Searching the Internet is a complex activity, involving a range of cognitive capabilities, and while a number of studies have drawn attention to the problems students have with determining the trustworthiness of Internet sites (reviewed by Leu et al., 2011), the data on students’ strategies and behaviours in this area have generally been based on case studies and/or small samples (eg Hölscher, Christoph, and Gerhard Strube, 2000; Coiro and Dobler, 2007; Dwyer, 2010). Although there is massive concern over Internet safety in schools, most of the quantitative studies on the trustworthiness of Internet sites have focused on adult populations of users and online health sites. This study reports on UK primary school students’ evaluation of the trustworthiness and relevance of Internet sites, using a constrained search environment that was based on authentic curriculum material adapted from Internet sites and presented by computer. The analysis of quantitative and qualitative data suggests that many Year 6 students are able to make sound judgments of relevance and trustworthiness, even with incomplete comprehension, but that others make judgments that are no better than chance. The reasons given by students for trusting a site are discussed.

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