Googling and the Myth of the Digital Native

Last week, Jane shared an interesting USA Today article about a new study that shed additional light on something most of us are probably not surprised to hear, that college students often do not know how to search for information efficiently and effectively online, despite many of them falling into the so-called “digital native” category.

The most alarming finding in the ERIAL studies was perhaps the most predictable: when it comes to finding and evaluating sources in the Internet age, students are downright lousy….

Throughout the interviews, students mentioned Google 115 times — more than twice as many times as any other database. The prevalence of Google in student research is well-documented, but the Illinois researchers found something they did not expect: students were not very good at using Google. They were basically clueless about the logic underlying how the search engine organizes and displays its results. Consequently, the students did not know how to build a search that would return good sources. (For instance, limiting a search to news articles, or querying specific databases such as Google Book Search or Google Scholar.)

So, what’s the best way for librarians to respond?

• Are there lessons we can fold into our existing “Got Research?” workshops? Would a “Using Google Like a Librarian” class for faculty and students make a difference at Oakton, like it did at Grand Valley State University?
• If you could share just one tip about searching online (Google, library databases, or anything else), what would it be ?

If you want to learn more about the ERIAL project, check out this presentation by Lynda Duke (Illinois Wesleyan) given at ACRL 2011 or visit the official ERIAL website.