Exploring online reading strategies of American undergraduate students

Scope and Method of Study. This study explores the actual and the perceived online reading strategies used by selected American undergraduate students when reading academic materials on the web. In this mixed-method study with a two-phase exploratory sequential research, qualitative data were collected using a case study protocol; the data were used to modify the published survey (MARSI) which addresses print reading strategies to create the online reading strategies inventory called M-MARSI. The participants were undergraduate students enrolled at a university in the Midwest region of the United States who considered themselves as native speakers of American English.;Findings and Conclusions. The findings suggest that the students employed the same strategies in online academic reading as those identified in previous research on reading of printed texts; that is, the act of reading online is, for these readers, different from reading print text only in regard to the tools used, not to the processes. Considering the influence of technology on university instruction and learning, the researcher suggests that further research on this topic should be conducted. Recommendations for future research are provided.