Comparing the Search Effectiveness... "College and Research Libraries" Preprint

Posted by Celia Walter | 23 May, 2012

Paths of Discovery: Comparing the Search Effectiveness of EBSCO Discovery Service, Summon, Google Scholar, and Conventional Library Resources

In 2011, researchers at Bucknell University and Illinois Wesleyan University compared the search efficacy of Serial Solutions Summon, EBSCO Discovery Service, Google Scholar and conventional library databases. Using a mixed-methods approach, qualitative and quantitative data was gathered on students’ usage of these tools. Regardless of the search system, students exhibited a marked inability to effectively evaluate sources and a heavy reliance on default search settings. On the quantitative benchmarks measured by this study, the EBSCO Discovery Service tool outperformed the other search systems in almost every category. This article describes these results and makes recommendations for libraries considering these tools.

This article is scheduled for publication in July 2013

From InfoDOCKET 

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The Research Process and the Library: First-Generation College Seniors vs. Freshmen. Pre-print

Posted by Celia Walter | 21 May, 2012

In a follow-up study to the ERIAL (Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries) Project, librarians at UIC compared the responses of first-generation college freshmen from the original study to those of seniors. The study’s aim was to determine whether student information literacy increases as a result of undergraduate education and to further explore the student research process with respect to the particular factors that inform and affect change in it. The findings showed that information literacy increased among these students, and they developed a more complex approach to the research process and the library.

Direct to Full Text (38 pages; PDF)

Note: Anticipated Publication Date: July 2013

 

The Research Process and the Library: First-Generation College Seniors vs. Freshmen

Authors:

Elizabeth Pickard, MSI
Liaison, College of Education, Assistant Professor, Reference Department, Richard J. Daley Library, University of Illinois at Chicago

Firouzeh Logan, MA, MLS
Head, Reference Department, Assistant Professor, Richard J. Daley Library, University of Illinois at Chicago

Source: College and Research Libraries

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Information-Seeking Process of College Students in the Digital Age, a model

Posted by Celia Walter | 18 Jan, 2012
Alison J. Head on Modeling the Information-Seeking Process of College Students in the Digital Age [AUDIO]

What is it like to be a college student in the digital age? Alison Head — lead researcher for the national study, Project Information Literacy, Berkman Fellow, and Research Scientist in University of Washington’s Information School — presents a working typology of the undergraduate information-seeking process, including students’ reliance on and use of Web sources.

MP3

OGG audio format!

More info on this event here (includes video clip)

Harvard University. Berkman Center for Internet & Society Podcast

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Digital literacies

Posted by Celia Walter | 27 Jan, 2011
two books which can be accessed as complete pdfs: A New Literacies Sampler and Digital Literacies: Concepts, Policies and Practices. These can both be accessed from here:
http://sites.google.com/site/colinlankshear/ourlangcollections.

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Searching For Better Research Habits

Posted by Celia Walter | 30 Sep, 2010

...“Students do not have adequate information literacy skills when they come to college, and this goes for even high-achieving students,” said Asher, the lead research anthropologist at the Enthographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries (ERIAL) Project, which recently studied the search habits of more than 600 Illinois students spanning a range of institutions and demographic groups.

“And they’re not getting adequate training as they’re going through the curriculum,” he said.

...“Student overuse of simple search leads to problems of having too much information or not enough information … both stemming from a lack of sufficient conceptual understanding of how information is organized,” he said.

...Those libraries that have tried to teach good search principles have failed, he continued, because they have spent “too much time trying to teach tools and not enough time trying to teach concepts.” It would be more useful for librarians to focus training sessions on how to "critically think through how to construct a strategy for finding information about a topic that is unknown to you," Asher said in a follow-up e-mail to Inside Higher Ed.

...[More]

From Inside Higher Ed

Thanks to Ingrid Thomson for this.

