Catherine Lantz, Glenda Maria Insua, Annie R. Armstrong and Annie Pho
The purpose of this study is to compare two bibliography assignments completed after one-shot library instruction to determine which research skills first-year students retain…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to compare two bibliography assignments completed after one-shot library instruction to determine which research skills first-year students retain over the course of a semester.
Design/methodology/approach
A rubric was developed for citation analysis of student-annotated bibliographies and final bibliographies. Each assignment was scored on a three-point scale, and four criteria were assessed: the quality of sources used, variety of sources used, quality of annotations (for first assignment only) and citation accuracy.
Findings
Students scored highest on the quality of sources used in both assignments, although there was a statistically significant decline in overall scores from the first assignment to the second. Students had the most difficulty with writing annotations, followed closely by citation accuracy. Students primarily cited journal articles in their annotated bibliographies and reference sources in their final bibliographies. Website use increased notably from one assignment to the other.
Originality/value
This research is unique in its analysis of two separate bibliography assignments completed by first-year students over the course of a semester. It is of interest to librarians teaching one-shot library instruction or any librarian interested in assessing the research skills of first-year students.
Details
Keywords
Paula R. Dempsey, Glenda M. Insua, Annie R. Armstrong, Holly Joy Hudson, Kristyn Caragher and Mariah McGregor
This analysis of chat reference transcripts assesses differences in how librarians and graduate assistants (GAs) incorporate teaching strategies in responding to chat reference…
Abstract
Purpose
This analysis of chat reference transcripts assesses differences in how librarians and graduate assistants (GAs) incorporate teaching strategies in responding to chat reference inquiries in social sciences, health sciences, humanities, STEM and business/economics at a large, public R1 university in the United States.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers with disciplinary assignments in five different subject domains conducted qualitative analysis of a purposive sample of 982 transcripts of chat interactions during four semesters in 2021 and 2022.
Findings
Some form of information literacy instruction (ILI) occurred in 58% of the transcripts, with slightly less teaching occurring in social sciences inquiries than in other subject areas. Of transcripts that included teaching strategies, search procedures predominated, followed by a mix of concepts and procedures, and the least with concepts only. Chat providers taught concepts specific to social sciences, health sciences and humanities, but not to STEM or business.
Research limitations/implications
The study compares transcripts at one institution; findings may be most applicable to large, research institutions that seek to incorporate ILI in online reference services.
Practical implications
Chat reference training should include best practices for ILI relevant to specific subject domains for providers without background in those disciplines and recommendations for referrals to subject specialists.
Originality/value
Existing ILI literature does not address the question of how chat providers teach concepts rooted in a specific subject domain or offer a comparison of teaching strategies employed in different disciplines, by librarians versus GAs or staff.
Details
Keywords
Annie R. Armstrong, Glenda M. Insua and Catherine Lantz
This paper explores the academic reading behaviors of first-year students in an attempt to understand their experiences and develop potential reading interventions to support…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the academic reading behaviors of first-year students in an attempt to understand their experiences and develop potential reading interventions to support undergraduate students.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers used qualitative research methods to elicit in-depth findings regarding reading behaviors. They interviewed fifteen first-year students who had completed a required writing course regarding their reading habits and used open coding to analyze interviews.
Findings
Investigators discovered that the narrative from national media that students do not read discounts the volume and variety of texts that students regularly interact with in a variety of contexts. Several themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Students like to read in a variety of designated spaces at any time of the day or night, (2) Students prefer reading in print, but mostly read online, and (3) Students reported difficult vocabulary as the most significant challenge in reading academic texts, but also reported emotional concerns regarding reading.
Originality/value
While previous studies have focused on factors such as format preference and time limitations that influence reading behaviors, this study contributes to the body of research looking at the reading behaviors of college students more holistically, providing new insights informing a range of library interventions to support student success in academic reading. In its use of student interviews, this study offers a student-centered contribution to the literature on student reading behaviors and considers the implications of these behaviors on librarian practice.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to compare the efficacy of two approaches to finding articles on a topic by measuring student perceptions of the ease‐of‐use of the search process and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the efficacy of two approaches to finding articles on a topic by measuring student perceptions of the ease‐of‐use of the search process and the perceived relevancy of search results retrieved using both a single multidisciplinary database and a federated search tool.
