**4. Results**

The primary purpose of this research was to examine student knowledge and evaluation of information found during an authentic internet search. The findings pertain to initial outcomes for Construct 4 of the COT-R observational survey. Through the observational survey process, we were able to evaluate the search and evaluation skills of 354 students in grades one through five.

#### *4.1. Task 1: Narrowing Information*

Task 1 addressed the ability to narrow information and was evaluated with two prompts. The number of correct responses on each prompt per grade level was calculated and converted to a percentage. Table 3 presents findings from the prompt in which students had to determine how many websites a search provided. Overall, 20.1% of the participants earned credit for their response to this task. It was noted that in most cases, students either counted the number of results on each page or did not know how to determine the answer.

**Table 3.** Show me how many websites your search provided.


Table 4 presents findings from the prompt in which students had to narrow the dolphin search to find out what dolphins eat. Overall, 81.9% of the participants earned credit for their response to this task. It was noted that most students typed in a question in the search bar in order to narrow the search. For example, a common search was "What do dolphins eat"?

**Table 4.** Show me how you could narrow the dolphin search to find what dolphins eat.


#### *4.2. Task 2: Evaluating Information*

Task 2 addressed the ability to evaluate information encountered in an internet search and was assessed with three questions. The number of correct responses for each question per grade level was calculated and converted to a percentage. Table 5 presents findings from the prompt in which students had to determine which of the search results would provide the best information about the dolphin topic. Overall, 40.9% of the participants earned credit for their response to this task. One COT-R test administrator noted that students often referred to images when asked this question. This could explain why fewer students earned credit for this prompt as opposed to the next one.

**Table 5.** How do you know which website will provide the best information about your topic?


Table 6 presents findings from the prompt in which students had to first select a website and then tell if the website was relevant to their search. Overall, 74.6% of the participants earned credit for their response to this task. Because students searched what dolphins like to eat, many students were able to use images on the website they selected to confirm they had found what dolphins like to eat. Images seemed to catch a child's attention more easily than other text features.

**Table 6.** Click on one of the websites you found. How can you tell if this website is relevant to your search? In other words, how can you tell if this website will give you the kind of information you need?


Table 7 presents findings from the prompt in which students had to determine the accuracy of the website they selected. Student performance was the weakest on this task. Overall, 18.9% of the participants earned credit for their response. Observation notes indicated that many students believed websites had correct information because the pictures were real.

**Table 7.** How can you tell if this website will provide correct information that is true or accurate?


#### **5. Discussion and Implications**

Although the tasks included in this study provide just a glimpse into the search process, it is clear that young readers need to develop skills to be savvy consumers of online information. According to our findings, many elementary students demonstrated a lack of knowledge about online research. We believe this is in part due to a misunderstanding of the nature of the internet as an information source. It is apparent in the first prompt for Task 1 that participants did not understand that a web search typically results in millions of website suggestions. This lack of understanding is a problem, and it is not a new one. A 2008 study of 7-, 9-, and 11-year-old children searching the internet in the home reported that the majority of the participants never went beyond the first page of results during a search [24]. The researchers also found that the first website result was typically selected to examine further. Students need to understand that the internet, a global library system, has become the largest repository for locating information [2]. They also need to understand that much of the information on the internet has not been vetted and, therefore, must be scrutinized.

Task 1 also assessed students' abilities to narrow an internet search. Students performed well at this task, with 90% of students in grades 3–5 narrowing searches effectively. It was interesting that students knew how to narrow searches by changing the keyword to a question. For example, many students asked, "What do dolphins eat?" By using a question in the search bar, students were able to obtain more specific results that did not include websites about the Miami Dolphins, for instance. Even though search engines use key words in the websites they search, the questions asked seemed to provide a combination of key words that worked for this particular search. However, because students did not understand the vast number of results provided by a search, we wonder if students would have narrowed the initial search if they had not been instructed to do so. We also wonder

if students tend to use questions instead of key words as they search the internet. These questions would be worth further investigation.

Task 2 assessed students' abilities to evaluate information during an internet search. The results of the three prompts are similar to previous studies in which students were asked to evaluate information. The participants across all grade levels struggled with the question *How do you know which website will provide the best information about your topic*? To answer this question, students must start the process of evaluating information before they select a website. For example, it would be appropriate for students to avoid ads or irrelevant websites. Students in younger grades may not be able to read well enough to determine which website to select. It was noted that after initiating a search, many of the younger students started clicking images or websites without examining the list of website results. However, 52.4% of third graders, 46.2% of fourth graders, and 55.7% of fifth graders missed this question, indicating a need for explicit instruction related to how to examine search result lists. Internet search results are not numbered, but companies such as Google apply an algorithm that is used to determine search results. A library search using a database does present numbered search results, with vetted articles. Teaching students to search library databases may help in information location. However, students need to be taught the skills necessary for locating accurate information on the wild wide web.

