EXAMINATION OF INTERNET-SPECIFIC EPISTEMOLOGICAL BELIEFS OF STUDENTS IN GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

Abstract

This study investigated the Internet-specific epistemological beliefs of students from a geography department and the effect of personal, academic, and Internet-related variables on those beliefs. The study was conducted in the geography department of a public university in the 2021-2022 academic year. The study sample consisted of 221 students. The data were collected using "Information Form" and ‘’Internet-Specific Epistemological Belief Scale (ISEBS)’’ after the approval of the ethics committee. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, v. 22.0) was used to analyse the data. Participants had a mean total ISEBS score of 96.13 ± 17.96. They had mean ISEBS “certainty and source of knowledge,” “justification of knowing,” and “structure of knowledge” subscale scores of 53.26 ± 15.39, 14.51 ± 8.34, and 28.36 ± 8.56, respectively. The participants' epistemological beliefs about the Internet differed significantly by age, grade level, access to information, and use of the Internet for academic learning. However, their epistemological beliefs about the Internet did not significantly differ by gender, choosing the department willingly, being satisfied with studying in the department and also daily internet usage time for accessing information, and academic learning. Geography students have moderate/unclear epistemological beliefs about the Internet.