Searching reference databases: What students experience and what teachers believe that students experience

Abstract

The Internet has made it possible for students to access a vast amount of high-quality references when writing papers. Yet research has shown that the use of reference databases is poor and the quality of student papers is consequently often below expectation. The objective of this article is twofold. First, it aims to describe the problems students experience when they search for information using a university reference database. Second, it aims to compare the perspective of students of the problems of searching with that of their teachers. As a basis for the study, we used the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. A web-based survey was carried out. A total of 150 students at Örebro University in Sweden participated in the survey. The results were analysed by comparison of median values. Results show that students experience problems mostly in the category of efforts expectancy. Differences between the two groups are most significant in the category of effort expectancy and students’ patience in searching. Teachers are more pessimistic about students’ capacity in information searching than the students themselves.