INTERNET AS A SOURCE OF MISCONCEPTION: “RADIATION AND RADIOACTIVITY”

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to examine students’ usage styles of the Internet for seeking information and to investigate whether information obtained from the Internet is a source of misconceptions. For this reason, a two-stage study was conducted. At the first stage, a questionnaire was developed to get information about students’ Internet usage styles. In the light of the questionnaire results, the first 200 websites were scanned and analysed by 3 experts to determine the probable incorrect information about “Radiation” and “Radioactivity” concepts at the second stage. It was found that a good number of websites contain incorrect and inadequate knowledge about radiation and radioactivity, which can cause various misconceptions.