This study investigated how high school students evaluated online information on social and political topics. Eighteen juniors and seniors, at a school that attempts to leverage technology to personalize learning, thought aloud as they completed online reasoning tasks. Three themes emerged from analyses of think-aloud data. First, students…

One of the many sources of information easily available to children is the internet and the millions of websites providing accurate, and sometimes inaccurate, information. In the current investigation, we examined children's ability to use credibility information about websites when learning about environmental sustainability. In two studies,…

This paper set out to explore online users' perceptions, attitudes, and practices towards mis/disinformation on social networking sites and investigate how they engage with, identify, and evaluate information disorder on social networking sites. The correlation study provides empirical insights into the complex relationship between digital media…

Adolescents rely on the internet as a primary source for sexual health information. Understanding users' assessments of trust and credibility in online materials may help inform interventions. Cognitive interviews with web observations were conducted with late adolescent internet users (n = 30). Web activity was tracked and transcripts analyzed…

This qualitative study investigated secondary teachers' definitions of information literacy and how they teach information literacy in the classroom. The sample consisted of 15 secondary teachers in a large, urban public high school. I used qualitative interviews to determine teachers' understanding of information literacy and analyzed documents…

Misinformation has become a regular feature of the Internet. Research suggests that everyone, including young people who have grown up with digital devices, struggles to differentiate fact from fiction online because they read closely rather than turning to external sources. We analyzed the resources students find when they seek advice offered by…

Addresses the following obstacles faced by faculty and students in the use of World Wide Web-based support and instruction: multiple skill levels of students performing Web research; credibility of Web information; reliability of campus computer-network systems; inequality of access to student computing resources; and lack of understanding of…

Sourcing -- identifying, evaluating, and using information about the sources of information -- assists readers in determining what to trust when seeking information on the Internet. To survive in the post-truth era, students should be equipped with sufficient sourcing skills. This study investigated the efficacy of a teacher-led intervention aimed…

This study investigated upper secondary school students' skills in evaluating the credibility and argumentative content of a blog text and a YouTube video. Both sources concerned child vaccination, the blog text opposing and the YouTube video supporting it. Students rated each source as credible, fairly credible or non-credible, justified their…

Background/Context: The Internet has democratized access to information but in so doing has opened the floodgates to misinformation, fake news, and rank propaganda masquerading as dispassionate analysis. Despite mounting attention to the problem of online misinformation and growing agreement that digital literacy efforts are important, prior…

In a study conducted across an urban school district, we tested a classroom-based intervention in which students were taught online evaluation strategies drawn from research with professional fact checkers. Students practiced the heuristic of "lateral reading": leaving an unfamiliar website to search the open Web before investing…

Objective: False news about vaccination shared in digital spaces is a major problem that harms informed health choices. Drawing from processing fluency theory, we propose that an infographic -- a visual representation of information -- reduces cognitive load, thereby helping people retain and process the necessary information to discern truth from…

Using pre- and post- intervention data, this formative study explores instructional moves designed to guide students' critical thinking as they engage in lateral reading and digital source evaluation. Working in a dual enrollment composition classroom, researchers identified and addressed three areas of need: considering context when determining…

The introduction of smartphones has revolutionized how late adolescents (aged 18-21 years) access and use the internet. Vast troves of health information are today just a tap or swipe away, with smartphones and internet connectivity becoming increasingly accessible. The need for eHealth literacy among late adolescents is now gaining importance as…

Consumers are increasingly turning to both the internet and apps for mental health assistance. Mobile technologies such as smart phones and tablets offer swift and anonymous access for students to internet sites and app environments. Availability, however, does not guarantee quality or credibility. This web-based pilot study was undertaken to…