Undergraduates’ Experiences of Using the World Wide Web as an Information Resource

SUMMARY

This paper describes a study we have made of undergraduates’ experiences of using the World Wide Web as an adjunct information resource. The focus of the research was not on students using information provided by academic staff nor on any form of computer‐aided learning, but rather, on the information sought and used by students which was freely available on the Web. In a series of interviews, 12 undergraduate students related their experiences of using the Web as a resource to support their studies. The qualitative analysis of these interviews identified a number of recurring themes. The emotions that were revealed by the students ranged from the delight of successfully finding valuable information to concerns about over‐use in the future. Some of the other issues that are also discussed in this paper relate to the students’ experiences of learning to use the Web, its perceived value, frustrations that arose, worries over the validity of information, the serendipity effect and the influence of lecturers.