The purpose of this study is to obtain preliminary evidence over a three‐year period on the efficacy of a curriculum designed to foster information literacy skills in graduate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to obtain preliminary evidence over a three‐year period on the efficacy of a curriculum designed to foster information literacy skills in graduate students in a chemistry bibliography course.
Design/methodology/approach
Specifically, the researchers examined the application and results of an assessment tool and its connectivity to instructional strategies for improving literacy outcomes. ACRL's “Information literacy competency standards for higher education” provided the basis for the construction of the assessment tool. The instrument was given to chemistry graduate students enrolled in the course at the beginning and at the end of the semester.
Findings
The assessment results from all three years indicated marked improvements in the average student score from the pre‐ to the post‐test. The assessment provided evidence of skill development over the course of the semester for specified outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
The research would have been strengthened by the use of a valid control group of graduate students in related chemistry majors who were not enrolled in the class. The extended study would have supplied rates of improvement in the control group over a given period of time compared with rates of improvement of students enrolled in the class.
Practical implications
The paper provides methods for approaching the assessment of information literacy skills by focusing on tool development based on desired learning outcomes.
Originality/value
The study developed, refined and applied a methodology to assess student information literacy skills based on learning outcomes over a three‐year period. The literature lacks reports of studies looking at the assessment of information literacy development of graduate students in the sciences as well as the use of “backward design” in creating evaluative tools.
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Keywords
Lea Currie, Frances Devlin, Judith Emde and Kathryn Graves
The purpose of this paper is to determine undergraduate students' information‐seeking behavior and their thought processes involved in, criteria applied to, and methods of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine undergraduate students' information‐seeking behavior and their thought processes involved in, criteria applied to, and methods of, evaluating the results of their searches, in determining which information to apply to their research.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper observed, recorded and analyzed the processes and sources used by undergraduate students when seeking information on a given topic.
Findings
Students did not use as many of the criteria necessary for evaluating sources for a research paper as the authors had hoped to observe; therefore, the students identified relatively few scholarly sources.
Practical implications
Even though many of the students had had a course‐integrated library instruction session before participating in the study, it did not seem to increase their evaluative skills, leading the authors to think that research skills need to be integrated in the curriculum in more meaningful ways by teaching faculty.
Originality/value
The paper raises awareness of the search strategies and criteria that undergraduate students use to find information for their research papers.
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Betsaida M. Reyes and Frances A. Devlin
The purpose of this paper is to describe the collection development practices regarding e-books among librarians who manage French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish (Romance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the collection development practices regarding e-books among librarians who manage French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish (Romance) materials. The authors aim to describe factors that influence acquisition of e-books for Romance language collections to confirm librarians’ perception that humanities researchers prefer print and library administrators’ attitudes toward e-books.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected data using a mixed-method approach of a survey and focus groups.
Findings
This study confirms that user preference is the primary consideration of Romance librarians in selecting e-books. Contrary to librarians’ perceptions, this study found that humanities faculty and students are not averse to using e-books for specific purposes such as searching, targeted reading and course materials. While restrictions on lending e-books are a concern, Romance librarians are focused primarily on serving the needs of their core constituencies.
Research limitations/implications
The practice of adding call numbers to individual e-books varies among institutions. Individual e-book titles in large packages do not necessarily get added to the catalog, thus making it very difficult to compare e-book collections between institutions.
Originality/value
This study endeavors to unify the anecdotal narratives and factors that influence the acquisition of e-books by Romance librarians.
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Anna Marie Johnson, Sarah Jent and Latisha Reynolds
The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material, in the area of library instruction and information literacy.
Findings
The paper provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.
Originality/value
The information in the paper may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.