| Although undergraduates frequently use the World Wide Web in their course assignments, very little research has been done into faculty attitudes toward students' use of the Web. This dissertation explores faculty attitudes toward the Web as a research tool, for both their own use and their students' class-related research; use of the Web in classroom instruction; policies toward student Web use; and whether academic discipline affects attitudes toward the Web. A survey instrument consisting of a modified End-User Computing Satisfaction (EUCS) form and questions designed by the researcher was mailed to full-time faculty members at post-secondary and higher education institutions in Alabama. A total of 388 usable responses were returned.; EUCS responses were significantly higher than the expected mean, indicating general satisfaction with the Web as a research resource for both faculty and student use. However, faculty reported higher satisfaction with content and accuracy for student use than for their own use. One-factor ANOVAs showed significant differences between types of institutions, with community/junior college faculty indicating highest satisfaction, and between academic disciplines, with science faculty indicating the highest satisfaction and language/literature faculty the lowest. Faculty who did not use the Web had the lowest satisfaction levels. Neither age group nor gender were significant factors.; Approximately three-quarters of faculty allow their students to use the Web for research or encourage students to use specific Web sites sometimes, often, or almost always. However, 83% require their students to use other sources in conjunction with the Web sometimes, often, or almost always. Less than 8% forbid Web use more than rarely. Just over half demonstrate the Web in class.; In their comments, faculty praised the availability of information while questioning its accuracy, reliability, and value. They also questioned their students' ability to evaluate Web information.; Although the overall results indicate that faculty have accepted the Web as a research tool, questions of accuracy, reliability, and cognitive authority remain. Information specialists should consider these issues when recommending or providing links to Web-based resources, and should emphasize the importance of critical evaluation of Web information when conducting classroom or individualized instruction. |
