INTERNET USE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES: UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS ABOUT COPYRIGHTS

Abstract

Internet has become available anytime and anywhere with the advent of mobile communications devices and 3G technology. Today’s university students are using internet actively for educational purposes. In Internet, widely used by students, it is very easy to copy and paste every kind of content and this gives rise to the question of “Is enough attention paid to copyright?” and this causes some concerns in educational circles. Therefore, in the present study, the state of Internet use by university students for educational purposes, their current opinions about the issue of copyright, how they perceive of copyrights and their suggestions to prevent copyright violations were investigated. The present study conducted with the participation of 223 university students employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection instruments. The findings of the study revealed that university students are using Internet extensively for educational purposes; yet, they can easily overlook copyright issues. It was determined that the most common reason for students to violate copyrights is their not encountering any sanctions.

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