Yang, F.-Y., Chen, Y.-H., & Tsai, M.-J. (2013). How University Students Evaluate Online Information about a Socio-scientific Issue and the Relationship with their Epistemic Beliefs. Educational Technology & Society, 16 (3), 385–399. How University Students Evaluate Online Information about a Socio-scientific Issue and the Relationship with their Epistemic Beliefs Fang-Ying Yang 1 *, Yu-Hsin Chen 2 and Meng-Jung Tsai 3 1 Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Taiwan Normal University, 88 Sec. 4, Ting-Zhou Road, Taipei 116, Taiwan // 2 Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43 Sec.4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, 106, Taiwan // 3 Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43 Sec.4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, 106, Taiwan // fangyang@ntnu.edu.tw // hsin0902@gmail.com // mjtsai99@mail.ntust.edu.tw * Corresponding author (Submitted November 22, 2011; Revised May 12, 2012; Accepted July 10, 2012) ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to explore the judgment criteria used by university students for evaluating online information about a socio-scientific issue and the associations, if any, with their epistemic beliefs. The problem context was a socio-scientific issue concerning the impact of electromagnetic waves on human health. The participants were 36 university students, who were asked to read a news report, briefly state their thoughts, and then proceed to the web search activity in order to determine if their thoughts were legitimate. The students’ search processes were recorded by web camera. After the search activity, all students were interviewed about the criteria used to determine the credibility of the online information. The students responded to the interview questions as they were watching their own web search processes. Epistemic beliefs were then assessed using questionnaires. A coding scheme was developed to analyze the students’ oral responses. It was found that these university students determined the credibility of the online information mostly with reference to the richness and explanative power of argument, the presence of evidence, and the authority source of information. However, few of them went further to examine the validity of the evidence. Correlation analyses and ANOVA showed that the use of overall criteria for judging the online information was associated significantly with students’ epistemic beliefs regarding authority. Meanwhile, the number of criteria used for justifying evidence was significantly associated with the students’ beliefs about learning ability and justification in science. Keywords Web-based learning, Online information credibility, Epistemic beliefs, Media and science education Introduction In many work places, public areas, or at home, people rely on the World Wide Web to search for information that can help them solve problems and make decisions. Although online technology allows instant and easy access to knowledge and information, there are few constraints on what kinds of information should be posted on the Internet. Consequently, web users need to develop effective judgment schemes to help them distinguish useful and credible online information. In the domain of science education, evaluating information is an essential part of a “scientific habit of mind,” which emphasizes the critical and evaluative thinking about information as the evidence for any claim or theory. Nevertheless, until recent years, few studies in science education have paid attention to how students think and make judgments about the online information that concerns the application of science and technology. Thus, the purposes of this study were to explore the judgment schemes employed by university students for evaluating online information, and discuss the factors that might influence their evaluative behaviors. Literature review Criteria for judging online information In the literature, a considerable amount of research regarding information searching can be found in the marketing, medical and health, and communication fields. In these studies, web search activities are linked to problem-solving and decision-making processes where the research questions are largely concerned with search strategies and consumer behaviors or characteristics (e.g., Darley, Blankson, & Juethge, 2010; Lin & Chan, 2009; Case, 2002). In 385 ISSN 1436-4522 (online) and 1176-3647 (print). © International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS). The authors and the forum jointly retain the copyright of the articles. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear the full citation on the first page. 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