News Date: Jul 29, 2010
According to a new study from Illinois-based Northwestern University, college students give Google so much credibility that many students only click on websites that turn up at the top of Google searches to complete assigned tasks. If students do not use Google, researchers found that they trust other brand-name search engines or websites to lead them to information. The study's senior author says many students believe that because Google placed a site at the top of the search, it has to be credible, which she says is potentially tricky as Google does not rank a site by its credibility. The researcher suggests educators show specific websites in class and discuss why a source is or isn't credible. Northwestern U News | Maclean's OnCampus