Researching Students’ Information Choices (RSIC): Determining Identity and Judging Credibility in Digital Spaces

<h3>Project Summary</h3></p>
<p>Researching Students’ Information Choices (RSIC) examined students’ point-of-selection behavior (i.e., the moment a user determines an information resource potentially meets a research need) when just beginning work on a science related research assignment. This mixed methods study captured participants’ real-time judgments. The research team created simulated Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) and used these in conjunction with a think-aloud protocol to gather students’ thought processes as they progressed through five tasks. Simulations were employed to mimic the real-world experience of engaging in a Google search and to record quantitative data. The simulation presented participants with a science research query appropriate to their educational stage, asked them to perform a Google search and then review a controlled set of search results where they would determine the helpfulness, citability, credibility, and container identity. Students were divided into two groups, K-12 and higher education, and further into six educational stages – elementary school, middle school, high school, community college, university undergraduates, and graduate students.</p>