Strengthening connections between information literacy, general education, and assessment efforts

Library Trends, Fall, 2002 by Ilene F. Rockman

* What pedagogical issues might emerge from an analysis of observed information-seeking strategies?

* What similarities and differences exist among faculty, librarians, and students in their conceptualization of information-seeking strategies?

In order to provide answers to these questions, a random sample of seventy-six lower- and upper-division students was engaged in open-ended activities on one of four regionally based CSU campuses on four separate Saturdays. The students were joined by twenty librarians and ten discipline-based faculty members. Using ethnographic research techniques, focus groups of students, librarians, and faculty were conducted and both video and audiotaped; special computer screen capture software was installed on library workstations to record students' computer keystrokes as they searched through library online catalogs and Web sites to complete open-ended assignments; ethnographers recorded field notes of selected students as they worked.

Dunn (2002) notes that the data is rich and will take some time to fully analyze. Nonetheless, based on recorded focus groups, observation, field notes, and screen capture keystroke patterns, preliminary results indicate that students tend to exhibit an overreliance on Web-based resources rather than using library catalogs and databases; do not understand the differences between keyword and controlled vocabularies; do not make distinctions between scholarly and popular works; for the most part, do not seem to be systematic and confident searchers; often guess rather than demonstrate discrete research skills; and tend to embrace the virtual library (the Web) over the traditional library for its convenience, flexibility, timeliness, and access to large amounts of up-to-date information. As a result, they run the risk of overvaluing current sources of information over in-depth discussions often found in books. One of the researchers noted that, although technology promises to make information more accessible, it can also limit (or telescope) the information that students may actually receive, especially if students place primary or sole emphasis on the World Wide Web.

These experiences are consistent with other reports in the literature that indicate that students do not display "a high level of information competence" (Caravello et al., 2001, p. 199) and "at best ... possess sporadic knowledge" (p. 200), and "that students think they know more about accessing information and conducting library research than they are able to demonstrate when put to the test" (Maughan, 2002, p. 71).

Additional research projects using both qualitative and quantitative assessment techniques are needed so that libraries can learn more about the information-seeking behaviors of their students and their patterns for finding, evaluating, and using information. Such results can be used to "make the case" for including information literacy prominently in the general education core curriculum, courses in the major, and support courses to strengthen "connections" between course content with the ultimate goal to facilitate learning, and assist students to develop into confident, self-directed, and independent lifelong learners.