Evidence Summary
First Year
University Students Arrive with Some Search Skills, But Struggle with Scholarly
Sources
A Review of:
Reviewed by:
Cari Merkley
Associate Professor
Mount Royal University Library
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Email: cmerkley@mtroyal.ca
Received: 9 Mar. 2014 Accepted: 25 Apr. 2014
2014 Merkley.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
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same or similar license to this one.
Abstract
Objective – To determine what existing information literacy skills first
year students possess upon entering university.
Design – Quantitative survey questionnaire.
Setting – A research university in Australia.
Subjects
– 1,029 first year students in the health sciences.
Methods
– First year students enrolled in the health sciences were asked
to complete a paper questionnaire in their first week of classes in 2009. The
20 question survey was distributed in student tutorial groups. The first 10
questions collected information on student demographics, expected library use,
and existing information seeking behaviour. The remaining 10 questions tested
students’ understanding of information literacy concepts. Data collected from
the survey were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS.
Main
Results – Most of the students who responded to the questionnaire were
between the ages of 16 and 21 (84.3%) with only 2.2% over the age of 40.
Approximately 15% of respondents had completed some postsecondary university or
vocational education prior to enrolling in their current program.
The students ranked Google, a friend, and a book as the top three
places they would go to find information on something they knew little about.
Google was also the most popular choice for finding a scholarly article (35% of
respondents), followed by the library catalogue (21%).
A large proportion of students correctly answered questions
relating to identifying appropriate search terms. For example, one third of the
students selected the correct combination of search concepts for a provided
topic, and 77% identified that the choice of search phrase could negatively
impact search results. Students also demonstrated prior knowledge of the
Boolean operator AND, with 38% correctly identifying its use in the related
question. Most students were also able to identify key markers of a website’s
credibility.
Questions relating to ethical information use and scholarly
literature proved more challenging. Almost half (45%) of the students said that
they did not know the characteristics of a peer reviewed journal article.
Twenty five percent of respondents indicated that citing an information source
was only necessary in the case of direct quotes, with only 28% correctly
identifying the need for citing both quotes and paraphrasing. Only 23% were
able to select the example of a journal citation from the list presented.
Conclusion – Students enter university with existing strengths in concept
identification and basic search formulation, but require the most assistance
with locating and identifying scholarly literature and how to cite it
appropriately in their work. The findings will inform the development of an
online information literacy assessment tool to assist incoming students in
identifying areas where they may require additional support as they transition
to university.
Commentary
From the beginning of the article, it is clear that the authors
are firmly rooted in a constructivist approach to learning, even if the theory
itself is never named. While the pre/post test method has long been a part of
library research as a way to measure the impact of educational interventions,
the authors’ focus on the pre-test results here suggests an attempt to further
demonstrate that a student is not an empty vessel to be filled with information
literacy knowledge, but an individual with strengths that can be harnessed as
part of the learning process. The constructivist approach to learning with its
focus on individual meaning making, building on existing knowledge,
interactivity, and tasks that reflect real life concerns, continues to be a
dominant pedagogical force in information literacy instruction today
(Cooperstein & Kocevar-Weidinger, 2004).
The article itself is a brief snapshot of a larger study that included
a post-test with the same cohort at the end of the academic year. It largely
stands on its own, but the relevant data tables and discussion of some of the
survey question results were left out of this work, perhaps in the interest of
brevity. For example, readers may be interested to know that almost 60% of the
students who completed the pre-test reported that they had encountered
information literacy instruction in their previous studies (Fisch, Karasmanis,
Salisbury, & Corbin, 2009). The study’s strengths include an excellent
response rate (63%) and the use of a previously validated survey instrument
(Glynn, 2006). The survey was based on one initially used by Mittermeyer and
Quirion with incoming students at Quebec universities in 2003. This survey has
been used by a number of other researchers internationally since its original
publication, allowing the authors to compare their responses to the work of
others. However, even at the time the authors used the tool in 2009, the
instrument was showing its age. The authors noted that several questions needed
to be reworded because of references to outdated information tools. There was
also a surprising emphasis in the survey on how to use the library catalog,
with four questions addressing this particular tool, and only one specific
question relating to websites. This may seem more jarring to readers in 2014,
when the use of discovery services by many university libraries has eroded the
traditional boundaries between library catalogues and databases.
The survey instrument is also based on a set of information
literacy competencies that are currently being rewritten by the library
community. The 2004 Australian and New
Zealand Information Literacy Framework referenced by the authors and the
original 2003 survey are both based on the 2000 American College and Research
Libraries’ (ACRL) Information Literacy
Competency Standards for Higher Education (Mittenmeyer & Quirion,
2003). The first draft of what is being described as a new Framework
for Information Literacy for Higher Education
was released by ACRL in February 2014, with part two of the draft set for
release in April 2014. The release of the ACRL’s Framework marks a significant shift in direction away from the
existing Standards’ “limited,
almost formulaic approach to understanding a complex information ecosystem”
(ACRL, 2014, p. 3). The authors’ constructivist approach to learning still
resonates within the ACRL Framework
draft, but the task-focused nature of several questions asked in the pre-test
survey seems to reflect some of the concerns expressed about the Standards on which they were based.
While it remains important to consider students’ existing knowledge in order to
design appropriate and useful information literacy support, the development of
new research instruments with which to better capture the complexity of
students’ understanding of their information environment is necessary.
References
Association of College and Research
Libraries. (2014). Framework for information literacy for higher education,
draft 1, part 1. Retrieved from http://acrl.ala.org
/ilstandards/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Framework-for-IL-for-HE-Draft-1-Part-1.pdf
Cooperstein, S. E., &
Kocevar-Weidinger, E. (2004). Beyond active learning: A constructivist approach to learning. Reference
Services Review, 32(2), 141-148. doi:10.1108
/00907320410537658
Fisch, E., Karasmanis, S., Salisbury, F.,
& Corbin, J. (2009). Library pre and post experience survey: final
report. Retrieved from http://arrow.latrobe
.edu.au:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/latrobe:20691
Glynn, L. (2006). A critical appraisal tool
for library and information research. Library Hi Tech, 24(3),
387-399. doi:10.1108/07378830610692154
Mittermeyer, D., & Quirion, D. (2003).
Information literacy: Study of incoming first-year
undergraduates in Quebec. Retrieved from http://www.crepuq.qc.ca/documents
/bibl/formation /studies_Ang.pdf