Effect of the Web on Undergraduate Citation Behavior: guiding student scholarship in a networked age

Abstract

This article provides the last update to a longitudinal study tracking the research behavior of a multi-college undergraduate course in microeconomics from 1996 to 2001. Student term paper bibliographies grew between 1996 and 2000 but included fewer scholarly resources. In 2001, a return to citing scholarly sources was demonstrated when the professor provided clear and enforceable guidelines in his class assignment. The accuracy and persistency of cited Web documents also increased as a result.