Integrating information literacy into an undergraduate geography research methods course

Conducting research is a challenging but essential component of an undergraduate geography education. Students typically need instruction in fundamental skills such as using library resources. In this study we describe how we, a geography professor and a librarian, integrated information literacy into a newly revised course in which geography students design and write a research prospectus. We assessed student knowledge and self-reported confidence in library research skills at the beginning and completion of the course. This study describes increased information literacy among students who entered the course with a range of abilities and offers areas for further research.     

What do freshmen really know about research? Assess before you teach

The paper describes an effort to assess the information literacy skills of first year college students. An instrument was developed and information was gathered on students' experience and comfort in conducting library research as well as their perceived competence with specific information literacy skills. In addition, students completed a skills test to assess specific knowledge and skills relating to information literacy. Entering freshmen generally self-reported their skills to be less than “excellent.” This finding was supported by the results of the skills test. Strengths and weaknesses in information literacy skills are reported as well as implications for librarians who assess and teach these skills to students.     

Imperatives for continuing research education: results of a Medical Library Association survey.

This paper reports the results of a survey assessing the interest of Medical Library Association (MLA) members in acquiring or improving research skills through continuing education (CE). It describes respondents' educational preparation for research and selected research activities, reviews MLA's experiences with offering CE courses on research topics, and discusses MLA's role in providing education to prepare members for research. The paper includes recommendations for improving research skills through CE and other professional activities. Topics of greatest interest to MLA members were survey development, problem identification, evaluation and cost studies, survey methodology, and methods of data collection. Many respondents preferred local courses. Academic health sciences librarians, as a group, were found to be more productive publishers than hospital librarians. Many respondents reported the availability of free or subsidized research-support services, but more than half did not. More than 90% of respondents indicated that MLA should actively encourage, require, or offer research education. A comprehensive plan for obtaining research skills through CE, along with individual self-assessment and counseling, is recommended.     

What I had,what I needed: First-year students reflect on how their high school experience prepared them for college research

This article is a continuation of the First-Years study (Valenza et al., 2022) that investigated college research readiness among novice and non-novice first-year students. This paper offers analysis of additional qualitative data from first-year college students reflecting on their high school preparation, levels of confidence regarding research and specific information literacy (IL) skills and how academic research differed from their previous inquiry experiences. Findings of this study hold implications for the instructional design of IL and underscore the need for heightened preparation in research and IL skills at the high school level and particularly for moving beyond the mechanics of research toward a focus on the critical thinking aspects of inquiry. Based on these findings, the researchers offer a three-part taxonomy of IL skills: information management, critical thinking, and metacognitive skills that could be used to guide the instructional design of IL at both the high school and college levels.     

Student perceptions of information literacy skills and curriculum before and after completing a research assignment

Library instruction often involves one-shot sessions where librarians interact with students for a short period of time and are then left wondering what the students thought of the session and if students perceive the session as helpful for their course work. Using two surveys to gather data, this study compared student perceptions of a redesigned library curriculum and of their own information literacy skills immediately after attending a library workshop and six weeks later after completing a research paper. The findings indicate that the library workshop is meeting student needs and has a lasting effect. Additionally, the researchers found that students were better able to articulate gaps in their own knowledge after having the opportunity to apply their skills to a research assignment. The researchers recommend that librarians using surveys to inform one-shot curricular changes gather data after students have applied the skills and knowledge gained in the instruction session.     

知识管理与竞争情报的比较研究

文章通过对知识管理、竞争情报的演进、研究内容、工作流程、矛盾性等多方面的探讨,比较了两种管理理念的异同。并指出,知识管理与竞争情报是相互促进、相互影响的重要管理思想。在全球竞争加剧的态势下,知识管理与竞争情报的比较研究必将给组织、企业带来更高的绩效。     

Shaping scholarly communication guidance channels to meet the research needs and skills of doctoral students at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

This article as part of a more comprehensive study, investigated the level of research and scholarly communication skills of doctoral students and the channels to be adopted by the academic library for the provision of scholarly communication guidance at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). It was ascertained that doctoral students at KNUST had moderate level of skill in research and scholarly communication issues; indicating the need for guidance. Both doctoral students and supervisors acknowledged the need for research and scholarly communication skills guidance and training. They also preferred online scholarly communication guidance and a research portal as part of the academic library website.     