Design/methodology/approach
Students are asked to search both a federated search tool and a single multidisciplinary database, record their searches and respond to a series of quantitative and qualitative questions regarding their experiences with searching both search tools.
Findings
Study results indicate a slight preference for federated searching over single database searching based on perceived relevancy of results and likeliness of future use. Study data supports equal promotion of single database searching and federated searching to undergraduate students.
Practical implications
The results of this paper have practical implications for reference and instruction librarians teaching undergraduate students and library users in general to find the most effective, efficient and manageable approach to finding articles on a topic.
Originality/value
Previous research comparing federated searching to other research methods uses prescribed topics outside of an actual class setting, while this is a naturalistic study in which students searched for articles on a research topic of their own choosing for a required research assignment. A previous study compared federated searching to navigating and searching numerous databases. This paper compares a federated search tool to a single multidisciplinary database.
Details
Keywords
In a recent issue of the Municipal Journal there appeared a short but apparently inspired article on the subject of London Government, in which is foreshadowed another drastic and…
Abstract
In a recent issue of the Municipal Journal there appeared a short but apparently inspired article on the subject of London Government, in which is foreshadowed another drastic and apparently imminent alteration of the system of local administration at present in operation in the Metropolis.
Current issues of Publishers' Weekly are reporting serious shortages of paper, binders board, cloth, and other essential book manufacturing materials. Let us assure you these…
Abstract
Current issues of Publishers' Weekly are reporting serious shortages of paper, binders board, cloth, and other essential book manufacturing materials. Let us assure you these shortages are very real and quite severe.
During the year the officers of the Board of Customs and Excise have taken numerous samples at the ports with a view to giving effect to the provisions of Section 1 of the Sale of…
Abstract
During the year the officers of the Board of Customs and Excise have taken numerous samples at the ports with a view to giving effect to the provisions of Section 1 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899, and Section 5 of the Butter and Margarine Act, 1907, as to the importation of butter, margarine, milk, condensed milk, cream, and cheese.
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are…
Abstract
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.
The manifesto of the Jam Section of the Food Manufacturers' Federation which was issued to the trade and to the public in October is a document which has been subjected to much…
Abstract
The manifesto of the Jam Section of the Food Manufacturers' Federation which was issued to the trade and to the public in October is a document which has been subjected to much unfavourable criticism by various persons for various reasons. In our opinion it fully deserves the censure it has received. It need hardly be pointed out that jam of some kind is eaten by everybody. The annual production in this country is enormous. As a combined food and stimulant for young children jam is probably unrivalled; indeed, we cannot imagine a substitute for it. “Jam is a ready means of providing carbohydrates, and children require much carbohydrate in proportion to their size.” All this, however, assumes that jam is really what it claims to be, namely, a preparation of the fresh fruit that gives the name to the jam and sugar only. This, we take it, is the view of the ordinary man. If we turn to dictionaries we find this definition or something very like it in all the dictionaries that have been published during the last one hundred and seventy‐five years. The dictionaries of the 17th century seem not to define the word; its meaning, however, was well understood. Johnson, 1755, defines the word jam as “a conserve of fruit boiled with sugar and water”—by sugar of course meaning cane sugar. All the modern standard dictionaries speak to the same effect. Murray's Dictionary has “A conserve of fruit prepared by boiling it with sugar to a pulp.” The Encyclopædic Dictionary and Wright's Universal Pronouncing Dictionary have the same. The Century Dictionary says jam is “A conserve of fruit prepared by boiling them to a pulp in water with sugar.” Webster that it is “A thick preserve made of fruit boiled with sugar and water.” Funk and Wagnall's New Standard Dictionary, “A conserve of fruit prepared by thorough cooking and stewing with sugar, reducing it to a pulp.” It is unnecessary to give further quotations; they are all to the same effect and show what the purchaser has in his mind when he asks for a pot of jam at a shop.