Exploring differences in students' copy-and-paste decision making and processing: A mixed-methods study

This mixed-methods study examined cognitive correlates and learning outcomes related to the use of copy and paste (CP). Quantitative results indicated that college students whose CP capability was restricted to a small amount of text as they entered information into a matrix-like tool recalled more facts, recognized more concepts, and inferred more relationships among information from text than students for whom copying and pasting into the matrix was unrestricted. Then, 24 interviews revealed depth of processing and decision-making differences that may account for the discrepancies in learning between the restricted and unrestricted groups. This study suggests that both individuals' differing habits and experimentally induced variations in CP note-taking approaches may have significant differential consequences for cognitive processes and for learning.