Graduate student cognition during information retrieval using the World Wide Web: a pilot study

The intensity of Internet use in higher education, particularly the World Wide Web, has stimulated concern regarding the ways in which students acquire necessary skills for managing, filtering, and storing vast amounts of information. Research is beginning to focus on how students think about an Internet search and how they use cognitive strategies for information retrieval. The purpose of this study was to describe and interpret the cognition of a graduate student during information retrieval using the World Wide Web. The participant was a doctoral student in psychology with little experience using the Internet, particularly fewer experiences with the World Wide Web. The student performed an open search of her dissertation topic (i.e., child temperament), followed by a pre-arranged task requiring the student to answer several questions regarding the American Civil War using only the Web to obtain the information. Three qualitative sources of data were collected involving student cognition: observation, think aloud protocols, and an in-depth interview. A core category derived from the qualitative analysis indicated that the student's thoughts and perceptions centered on information overload. A systematic approach outlined two major dimensions of this core category: knowledge and personal characteristics. Within each dimension several subcategories were identified. The results are interpreted within a theory of information processing. Implications for continuing this line of research are provided. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.