Examining academic Internet use using a combined method

Since the inception of the Internet in South Korea, the Internet has become an important medium for information and communication among collegians due to its complete integration into everyday school lives. This study examines the scholarly use and role of advanced computer and communications technologies in general and the Internet in particular via an open-ended, qualitative survey among Korean university students. Through word frequency analysis and semantic mapping, this paper identifies the key issues in academic Internet use. In addition to information science methods, content analysis is used to investigate the attitudinal and behavior dimensions in scholarly Internet use. The results are expected to enable professors and policymakers to target populations who underutilize the educational potential of Internet technologies and to design e-learning programs for such students.