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What today’s university students have taught us
Alison J. Head, Ph.D., Director, Project Information Literacy
University of Washington Information School | USA
5 June 2016 | Creating Knowledge Conference, Reykjavik, Iceland
Instruct
Advise
Train
Develop
Promote
Discuss
Practice
Advance
Study
Information Literacy
Articles and books published
ALONE since 2015
Search of all databases at University of Washington Libraries, “information literacy,” 18 May 2016
Source: Top 50 most relevant books and peer-reviewed articles from search, 18 May 2016
What can
we learn
from students?
2008
n = 86
2009
n = 2,318
2010
n = 8,353
n = 191
Focus
groupsOnline survey/ Library
content analysis interviews
2011
n = 560
Eight studies
15,000 students, 63 US campuses
Passage studies
2012 2013 2016
n = 23 n = 35 n = 126
n = 33 n = 1,941 n = 1,651
Online
survey Workplace Freshmen Lifelong
Overview of findings? http://tinyurl.com/lg7fryh
Finding Evaluating/using Multitasking Transitioning
5 Takeaways
About
Information
Literacy that Inform
Assessment and
Evaluation
#1Students say
research
is more difficult
than ever before.
Adjectives that
describe how
you feel when
you get a
research
assignment . . .
fear,
angst,
tired,
dread,
excited,
anxious,
annoyed,
stressed,
disgusted,
intrigued,
confused, and
overwhelmed.
2009, n = 86 | 7 campuses
#2 Getting started
is the hardest part
of course
research.
Task
DefinitionSearch Using
information
Task
definitionSearch Self
assessment
69% 41% 30% 25%
Defining and choosing topics is most difficult
2010 Survey, n = 8353 | 25 campuses
Defining a topic
Narrowing a topic
#3 Frustrations
begin
with finding
context.
Information
need
Course
research
Everyday life
Research
1. Big PictureSummary,
background
Almost
alwaysOften
2. Information
Gathering
Locating relevant
sourcesOften Sometimes
Modeling the search for context
PIL’s Context Typology
Information
need
Course
research
Everyday life
Research
3. LanguageMeaning of
words, termsSometimes Sometimes
4. Situational
How far to go,
surrounding
circumstances
Sometimes Sometimes
PIL’s Context Typology
Modeling the search for context
#4 Search –
strategy of
predictability,
familiarity, and
efficiency.
Meet Jon
• Risk-averse, plays it safe
• In search of “the answer”
• Needs to appear self-sufficient
• Waits until the last minute
Instructor’s handout
Course readings
Google and
Wikipedia
JSTOR
ABI Inform
Instructors
Satisficing
Treads a well-worn path
Situational/
information
gathering
contexts
Big picture/
language
contexts
1. Majority recommend a “place-based source” (60%)
2. Few recommended consulting librarians (13%)
3. Few defined what “research” is or means (16%)
2010 Handout Study, n = 191 handouts | 28 campuses
“Instructors are my research coaches”
But assignment handouts . . .
2016 Staying Smart, n = 1,651 recent graduates from 10 US
campuses
After graduation: “Google is the Internet to me”
79%
51%
21%
18%
14%
12%
10%
9%
7%
5%
3%
3%
2%
1%
1%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
YouTube
Duolingo
Khan Academy
Coursera
Stack Overflow
Codecademy
Google Helpouts
lynda
edX
Udemy
CrashCourse
Udacity
Academic Earth
ALISON
#5Evaluation is
the one
information
literacy skill
students learn
to use.
77%
73%
71%
71%
66%
62%
62%
61%
59%
59%
54%
25%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Currency (e.g., publication date)
Author’s credentials
URL (e.g., Web domain)
Interface design
External linkage (if links exist)
Familiarity from previous use
Heard about site before
Chart quality (if they exist)
Author credits others for ideas
Different viewpoints…
Bibliography included
Mentioned by librarian
Evaluation criteria: Coursework
2010 Truth Be Told survey, n = 8353 | 25 campuses
Evaluation criteria: After graduation
2015 Staying Smart survey, n = 1651 | 10 US campuses
97%
94%
92%
89%
88%
86%
84%
75%
72%
58%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
How up-to-date the information is
What the author's credentials are
Site is familiar from previous use
Site design conveys legitimacy
URL is from a legitimate source, e.g.,gov or edu
Site links to other resources
Someone has recommended usingthe site
Charts add important information (ifthey exist)
Gut feeling says site is legitimate
Site is familiar from college
PIL Finding Solutions
Defining a topic is harder than
finding sources.
• Fewer lessons on “search,” more on
formulating students’ own questions
• Embed librarians within courses
Using same sources, many come
from secondary school assignments.
• Teach abstracts, teach synthesis
• Learning how to “tie it all together” as
essential university skills
Evaluating online sources using a
variety of different criteria.
• Work closely with educators K-12
• Next step: Teaching students how to
ask their own questions
How can PIL’s research inform solutions?
What today’s university students have taught us
Alison J. Head, Ph.D., Director, Project Information Literacy |University of
Washington Information School
[email protected] | http://projectinfolit.org
5 June 2016 | Creating Knowledge Conference, Reykjavik, Iceland