Source Evaluation and Information Literacy: Findings from a Study on Science Websites

Abstract

An essential component of information literacy is the evaluation of information resources. Integral to evaluation are users’ judgments about which web sources might prove reliable when learning about a particular topic. Past website quality studies have used research methods that involved asking participants to recall quality factors without the benefit of concurrent web searching. Users in this study evaluated websites during live searching on the “open” web to determine the quality factors they valued and how these relate to gaining knowledge about a particular topic – genetically modified (GM) food. Two weeks later, participants answered questions about the websites they visited and what they had learned via an email survey. The participants then reported factors that allowed them to remember a website or the information contained within it. The effect of the quality evaluation on memory for a particular resource is examined and its relationship to information literacy is explored.