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Fostering Effective and Appropriate Use of Online Resources. Or: How Do We Stop Students Copying their Essays from Wikipedia? Dr Meriel Patrick Intute: Arts and Humanities. The perceived problem. There is a widespread impression that today’s students are:
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Fostering Effective and Appropriate Use of Online Resources Or: How Do We Stop Students Copying their Essays from Wikipedia? Dr Meriel PatrickIntute: Arts and Humanities
The perceived problem • There is a widespread impression that today’s students are: • relying too heavily on sub-standard Web resources • not making proper use of scholarly material
The perceived problem • There are also worries that students are settling for quick answers rather than thorough ones • Sites like Wikipedia are viewed as particularly problematic
The perceived problem • This is seen as a particular problem for students transitioning from further to higher education • Greater expectation that they will work independently • More need to locate their own source materials
But... • Most of this seems to be based on impressions rather than hard evidence • So we decided to do some research
Intute survey on the use of print and online resources • Targeted at students of RS, theology, and philosophy in FE and HE • Self-selecting online survey • Publicized mainly via emails to schools, colleges, and universities • Ran from 4 - 22 June 2008
Intute survey on the use of print and online resources • 261 responses in total • 58 FE students • 131 undergraduates • 72 postgraduates • 69% studying RS/theology • 35% studying philosophy
Balance of resources used for a typical essay or assignment • Almost two-thirds (63.5%) would expect to use print resources more • Another 28% would expect to use print and online resources about equally • Only 8.5% would expect to use online resources more
Preferred resources for a typical essay or assignment • 84% consult either handouts or recommended books and articles first • 92% make most use of handouts, recommended books and articles, or other print resources
Balance of resources used when researching an unfamiliar topic • 46% would expect to make more use of print resources • 27% would expect to use print and online resources about equally • 23% would expect to make more use of online resources • 4% didn’t know
Preferred resources when researching an unfamiliar topic • Just over half (56%) would consult books, articles, or other print resources first • 16% would use Google first • 12% would use Wikipedia first
Observations • Print resources are still the core information source for the vast majority of students • Students rely on online resources more when researching new topics • But even then, undergraduates are more likely to consult a library catalogue (53%) than Wikipedia (46%)
Observations • Undergraduates are significantly more likely than FE students to use online resources that haven’t been specifically recommended by a course teacher • But they also make more use of additional print resources, library catalogues, etc.
Student comments • A number of students said that they liked to use the Internet to get an overview of a subject, then use print resources for more detail • Students seem well aware of concerns about the reliability of websites - especially Wikipedia!
Student comments • Students like the ease of access that Web resources offer • Material can be located quickly • Multiple people can use them - unlike library books • Online journals are very popular - JSTOR was mentioned a lot
Training in finding resources • About two-thirds (66%) of students have receive no or only a little training in finding print resources • That goes up to just over three-quarters (76%) for online resources • Surprisingly, FE students reported slightly more training than undergraduates
Nevertheless… • 91% of students felt reasonably or very able to locate suitable print resources • 88% felt reasonably or very able to locate suitable online resources • Undergraduates were marginally more confident than FE students, particularly for print resources
But is that confidence justified? • Students were given a list of 23 important online resources and asked to select one of four options: • Never heard of • Heard of but haven’t used • Use occasionally • Use regularly
And unfortunately… • The results weren’t encouraging, even when the responses were filtered according to subject group. • Only Google and Wikipedia had both near-universal recognition and high levels of use for academic purposes
The results • Only three other sites achieved over 50% name recognition by students from the relevant discipline: • Bible Gateway • Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy • Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The results • About a third had heard of and/or used Oxford Scholarship Online • Over half the undergraduates knew about New Advent / The Catholic Encyclopedia, but very few FE students • Similarly, about a third of the undergraduates knew of the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
The results • Several other sites were known to around 10 to 15% of students: • Internet Sacred Text Archive • Adherents.com • Religious Tolerance.org • Perseus Digital Library
The results • Worryingly, three-quarters of students had never heard of the major bibliographic databases in their field • The Philosopher’s Index • ATLA Religion Database • For ATLA, this drops to two-thirds for undergraduates
The results • But perhaps the most striking statistic was the lack of recognition of scholarly gateways
The survey asked about: • Intute • Virtual Religion Index • Wabash Center Internet Guide • New Testament Gateway • EpistemeLinks • Peter Suber’s Guide to Philosophy • Peter King’s Philosophy Around the Web • Philosophy at Large • Noesis (philosophy search engine)
The results • Typically, name recognition for gateways was under 10%, with only one or two students actually using them • EpistemeLinks and the New Testament Gateway fared slightly better (but it’s possible students were confused about the latter)
The results • The survey featured a separate question asking students if they use gateways • Defined as ‘websites offering lists of links to other sites on a particular topic’ • Just over a quarter (28%) said yes • But when asked which ones, most named sites that aren’t gateways • Students seem unfamiliar with the concept
The story so far… • Most students have received little training in finding resources – but are nevertheless confident of their ability to do so • However, their lack of recognition of key websites suggests this confidence may be misplaced
And... • Anecdotal evidence suggests students are often unaware even of the electronic resources their own institutions offer • Students are unlikely to seek assistance if they don’t think they need it
So... • There seems to be a significant risk that students aren’t using the best resources available • They don’t know about them • They may not even realize how much there is that they aren’t aware of
And moreover... • Because students often use online resources as a way in to a subject, using the wrong ones may also have an impact on their use of print resources • They may start reading with a warped view of the subject • They may miss out on key references
A partial solution: gateways • Gateways offer hand-picked lists of links to quality websites • Academically orientated gateways can serve a similar purpose to university libraries • ‘Card catalogues for the Internet’
Gateways • Recommending gateways to students is a fast and efficient way to guide their use of the Internet • Students can develop their Web evaluation skills in a relatively safe context, without being spoon-fed
Gateways • Gateways offer several advantages over search engines: • Quality - the sites listed have been selected by a subject specialist • Speed - irrelevant sites have been sifted out, saving time and effort • Value-added content - annotations, reviews, additional features
Intute – http://www.intute.ac.uk/ • Database of over 120,000 websites suitable for use in further and higher education and research • Offers a descriptive review of each site catalogued • Free, UK-based service
A practical comparison • Google: http://www.google.co.uk/ • Intute: Arts and Humanities: http://www.intute.ac.uk/artsandhumanities/
Other major gateways • Virtual Religion Index: http://virtualreligion.net/vri/ • Wabash Center Internet Guide to Religion: http://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/resources/ • New Testament Gateway: http://www.ntgateway.com/
Other parts of the solution • Reflecting students’ information usage in reading lists • Students are going to use the Internet anyway, so point them in the right direction • A scholarly encyclopaedia article or similar may provide a good starting point
Other parts of the solution • Take advantage of the fact that people typically read online and print resources differently • Electronic texts lend themselves to ‘power browsing’ - moving rapidly between items • Hard copy texts tend to be read more intensively
Other parts of the solution • Harness the power of the Internet • Encourage students to follow up references - which can often be as easy as clicking a link • Promote the practice of cross-checking facts - also made straightforward by the Internet
Other parts of the solution • Offer training in finding and evaluating Web resources • Ongoing • Starting as early as possible • Intute’s Virtual Training Suite offers a selection of free online tutorials
If you’d like to know more... meriel.patrick@oucs.ox.ac.uk artsandhumanities@intute.ac.uk http://www.intute.ac.uk/