & Harada,1996)5.

Sadly, Nahl & Harada foundthat many of the high schoolstudents they surveyed did nothave sufficient vocabulary skillsfor constructing successfulsearch strings.

Students need strong languageskills that can enable them tobe flexible when building

search strings, by adding newterms or substituting differentterms to rephrase a query.4

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Interestingly 6 out of 8 or 88% of the AP chemistrystudents were ESL but had sufficient vocabulary toreword or rephrase a search and find what they wanted.

They were also above average computer users havingused computers since elementary school, and had GPAsabove 3.1

Many questions arose from the inquiry such as:

Was the information gathered as accurate and reliable asit could be?

Will students think about the checklist and use it when Iam not around?

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Will students take a library workshop to improvetheir research skills when they reach university?

How can I get students to use reliable sites moreoften?

How can I teach students to find and select better

information, pictures and videos?

How can I teach students the value of quality?

How can I make the Web searches moreimaginative rather than just an informationgathering, and copy/paste activity?

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The study also revealed that students needeven more practice finding reliable Web sites.

They also need greater challenges to reachthe level of dialectical reader3.

As a result of the inquiry more researchactivities will be included in the AP chemistry

curriculum. Two to four per quarter, thatinvestigate, evaluate, and discuss criticallychemistry in history and our daily lives.

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Article References

3. UC Berkeley library evaluation checklist

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Han4. Bruce, Bertram C. . Reading Online,www.readingonline.org. Posted November 1999 Published simultaneously in theJournal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 1999-2000 .International Reading Association, Inc. ISSN 1096-1232.

5. Bruce, Bertram C. . Credibility of the Web: Why We NeedDialectical Reading . February 2001. Journal of Philosophy ofEducation (special issue), 34(1), 97-109.

6. Guinee, Kathleen . Internet Searching by K-12 Students -AResearch-based ProcessModel. ERIC # ED485138 . 2004-10-00 .http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_.

7. Nahl, D., & Harada, V. H. (1996). Composing Boolean searchstatements: Self-confidence, concept analysis, search logic,and errors. School Library Media Quarterly, 24(4), 199-207.

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Handouts.html#EvalFormshttp://www.readingonline.org/http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1b/a8/26.pdfhttp://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1b/a8/26.pdfhttp://www.readingonline.org/http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Handouts.html#EvalForms

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Image References Pg1:https://reader010.{domain}/reader010/html5/0628/5b34f6 Pg3:http://www.wmich.edu/coe/fcs/tex/images/photos/stu

Pg5:http://images.inmagine.com/img/digitalvision/dvs085

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/dp014/dp1794223.jpg

Pg11:http://cdis.missouri.edu/exec/data/courses2/2254/le

Pg13:https://reader010.{domain}/reader010/html5/0628/5b34f

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Pg13:http://www.worldofstock.com/slides/PCH2209.jpg Pg16:http://www.morainevalley.edu

/TRIO/images/D260TRI011.jpg

Pg17: http://www.harpercollege.edu/bus-ss/cis/info/image

Pg19:http://www.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0019/22663/Computer_Students.jpg

Pg19:http://www.conestogachristian.org/Pictures%200708

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