This article explores how the three aspects of Striphas' notion of algorithmic culture (information, crowds and algorithms) might influence and potentially disrupt established educational practices. We draw on our experience of introducing semantic web and linked data technologies into higher education settings, focussing on extended student…

In this article I reflect on my experiences of using Facebook as a recruitment tool. Although there were many benefits associated with using this method of recruitment, there were also several unanticipated ethical dilemmas that arose. This article reflects on these dilemmas, locating them within some broader concerns around online research and…

Federated searching was once touted as the library world's answer to Google, but ten years since federated searching technology's inception, how does it actually compare? This study focuses on undergraduate student preferences and perceptions when doing research using both Google and a federated search tool. Students were asked about their…

Information use patterns by doctoral students are studied for selected years in the pre-web (1990-1993) and post-web (2003-2006) time periods. Over 55,000 citations from dissertations in ten disciplines were analyzed. The results show that there was some increase in journal use in most of the disciplines in the post-web era, and that the use of…

With the Internet-evoked paradigm shift in the academy, there has been a growing interest in students' Web-based information-seeking and source-use practices. Nevertheless, little is known as to how individual students go about searching for sources online and selecting source material for writing particular assignments. This exploratory study…

The need for the integration of generic skills training into structured PhD programmes is widely accepted. However, effective integration of such training requires flexible delivery mechanisms which facilitate self-paced and independent learning. A video recording was made of an eminent speaker delivering a 1-h live presentation to a group of 15…

Two studies analyzed impacts of writing and receiving web-mediated peer reviews on revision of research reports by undergraduate science students. After conducting toxicology experiments, 77 students posted draft reports and exchanged double-blind reviews. The first study randomly assigned students to four groups representing full, partial, or no…

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) standards mandate knowledge of global and technology issues. Businesses desire employees with ability to analyze international markets and to be adept with technology. Taxpayers supporting public universities and organizations hiring business school graduates expect accountability…

Business faculty were surveyed as to their use of free Web resources and subscription databases for their own and their students' research. A much higher percentage of respondents either require or encourage Web use by their students than require or encourage database use, though most also advise use of multiple sources.

This article examines key issues in how new technologies are impacting upon how we teach, learn and collaborate, and uses an educational research project called GRAIL (Graduate Researcher's Academic Identity Online) under development to illustrate some fundamental issues in adopting new technologies. A significant challenge to the effective use of…

In this paper, we report on survey and focus group data relating to the activities and perceptions of learning with Web 2.0 technologies of students aged between 11 and 16 years in 27 UK secondary schools. The study confirms that these learners had high levels of access to Web 2.0 technologies and that Web 2.0 activities were prolific. However,…

This article explores how the role of learning technologists, a professional group that has emerged during the last 15 to 20 years, may be diversifying to include supporting e-research. It contributes to the current debate about the emerging profession and the roles it should play in contemporary higher education. Previous studies have shown that,…

The findings of two studies with students doing research with the Internet about topics in science are reported. The focus is on students' methods of text production when using external web-based information and their learning outcomes. In a first exploratory study, the computer-based text production of 45 students was analysed using log files.…

This article explores how online pathfinders can best meet the information needs of graduate students and foster advanced research. The article reviews the literature on pathfinders, including the historic characteristics of print pathfinders, and the recommendations that have emerged for online pathfinder content. The article explores the…

Discusses the thorny challenges cybercitations raise in terms of traditional documentation and knowledge-making conventions. Compares Modern Language Association and American Psychological Association documentation styles to reveal the relationship between citation style and disciplinary values and to reveal why online sources challenge those…