Abstract

This study explored expertise in searching for online information on a contentious historical and political question. Fact checkers, historians, and college students thought aloud while conducting online research on the question, “Did Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, support euthanasia?” Analyses of screen recordings and think-aloud transcripts revealed that students clicked on sites near the top of search results and privileged evidence from primary sources. In contrast, historians and fact checkers used the search results as a source to help them understand the political context in which their query had landed them and to select reliable sources. Additionally, they searched for evidence from authoritative secondary sources. Implications for teaching online research and historical inquiry are explored.

摘要

本研究探讨了在有争议的历史和政治问题上搜索在线信息的专业知识。事实核查人员、历史学家和大学生在对以下问题进行在线研究时大声思考：“计划生育的创始人玛格丽特·桑格是否支持安乐死？” 对屏幕录像和有声思考的成绩单的分析表明，学生点击搜索结果顶部附近的网站和来自主要来源的特权证据。相比之下，历史学家和事实核查人员使用搜索结果作为来源，以帮助他们了解他们的查询所涉及的政治背景并选择可靠的来源。此外，他们还从权威的二手资料中寻找证据。探讨了教学在线研究和历史探究的意义。