Reading and search practices in Rosario, Argentina : a case study of usage practices of digital and paper devices by students and professors in higher education

Abstract

The present essay analyzes the construction of reading and search practices in higher education from an epistemological relativist perspective. The starting point was a case study comparing and analyzing said practices by students and professors in the second and fifth years of law and systems engineering at a private university and a public university in the city of Rosario, Argentina. The results of the fieldwork provided data that challenges current societal ideas about reading practices and search processes. The results include a wide use of paper supports, focused reading, scarce database searches and high unawareness of advanced search mechanisms. The research was based on the theory of social construction of technology and its three analytical levels, which evidenced the complexity of these practices. It revealed how readers construct their relationship to print and digital materials, considering reading and searching as two separate yet complementary activities that are combined according to economic, educational, legal and cultural aspects.