No need for Andrew to worry. I mean the ERIC database. The Educational Resources Information Center – with free access to more than a million records of journal articles and education-related materials and links to full text, when it’s available. Which it often is not. But I can then retrieve many studies from the academic journal databases to which we subscribe! Admittedly, sometimes we need to purchase the articles from the publisher, but getting the right article to augment the knowledge search is key.

The archives go back to the mid-1960’s. There is some amazing information here. Such as this abstract that caught my eye. (I’m sure it’s not just because I have pre-teen sons!)

Title: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study of Internet and Computer Game Use by Adolescent Boys and Girls: Prevalence, Frequency of Use, and Psychosocial Predictors

Author: Willoughby, Teena

Descriptors:Friendship; Grade 12; Grade 10; Internet; Longitudinal Studies; Psychological Patterns; Video Games; Grade 9; Grade 11; Gender Differences; Parent Child Relationship; Peer Relationship; Well Being; High School Students; Age Differences; Predictor Variables; Social Influences

Source: Developmental Psychology, v44 n1 p195-204 Jan 2008

Peer-Reviewed: Yes

Publication Date: 2008-01-00

Pages: 10

Abstract: Prevalence, frequency, and psychosocial predictors of Internet and computer game use were assessed with 803 male and 788 female adolescents across 2 time periods, 21 months apart. At Time 1, participants were in the 9th or 10th grade; at Time 2, they were in the 11th or 12th grade. Most girls (93.7%) and boys (94.7%) reported using the Internet at both time periods, whereas more boys (80.3%) than girls (28.8%) reported gaming at both time periods. Girls reported a small decrease over time in the frequency of hours spent per day on overall technology use, mostly due to a decrease in gaming. Both linear and curvilinear relations were examined between parental relationships, friendship quality, academic orientation, and well-being measured in early high school and the frequency of technology use in late high school. Being male significantly predicted both computer gaming and Internet use. There also were trends in favor of higher friendship quality and less positive parental relationships predicting higher frequency of Internet use. Importantly, moderate use of the Internet was associated with a more positive academic orientation than nonuse or high levels of use.

I am often surprised at the variety of subjects that are associated with education and how frequently our projects can benefit from a literature search of academic, educational articles.

It might come in handy for you one day, too.