Search Engines or AI Chatbots : A Study of Students’ Information Seeking, Trust and Source Evaluation
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The rapid development of generative AI has fundamentally changed how information is produced and consumed, particularly in higher education. This study examines how university students in Sweden use and experience search engines and AI chatbots in their information seeking, with a focus on trust, credibility, and source evaluation. Using a qualitative research design, six semi-structured interviews were conducted with undergraduate students at Uppsala University and Umeå University. The material was analyzed through thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke (2006), resulting in three themes: conditional trust, feeling and plausibility as a basis for evaluation, and individual responsibility with ambivalence. The findings show that students do not passively accept information from either search engines or AI chatbots, but actively negotiate their trust through individual strategies. However, when formal markers of credibility are absent such as an identifiable author or traceable source, students tend to rely on feeling and perceived plausibility rather than systematic evaluation. The study concludes that students' source criticism is not a matter of lacking competence, but rather a rational adaptation to information environments where the tools themselves limit the possibilities for evaluating information critically. The results contribute to research on information literacy in the age of generative AI.
Authors: Holmqvist, Olivia, Diana, Dilan
Language: Swedish
Subfield: Library and Information Sciences
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7171912599