Lack of critical thinking skills leading to research crisis in developing countries: A case of Pakistan

Key points

• Increasing funding for research may not improve the quality of research.
• Pakistan is investing heavily in research with commensurate increases in publications.
• Pakistan's increase in article output is not being matched with increased quality – is this due to a fundamental problem with critical thinking skills?
• All developing countries need to focus on critical thinking skills to realize the best use of their research funding.

     

Nursing research: historical background and teaching information strategies

The expansion of research-based literature is one of the foremost goals of the nursing profession. Linked to this goal are the utilization and further development of nursing libraries. This paper discusses some historical factors that have influenced nursing literature. It presents a model for teaching graduate nursing students the relationship between research and library information skills.     

Increasing information literacy with a librarian as the class research mentor

Courses: This semester-long collaboration occurs in an introductory public-speaking course, but could be applied to other communication courses that emphasize research and information literacy skills.

Objectives: This semester-long collaboration between a communication professor and campus librarian is designed to increase the information literacy and research skills of students in the introductory speech course. Upon completion of the course, students will demonstrate their ability to: locate, assess, and effectively use a variety of credible supporting materials in their presentations; effectively assess the credibility of supporting materials used in classmates’ speeches; and make full use of library resources.     

Not just another BI: Faculty-librarian collaboration to guide students through the research process

Many students assigned independent research investigations as class projects do not recognize the role that library research plays in project development. They often have trouble applying their basic library skills to a more sophisticated review of the literature and relating their own survey data to published research. In order to coordinate research guidance for a senior-level class at the University of Delaware, a library instruction session was expanded into a program of continuous faculty-librarian support for students completing the class project. A flow chart of project steps was modified successfully to include opportunities for instructor and librarian consultations and checkpoints for problem identification.     

学术期刊编辑服务科研的策略

为了保证期刊优质稿源的稳定性,学术期刊编辑应从提供论文写作规范和技巧、专业期刊信息、科研前沿信息和文献资源信息等方面充分发挥为科研服务的职能,提高科研人员的科研能力和水平,培育稳定的优秀作者群和潜在的为期刊投稿的学术团队,提高他们写出优秀稿件的能力。     

Critical communication pedagogy and service learning in a mixed-method communication research course

ABSTRACT

Course: Mixed-Method Communication Research Methods

Objective: The purpose of this semester-long activity is to provide students with opportunities to cultivate mixed-method communication research skills through a social justice-informed service-learning format. Completing this course, students will be able to: recognize the unique strengths of quantitative and qualitative research methods; locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly literature for a literature review; conduct an original research project using quantitative and qualitative research methods to gather and analyze data; and raise self and community awareness about a social issue through collaboration with a community organization.     

Critical issues in evaluating the impact of IT on information activity in academic research: Developing a qualitative research solution

The advent of the electronic library and associated information technology (IT) assisted communication and organization of information, has implications for information-seeking and research in academia. This article, while indicating emerging findings, primarily discusses methodological issues arising from the evaluation of the impact of IT-assisted information systems. Five key issues are outlined: (1) incomplete knowledge of the operating variables in this new area, (2) the complexity of the information-seeking process, (3) the largely implicit nature of research and information skills, (4) the difficulty of detecting impact of new systems on research activity, and (5) the difficulty of explaining learning and take-up of IT-assisted information systems. These issues have required the development of creative research solutions within a framework which includes the following: holistic, inductive research; a fluid, developing methodology; the use of both idiographic and nomothetic approaches; collection of data on behavior, cognitions, and emotions; techniques to bring implicit knowledge into conscious awareness, such as information access stories and research timelines; and the analysis of both research outcome and process and the investigation of strategies for learning how to use systems.     

Developing research capacity in health librarians: a review of the evidence

This critical review considers current issues of research capacity development in UK health care and the role of health librarianship in this context, placing particular focus on the use of research networks. There is a growing literature base recognising the need for librarians to engage more with research. The concepts of evidence-based health librarianship and clinical librarianship are discussed in the context of research and examples of existing good practice are reviewed. It is suggested that librarians should build on this through better consideration of evidence based methodologies, hierarchies of evidence, improvement of research skills, and a collective endeavour to identify research priorities. The importance research capacity is being given in the Department of Health R&D strategy and the use of networks in achieving this is discussed, and it is suggested that the utilisation of networks and collaboration should be undertaken and explored in more depth in developing research capacity in health librarianship. Areas where librarians currently engage with research and use networks and collaborative practices to contribute to the research base are reviewed. A co-ordinated approach to developing research capacity is called for and it is argued that the use of networks would be beneficial in assisting the process.     