The last question was the most difficult for all students: *How can you tell if this website will provide correct information that is true or accurate*? Only 18.9% of participants were able to answer this question correctly. Participants were unable to verbalize ways to examine credibility. Inaccurate answers were common, which students either mentioning or pointing at "real" photos. This finding suggests students are often fooled by fake news on the internet that includes realistic photos.

Teacher data collectors for this study were surprised by student performance on the COT-R. Perhaps educators assume students know more than they do when it comes to the internet. We know this is the case with general technology use, as researchers [25,26] have challenged Prensky's [27] idea that children born after the 1980s are "digital natives" who are fluent with computer and internet technology. Because students lack knowledge about searching the internet, they are at risk of being fooled by fake news. Education is key. We recommend that they need increased opportunities to practice internet searches in safe environments. We are not suggesting teachers should provide the websites for research. We support instruction in which students engage in the "messiness" of online searches [4] (p. 98), where teachers guide students to become critical consumers of information. Students need authentic opportunities to safely search the wild wide web with teacher support and guidance. The need for strong web literacy skills will "increase, not decrease, the central role teachers play in orchestrating learning experiences for students as literacy instruction converges with internet technologies" [18] (p. 1173).

What does this mean for educators? Just as teachers teach nonfiction text features in paper-based books and how to use the glossary, heading, charts, tables, and facts vs. opinions, in the online information age, they are charged to teach how to determine source credibility and help them to develop reliability reasoning. This instruction needs to begin at an early age if we are to equip students with the tools and thought processes needed to critically examine information. The International Society for Technology in Education published standards for students identifying web literacy competencies for learning in the digital age [28]. The standards, adopted in all 50 US states and in many countries, are available in eight languages. Standard 3 relates to the content of this article with its focus on students as "Knowledge Conductors" [28] (para. 4) The corresponding skill states that "Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources" (para. 4). The age range for the student standards is unclear. Perhaps such skills should be the focus of teachers around the globe.

#### **6. Conclusions, Limitations, and Implications for Future Research**

The guiding question for this study was: What search and evaluation skills do students in grades 1–5 demonstrate during an internet query? Findings from this study indicate that upon initiating an internet query, participants in grades 3–5 could narrow an internet search efficiently. Even students in grades 1 and 2 had some success narrowing an internet search, with more than half of the students demonstrating this skill with some success. Students also demonstrated proficiency at determining which of the websites may be relevant to their search. However, participants did not understand the breadth of the results their query provided. Only at the fifth-grade level could half of the students understand how many websites their query produced. The most challenging of the research tasks was the evaluation of information. Participants lacked the evaluation skills needed to determine which website would provide the best information about their topic. Then, once they selected a website, they lacked the evaluation skills necessary to determine if the website was true, or accurate. Only 18.9% of the participants responded to this evaluation task with acceptable answers.

An educational approach using media literacy [10] and teaching strategies to determine reliable and trustworthy sources may be among the most important literacy work in the 21st century. Fake news will need to be addressed explicitly with educational strategies to equip students to navigate the wild web. Just as teachers model concepts with young students using big books [29] and enlarged texts, they can do the same with internet searches on large presentation screens. For example, rather than having an image or video at the ready, teachers can model search process methods, including some typical internet missteps [30] about their process, starting from the search engine or opening page of a website.

This study had a number of limitations which should be considered by researchers seeking to replicate the study. Although our goal was to collect data from across the United Sates, most of the data in this study were collected from four states. In order for the data to be more generalizable, data need to be representative of each state in the United States. We feel the 2020 pandemic impacted our ability to recruit teachers during the spring of 2020. In addition, some states continued online learning during the fall of 2020. Finally, limited sociodemographic information prevented deeper analysis related to the implications of this study.

The findings from this study have implications for teacher preparation and development. Preservice teachers' literacy education should extend to concepts of digital print. In addition, in-service teachers' continued professional development should include evolving digital literacy skills. Navigating online texts is a current need, not a future need. Understanding student knowledge of digital literacy, as well as ways digital texts and media work in an online environment, provides insight into the instruction needed in current elementary settings. Rather than assuming students will learn the needed skills as they engage with online text, we must acknowledge the need for explicit instruction and the benefit of learning through experience.

Our plans for future research include the use of the COT-R with older participants. We will extend data collection into grades 6–8. Future research could also compare the performance of students from varying demographics, such as rural versus urban schools, or schools with and without 1:1 technology initiatives. Finally, the inclusion of participants from across the globe would provide further insight into students' search and evaluation skills.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, J.P. and S.V.; methodology, J.P.; formal analysis J.P. and S.V.; investigation, J.P. and S.V.; resources, J.P. and S.V.; writing—original draft preparation, J.P. writing—review and editing, S.V.; project administration, J.P. and S.V.; funding acquisition, J.P. and S.V. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the International Literacy Association's Elva Knight Research Grant and the University of Mary Hardin Baylor's Graduate Research Grant.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (protocol #33, approved on 20 June 2019).

**Informed Consent Statement:** Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

**Data Availability Statement:** Data is contained within the article.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