 

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Information Literacy: A Neglected Core Competency

Posted by Celia Walter | 4 May, 2010

Information Literacy: A Neglected Core Competency

May 1st, 2010 iLibrarian blog

Sharon A. Weiner, Professor and W. Wayne Booker Chair in Information Literacy at Purdue University writes for Educause Quarterly about Information Literacy: A Neglected Core Competency. In her article she discusses the recent report from the researchers at the Information School at the University of Washington titled Lessons Learned: How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age, and offers these takeaways:

  • College students think of information seeking as a rote process and tend to use the same small set of information resources no matter their question.
  • Information literacy is essential for lifelong learning and empowers individuals and societies.
  • Our educational system should expose students to information literacy from elementary school through postsecondary education so that it is a habit of mind they can call upon throughout their lives.
  • Collaborative efforts between faculty, librarians, technology professionals, and others can develop students who graduate with information literacy competency.

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User-Generated Content in Academic Contexts

Posted by Celia Walter | 4 Jan, 2010

As this year’s Intute Advent Calendar posts have shown, the applications of Web 2.0 technology are many and various. But user-generated content is still often viewed with suspicion in academic circles.

Its greatest strength – the huge pool of potential contributors – can also be its biggest weakness, as it’s not always obvious where the information comes from or how reliable it is. Many educators are increasingly aware that it’s therefore vital for students to receive training on how to distinguish good Web content from bad. A few suggestions are given below.

Five positive habits to encourage

  1. Checking the author’s credentials – Some contributors will give a significant amount of information about themselves (see, for example, the Wikipedia user-page of the author of an earlier post in the Intute Advent Calendar). Others prefer to remain anonymous – and while that doesn’t automatically mean the content is poor, it does mean students will need to find other reasons to believe it trustworthy.
  2. Selecting the right tool for the job – For example, a discussion forum might be a great place to discover a range of views on a controversial topic, but probably isn’t the place to look for more formal arguments, developed at greater length.
  3. Looking beyond the main body text – If the site is a wiki, the history and discussion pages may include useful information. When a topic has provoked heated debate and numerous revisions, there’s additional need to be careful that the current version of the page offers the key information. With blog posts, it’s worth looking at the comments, as these may highlight alternative perspectives.
  4. Seeing what other people say about the site – A Google Advanced Search allows you to see who links to it, and to check whether the resource has received positive or negative comments elsewhere on the Web – or if it’s been reviewed by a site like Intute.
  5. Cross referencing – The Web makes it easy to compare a number of information sources to see if they agree – which can help to confirm facts (or flag up mistaken information), and to give a range of views for more controversial topics.
...[More]
From Intute blog

 

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Information Literacy ...Improving instruction...

Posted by Celia Walter | 10 Jul, 2009

Information Literacy Seven Corners: Improving instruction by reviewing how librarians, faculty culture, professional literature, technology, and today’s college students converge

From the Abstract:

This article reviews library and education literature, as well as the author’s personal observation of undergraduate information literacy (IL) instruction sessions, and provides a range of ideas and suggestions for ways in which librarians can increase the effectiveness of IL instruction sessions. The author asserts that there are five major influences that present challenges and opportunities to librarians who wish to increase authentic collaboration with faculty for course-integrated instruction that more fully addresses the higher-thinking skills true information literacy requires. In today’s world of expanded electronic access to information and the impact ubiquitous Internet searching has had on students entering or returning to post-secondary education, new strategies must be employed to facilitate instruction that goes beyond procedural skills – the conceptual aspects of information literacy and critical thinking must come to the forefront of library and classroom instruction.

Access the Full Text (Preprint)

Source: Library Journal (via E-LIS)

From The Resourceshelf

 

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Information literacy

Posted by Celia Walter | 24 Feb, 2009
Hjørland, Birger (2008) Information Literacy and Digital Literacy. PRISMA.COM n.º 7 4(7):pp. 4-15. From DList

Abstract

This paper considers “information literacy” as a scholarly skill associated with knowledge about information sources, “source criticism”, critical thinking and theory of knowledge. From the perspective of Library and Information Science (LIS) it should be defined in relation to the research field of LIS: What we can offer and what we should offer in relation to this concept? It is argued that the core issue is the critical understanding of knowledge production and knowledge claims and how to enable users to make rational decisions in the overloaded information ecology. Emphasis should be put on the functions of the scholarly communication system considered from sociological and epistemological perspectives

Full text: http://dlist.sir.arizona.edu/2545/01/PRISMA%5FB.docx

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Information literacy - the 'democratic right' of every learner. JISC Podcast

