The UK's Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and the British Library have released a report, according to which young researchers are increasingly using free web technology to help with their research. However they are not active in creating content, says the report.
The British Library/ JISC generation Y, 'Researchers of Tomorrow' report shows that passive use of these open web technologies is more common than active use. Researchers are reading wikis and blogs without adding to them; they make passive use of Internet forums for research, and few blog themselves. It was found that while 29 percent made passive use of Internet discussion forums, only 13 percent were active on them.
The UK's largest survey of the information seeking behaviours of doctoral students born between 1982-1994, commonly dubbed generation Y, shows a 'modest increase' in the students' use of web technology over the past year. Compared with a sample of older students, more of the generation Y sample had used at least one kind of open web or Web 2.0 technology with only 8 percent saying they had used none at all.
The study includes a survey of doctoral students of any age to provide background to the generation Y research. The first report took place at the end of June 2009 with the assistance of over 70 universities and covering all subject disciplines. It was repeated in 2010 and will be launched for the third and final time in mid 2011.
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