Causal Relationships between Internet Use and Information Literacy : A Three-Wave Panel Study of Junior High School Students

Rei OMI; Akira SAKAMOTO; Reiko ANDO; Kumiko AKIYAMA; Fumika KIMURA; Megumi KASHIBUCHI; Mayumi NAITO; Mieko TAKAHIRA; Katsura SAKAMOTO; Nireka ADACHI; Kanae SUZUKI; Shogo KATO; Takashi SAKAMOTO

doi:10.15077/etr.KJ00004963298

Rei OMI, Akira SAKAMOTO, Reiko ANDO, Kumiko AKIYAMA, Fumika KIMURA, Megumi KASHIBUCHI, Mayumi NAITO, Mieko TAKAHIRA, Katsura SAKAMOTO, Nireka ADACHI, Kanae SUZUKI, Shogo KATO, Takashi SAKAMOTO

Author information

Rei OMI
Ochanomizu University:The Japan Society for promotion of Science
Akira SAKAMOTO
Ochanomizu University
Reiko ANDO
Ochanomizu University
Kumiko AKIYAMA
Ochanomizu University
Fumika KIMURA
Ochanomizu University
Megumi KASHIBUCHI
The Japan Society for promotion of Science
Mayumi NAITO
Takasaki City University of Economics
Mieko TAKAHIRA
National Institute of Multimedia Education
Katsura SAKAMOTO
Ochanomizu University
Nireka ADACHI
Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society
Kanae SUZUKI
University of Tsukuba
Shogo KATO
Aohaka Elementary School
Takashi SAKAMOTO
Japan Association for promotion of Educational Technology

Keywords: Internet use, information literacy, causal relationships, three-wave panel study, structural equation modeling

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2006 Volume 29 Issue 1-2 Pages 25-36

DOI https://doi.org/10.15077/etr.KJ00004963298

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Abstract

In the present study, we conducted a three-wave panel study with an interval of half a year in order to examine whether spontaneous use of the Internet by junior high school students improved their information literacy and its sub-skills. Structural equation analyses of data obtained from 539 students revealed that most of the short-term effects that developed within half a year failed to show positive significance. The longer-term effects that developed within a year, however, often indicated positive significance, mainly in terms of web-page creation or e-mail use. These results implied that sufficient time was necessary for spontaneous Internet use to develop information literacy. In addition, the positive effect of Internet use on the ability to create (the ability of an individual to create information based on his/her own ideas and opinions) and the positive effect of web-page creation on information literacy were identified. These effects were rarely reported in previous studies.

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