For students today, "research = Googling."
An interesting look at the research "smarts" and data-collecting habits of teens. The quote below highlights the limited range of strategies adolescents use. This has important implications for the role of teacher-librarians. Who will teach students and their teachers to maximize use of databases, navigate online encyclopedias and other eTexts, and formulate powerful search strings?
"According to the teachers in this study, perhaps the most fundamental impact of the internet and digital tools on how students conduct research is how today's digital environment is changing the very definition of what "research" is and what it means to "do research." Ultimately, some teachers say, for students today, "research = Googling." Specifically asked how their students would define the term "research," most teachers felt that students would define the process as independently gathering information by "looking it up" or "Googling." And when asked how middle and high school students today "do research," the first response in every focus group, teachers and students, was "Google."
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