Posted by Celia Walter | 11 Feb, 2009

"Information literacy has become a key concern of many in the education sector and beyond. In this podcast interview John Crawford and Christine Irving, of the Scottish Information Literacy project, talk to Philip Pothen about their work in the education sector, in the workplace, with libraries, and with government agencies and argue that information literacy is the 'democratic right' of every learner, and a central element of lifelong learning"

Podcast link:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/avfiles/news/interviews/podcast71johncrawfordchristineirving.mp3

From Peter Scott's Library blog

From Celia: I've "switched" on the Comments function

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Communications in Information Literacy: Vol 2 Issue 1 2008

Posted by Celia Walter | 4 Nov, 2008

Communications in Information Literacy: Vol 2 Issue 1 2008

Table of Contents

Editorial

  • The Economics of Open Access / Christopher V Hollister pp. 1-2 
  • Teaching Matters: Developing as a Teacher/Librarian. Web 2.0: Opportunities for Information Literacy Instruction / Patrick P. Ragains pp. 3-5   
Articles
  • First-Year Writing Teachers, Perceptions of Students’ Information Literacy Competencies, and a Call for a Collaborative Approach / Elizabeth Joy Birmingham, Luc Chinwongs, Molly Flaspohler, Carly Hearn, Danielle Kvanvig, Ronda Portmann pp. 6-24   
  • Teaching Near The Edge of Chaos: Dynamic Systems, Student Choices and Library Research / Robert Hautala, Bryan Miyagishima pp. 25-35  
  • Information Literacy Education in the UK: Reflections on Perspectives and Practical Approaches of Curricular Integration / Susie Andretta, Alison Pope, Geoff Walton pp. 36-51   
  • Development and Evolution of an Information Literacy Course for a Doctor of Chiropractic Program / Phyllis June Harvey, Karen Jo Goodell pp. 52-61 

 

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Visual Strategies for Teaching Research Concepts by Heidi Senior

Posted by Celia Walter | 30 May, 2008

From the abstract of the handout: (PDF)

A discussion of learning styles and how they relate to teaching information research is presented. Suggestions for the design of instructional materials including consideration of contrast, context, and grounding of words are included.

Source: WILU 2008: 37th Workshop on Instruction in Library Use, UBC Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia (Canada). (via E-LIS) [includes bibliography]

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Handbook for Information Literacy Teaching

Posted by Celia Walter | 18 Mar, 2008

Handbook for Information Literacy Teaching

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/insrv/educationandtraining/infolit/hilt/index.html

This Handbook was written by a group of subject librarians at Cardiff University to support their colleagues in Information Services as they developed their information literacy teaching.

From: Internet Resources Newsletter, 160.

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Strategies for Integrated Information Literacy

Posted by Celia Walter | 26 Feb, 2008

Exploring Strategies for Integrated Information Literacy: From "Academic Champions" to Institution-Wide Change

Claire McGuinness 

Communications in Information Literacy, Vol 1, No 1 (2007)

Abstract


In this paper, the author critically reviews the strategies that have been adopted by librarians to secure academic support for curriculum-integrated information literacy (IL) instruction, and questions whether the popular approach of targeting individual academics offers a suitable foundation for the establishment of long-term IL programs. The paper suggests that librarians should instead align their IL objectives with the overall academic mission of their institutions and seek out the means to effect a more wide-ranging change in the academic culture, where IL is recognized as a core educational value. Several strategies are suggested by which this aim may be achieved. Full-text

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Information literacy instruction in action

Posted by Celia Walter | 13 Feb, 2008

The “embedded” librarian in a freshman speech class: Information literacy instruction in action

As librarians, we often get to see the beginning of the information literacy cycle. We see and help students all the time with resource discovery, information collection, and early decision-making about the information they’ve gathered. Rarely, it seems, are we afforded the chance to see the middle steps of the process where they begin to use and synthesize this information. Nor do we often get the chance to see the papers, projects, and presentations that are the final result of the research. And more’s the pity, because we spend so much time talking about and trying to teach information literacy, it’s often disheartening that we only get to see the beginning stages of the work. We can learn a great deal about how to more effectively assist students in the information literacy process if we have some experience working with them from the beginning to the end of a project.

Source: C&RL News

Resourceshelf

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