Sixth graders’ evaluation strategies when reading Internet search results : an eye-tracking study

Abstract
Eye-tracking technology was used to examine Internet search result evaluation strategies adopted by sixth-grade students (N = 36) during ten experimental information search tasks. The relevancy of the search result’s title, URL, and snippet components was manipulated and selection of search results as well as looking into probabilities on the search result components was analysed. The results revealed that during first-pass inspection, students read the search engine page by first looking at the title of a search result. If the title was relevant, the probability of looking at the snippet of the search result increased. During second-pass inspection, there was a high probability of students focusing on the most promising search result by inspecting all of its components before making their selection. A cluster analysis revealed three viewing strategies: half of the students looked mainly at the titles and snippets; one-third with high probability examined all components; and one-sixth mainly focused on titles, leading to more frequent errors in search result selection. The results indicate that students generally made a flexible use of both eliminative and confirmatory evaluation strategies when reading Internet search results, while some seemed to not pay attention to snippet and URL components of the search results.
Main Authors
Format
Articles Research article
Published
2018
Series
Subjects
Publication in research information system
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
The permanent address of the publication
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-201811134694Use this for linking
Review status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0144-929X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929x.2018.1477992
Language
English
Published in
Behaviour and Information Technology
Citation
  • Hautala, J., Kiili, C., Kammerer, Y., Loberg, O., Hokkanen, S., & Leppänen, P. H. (2018). Sixth graders’ evaluation strategies when reading Internet search results : an eye-tracking study. Behaviour and Information Technology, 37(8), 761-773. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929x.2018.1477992
License
In CopyrightOpen Access
Funder(s)
Research Council of Finland
Funding program(s)
Akatemiaohjelma, SA
Academy Programme, AoF
Research Council of Finland
Additional information about funding
This research was funded by a grant 274022 from the Academy of Finland (Research Council for Culture and Society) to Paavo H. T. Leppänen.
Copyright© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

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