Google vs. library databases: Engaging twenty-first century undergraduate students in critical thinking

• Published in: Journal of electronic resources librarianship 2019-10, Vol.31 (4), p.219-231
• Main Authors: López-Fitzsimmons, Bernadette M., Nagra, Kanu A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 21st century; Blended Learning; co-teaching; Critical Thinking; differentiation; discovery; Electronic Libraries; flipped classroom; Google; Information Literacy; Information Sources; instruction; Learning Activities; Libraries; Library Instruction; Natural language; Pedagogy; research inquiry; scaffolding; Scaffolding (Teaching Technique); Search Engines; Students; Teaching Methods; Thinking Skills; Undergraduate Students; undergraduates; User training; Web Sites
• ISSN: 1941-126X; 1941-1278
• DOI: 10.1080/1941126X.2019.1669959

Twenty-first century undergraduates demand quick access to authoritative sources that are easily read without challenging technical and disciplinary language. They expect comprehensible natural language-exactly like Google's-which can be read without concentrating for long periods of time. Integrating Google and Google Scholar in library instruction can have an impact on learners. It can bridge the information literacy gap between using Google's natural language and the databases' controlled language. This article provides pedagogical strategies and learning activities using Google, Google Scholar, and databases which can be incorporated in library's one-shot sessions and credit courses to enhance students' understanding and knowledge about both.