Preparing students for research: faculty/librarian collaboration in a pre‐doctoral physical therapy research course

In this article, guest writers Susan Bigelow and Dr Salome Brooks from Springfield College, Massachusetts, present an overview of their evaluative research study in which a faculty professor and the liaison librarian collaborated to develop an information literacy course entitled Physical Therapy (PT) and Health care Research Skills, in order to teach necessary information literacy skills to upper‐level undergraduate PT students. Triangulation of the Physical Therapy and Information Literacy standards in alignment with the course objectives strengthened the collaboration, course development and expectations of student performance. Student performance was assessed through formal and expected evaluative means, and the preliminary evidence suggests some key successes in the course outcomes. H.S.     

Bibliographic research and critical inquiry: a learning module for graduate students in health services administration

Critical to the success of contemporary health administration practice is the ability to identify, access, synthesize, apply, and report information from a diversity of sources. To enhance the critical logic and bibliographic research skills of first-semester graduate students in health services administration, a fifteen-hour learning module was collaboratively developed and integrated into a required course on health care organization. Reference librarians and health administration faculty participate to provide both group and individual instruction.     

Facilitating research amongst radiographers through information literacy workshops

Background:Despite a strong research presence in Lancashire Teaching Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust (LTHTR), allied health professionals from the organization are underrepresented in developing and publicizing research that is inspired by day-to-day clinical practice and staff experiences. Two LTHTR departments, Library and Knowledge Services (LKS) and Research and Innovation (R&I), came together to enable a group of staff to develop the knowledge and skills that they needed to access information and create new “home grown” research.Case Presentation:A clinical librarian and an academic research nurse created a research engagement program in the diagnostic radiography department at LTHTR, which included the development, delivery, and evaluation of 6 workshops. Sixteen individuals took part in these workshops, and data were collected on library usage, self-efficacy in information literacy, and research output before and after their delivery. Library membership increased by 50% among diagnostic radiography staff, literature search requests from this department increased by 133%, and all participants who attended at least 1 workshop reported an increased Information Literacy Self Efficacy Scale (ILSES) score. An increase in research activity and outputs was also attributed to the program.Conclusions:This project has resulted in a set of freely available workshop plans and support resources that can be customized for other health care professionals and has won several awards for its innovative use of departmental collaboration. Through the evaluation of the program from workshop attendees and non-attenders, we have identified impacts, outputs, and barriers to engagement in order to continue to deliver this content to other departments and embed a home grown research culture at LTHTR.     

Supporting collaborative research in information science: The RADAR program as a model for academic-practitioner team engagement

Supporting academics and practitioners to collaborate is critical to advance innovations in research and practice. The Research Assistance and Development for Australian Researchers (RADAR) program was designed to: 1) provide funding to teams to implement co-designed, practice-informed research projects; and 2) to document academics and practitioners' experiences of a scaffolded program of support for collaborative research. Conducted within a larger project exploring strategies to foster research culture in information science, the RADAR program developed a community of practice to share experiences through group meetings, blogging, and webinars. Teams conducted original research over 12-months, from initial design through data collection and publishing. Qualitative interviews were conducted at two points in the program, to document RADAR participants' experiences. Findings demonstrate practitioners and academics bring complementary skills and expertise to collaborations, which enhances research practice for mutual benefit. However, collaborators also have specific needs requiring further support from employers, associations, and funders, for meaningful outcomes.     

Development of the research lifecycle model for library services

Question:

Can the niche services of individual librarians across multiple libraries be developed into a suite of standard services available to all scientists that support the entire research lifecycle?

Setting:

Services at a large, research-intensive state university campus are described.

Method:

Initial data were collected via concept mapping by librarians. Additional data were collected at conferences and meetings through interactive poster presentations.

Main Results:

Services of interest to scientists for each of the stages in the research lifecycle were developed by the team to reflect the wide range of strengths of team members in aggregate.

Conclusion:

Input from researchers was the most effective tool for developing the model. A flexible research lifecycle model can be developed to match the needs of different service groups and the skills of different librarians.