On the Pew Research site, you can find a summary of the findings of how teen-age students do research today. Here is the summary of the sources they are likely to consult:

Google or other online search engine (94%)Wikipedia or other online encyclopedia (75%)YouTube or other social media sites (52%)Their peers (42%)Spark Notes, Cliff Notes, or other study guides (41%)News sites of major news organizations (25%)Print or electronic textbooks (18%)Online databases such as EBSCO, JSTOR, or Grolier (17%)A research librarian at their school or public library (16%)Printed books other than textbooks (12%)Student-oriented search engines such as Sweet Search (10%)

The heading under which these data are given reads: The internet has changed the very meaning of research. I would like myself to know how many of the teens consulted more than one of these.

Rev. Joseph A. Komonchak, professor emeritus of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of New York.

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