Internet Search Tools: Tertiary Students' use of Google

Abstract

This study investigates tertiary students' use of Google for course-related work. It surveyed university students in the humanities and social sciences subjects to find out to what extent they use Google, if at all, how often and how long, and why they choose to use a generalist information search tool for finding academic information. Quantitative data was analysed using the statistical software package SPSS. The study found that students of all ages and all levels do use Google although further research is needed to place this usage in context with other electronic information sources.