September 2010
INFORMATION LITERACY PART 1: WHERE ARE WE NOW?
During the April 2009 reaccreditation visit, the university received a recommendation for faculty and librarians to continue to work to integrate information literacy throughout the curriculum. In addition, LMIS submitted to the Faculty Senate a detailed statement supporting the library’s role in the academic life of the institution; the Faculty Senate endorsed this statement. Collins Library librarians have been hard at work to help our students gain the information literacy competencies that they need to succeed in college and as life-long learners. In this issue of Library Links, we share information about our current research and work to promote information literacy at Puget Sound; next week, in Part II, we will share our ideas about future plans in the realm of information literacy education.
- Information Literacy Workshop (May 2010)
Last May, Collins Library and the Center for Writing, Learning and Teaching, with support from the Academic Vice President, sponsored a two-day faculty workshop on “Information Literacy for Twenty-first Century Learners,” which was attended by 17 faculty members. The workshop provided opportunities for faculty and librarians to share best practices and examples of successful assignments and also offered a syllabus and assignment clinic. - Collins Memorial Library Undergraduate Research Awards:
Students Jordan Carelli and Ayanna K. Drakos were winners of the first Collins Memorial Library Undergraduate Research Award. The award recognizes undergraduate students who demonstrate exemplary skill and creativity in the application of library and information resources to original research and scholarship. - Information Literacy Portal for Faculty:
Collins Library continues to expand this resource for faculty. For example, information about research competencies guidelines in the disciplines was added recently. - Research Practices Survey
Since 2006, Peggy Burge, Humanities Librarian and Information Literacy Coordinator, has administered the Research Practices Survey to incoming first-year Puget Sound students. The Research Practices Survey is an online survey instrument designed specifically for liberal arts colleges to measure the research experiences, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and critical capacities of beginning college students. The hope is that classroom faculty, librarians, and campus administrators will find the survey results helpful when making decisions about the content and process of instruction, requirements for assignments, and resources provided to students.
2010 Research Practices Survey Data
Taken by 44 percent of incoming first-year students
Students continue to be highly confident of their research skills and abilities. Examples:
- 92 % believe that it is “very easy” or “somewhat easy” to determine whether a source is scholarly
- 83 % believe that it is “very easy” or “somewhat easy” to know when to document a source
- Students have had limited experience with using standard library resources and tools. Examples:
- Only 57 percent had ever used an online library catalog
- Only 50 percent had ever used a subscription database
- 92 percent indicated that a general search engine like Google was their main research tool
Students have limited knowledge of standard research terms. Examples:
- 46 percent correctly defined a peer-reviewed journal
- When shown three citations, 59 percent could correctly identify a book, 23 percent could correctly identify a journal article, and 12 percent could correctly identify a chapter within a book.
- 21 percent could correctly distinguish between a scholarly journal and a popular magazine
- 73 percent could correctly distinguish between secondary and primary sources
- 50 percent could correctly explain when a citation is required
Students have limited knowledge of successful research strategies. Examples:
- 37 percent knew that clicking on subject headings in a library catalog would lead them to additional publications on that topic
- 23 percent could correctly use “and,” or “or” to construct a database search query
- Eight percent knew how to truncate a search word to retrieve all grammatical possibilities for that word
Students have limited knowledge of strategies for evaluating sources. Example:
- 63 percent said that they would give equal weight to multiple criteria before deciding to use a source, including whether or not it is available on the Internet, how easily they can obtain it, and whether or not it is scholarly
In spite of their general confidence, some students did express concern about their research skills and indicated a desire to learn more about conducting research and incorporating information into larger assignments. Examples of comments:
- “What is a more scholarly way to conduct research instead of using popular search engines?”
- “I would really like to have a better understanding of which sources are appropriate for research. I’m still a little fuzzy on knowing which sources are scholarly and which ones are not.”
- “I do have a hard time finding credible sources and integrating them into a clearly cohesive paper.”
Need Information? Don’t forget the Collins Memorial Library Database List A-Z
Questions? Contact your liaison librarian
Comments: Contact Jane Carlin, Library Director
Remember – Your best search engine is a Librarian!