Students Determining the Usefulness of Multiple Sources: Evaluating Search Results in Social Studies and Science

• In Event: Multiple Documents, Sources, and Structures

Abstract

This research examined middle school students’ ability to evaluate the usefulness of multiple sources with respect to an inquiry question by examining: (1) the relations between different aspects of the sourcing process theorized to predict and explain final decisions about source usefulness for a task (which includes the examination of general reading ability as a predictor), and (2) the similarities and differences that may exist in this process across disciplines of study, specifically the domains of social studies and science. Results suggest that although certain aspects of sourcing appear to be consistent from task to task, differences in how students evaluate sources may also arise depending on the domain in which that task is situated.

Authors

• Flori H. Manning, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Kimberly A. Lawless, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Susan R. Goldman, University of Illinois at Chicago