Information Seeking and Use by Grade 9 Students: More and Less Savvy Than You Might Think

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a survey administered to 939 high school freshmen (Grade 9, approximately 14 years old) in five schools in the greater Seattle, Washington (USA) area. Responses indicate that students use a wide range of information resources, including books, the Web, and other people, but underutilize subscription databases and periodical literature. Furthermore, there appears to be some confusion over what these databases contain, their utility, and credibility among young people. This paper also introduces a novel survey technique using Personal Response Systems (PRS) for data collection, and suggests that similar researcher-practitioner collaborations can enhance evidence-based practice in teacher-librarianship.