Previous studies have examined the online research behaviors of graduate students in terms of how they seek and retrieve research-related information on the Web across diverse disciplines. However, few have focused on graduate students' searching activities, and particularly for their research tasks. Drawing on Kuiper, Volman, and Terwel's (2008)…

The purpose of this study is two-fold: to explore the differences in online medical information searching behaviors, including evaluative standards and search strategies, of the general public (general group) and those of hospital patients and their relatives (hospital group); and to compare the predictive relationship between the evaluative…

The present study aims to explore the behavioral patterns of the social knowledge construction process and the online searching behaviors in a collaborative problem solving learning activity for high school students, and further compares the different behavioral patterns of the high- and low-performing teams. A total of 78 high school students…

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between Chinese higher education students' epistemic beliefs and their judgmental standards of searching for literature online. Data were collected from 449 higher education students (152 college students and 297 graduate students) in Beijing via two self-reported questionnaires: one…

Online information searching tasks are usually implemented in a technology-enhanced science curriculum or merged in an inquiry-based science curriculum. The purpose of this study was to examine the role students' different levels of scientific epistemic beliefs (SEBs) play in their online information searching strategies and behaviors. Based on…

This study investigates the role of search context played in university students' online information searching strategies. A total of 304 university students in Taiwan were surveyed with questionnaires in which two search contexts were defined as searching for learning, and searching for daily life information. Students' online search strategies…

Epistemic beliefs have been considered as important components of the self-regulatory model; however, their relationships with self-regulated learning processes in the Internet context need further research. The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between Internet-specific epistemic belief dimensions and self-regulated…

Online information searching strategies (OISS) used by students can be viewed as a key indicator in online learning environments. Therefore, developments in their OISS may also involve variables such as self-regulated learning (SRL) and online information evaluative standards (OIES). Three instruments, an OISS, a SRL and an OIES were used to…

The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of cognitive load experience between students' scientific epistemic beliefs and information commitments, which refer to online evaluative standards and online searching strategies. A total of 344 science-related major students participated in this study. Three questionnaires were…

Due to a growing trend of exploring scientific knowledge on the Web, a number of studies have been conducted to highlight examination of students' online searching strategies. The investigation of online searching generally employs methods including a survey, interview, screen-capturing, or transactional logs. The present study firstly intended to…

This study aimed to explore the correlates among teachers' epistemological beliefs concerning Internet environments, their web search strategies and search outcomes. The sample of this study included 105 teachers from 63 grades 1 to 9 schools in Taiwan. The results show that the teachers with more advanced epistemological beliefs concerning…

Learners' ability in dealing with socio-scientific issues has been highlighted in contemporary science education. This study explored the effects of different on-line searching activities on high school students' cognitive structure outcomes and informal reasoning outcomes. By using a quasi-experimental research approach, thirty-three students…

This study was conducted to investigate Taiwan University students' perceptions (including experience, confidence and preference) of online academic help seeking (OAHS) and students' level of web-based learning self-efficacy (WLSE). Two instruments, OAHS questionnaire, consisting of "information searching," "formal" and…

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between college students' behavioral and cognitive engagements while performing an online collective information searching (CIS) activity. The activity aimed to assist the students in utilizing a social bookmarking application to exploit the Internet in a collective manner. A group of 101 college…

This paper investigated the gender differences in junior high school students' Internet self-efficacy and their use of the Internet. A total of 1080 eighth graders were randomly selected from all junior high school students in Taiwan. The Internet Self-Efficacy Scale (ISES) was developed and used to examine students' Internet self-efficacy in two…