Comparing the Impact of Physical and Digitized Primary Sources on Student Engagement

One long-held belief in archival education is that physical primary sources engage students more effectively than digitized sources do. This investigation questions that belief by analyzing whether and to what extent the format of a primary source impacts student engagement and learning, using a controlled study of students in a business ethics course. The findings suggest that, in instruction requiring the rhetorical analysis of a primary source, digitized primary sources may engage and contribute to student learning just as effectively as physical sources. These findings have significant implications for primary source pedagogy.