Measuring the Impact of Information Literacy Programmes: Impact on the Learner

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Measuring the Impact of Information Literacy
Programmes Impact on the Learner

• SCONUL Conference
• The measure of all things
• 28 November 2006
• Niels Ole Pors
• nop_at_db.dk

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Topics covered

• The concept of rationality
• Results from National Surveys
• Results from Assessments of the effect of IL
  teaching
• Perspectives

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Rationality in information literacy

• The focus in information literacy is the
  accomplishment of a predetermined set of skills
  that constitutes the information literate person.
• These skills seems in many ways to be based on
  the idea of human rational behaviour.
• Rationality plays a central role in western
  ideology.
• It is a normative theory of human decision-making

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Rationality in information literacy

• The information literate person is able to
  recognise the need for information.
• The information literate person is presumed to
  seek and use information for intelligent
  decision-making
• The information literate person is supposed to
  seek information effectively and efficiently.
• The information literate person is able to
  evaluate the available information critically and
  to select between the most appropriate
  information available at any time.
• This concept of rationality is embedded in all
  the guidelines for Information Literacy and it
  reflects the profession's normative
  interpretation of the best and most appropriate
  information behaviour

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Topics covered in the survey

• Demographic data.
• Students use patterns in relation to both
  academic and public libraries.
• Students use of electronic resources, search
  engines, databases, and other web-based library
  resources.
• Students study- and information behaviour.
• Students participation in information literacy
  related activities.
• Students satisfaction with library services

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• The students information behaviour is closely
  connected to their study subject and the number
  of years they have studied (Kerins, G., Madden,
  R. Fulton, C. (2004)) (Franklin, B. Plum, T.
  (2004) (Waldman, Micaela (2003))
• It is very important for the students use of
  information how teachers recommends and how they
  put forward requirements and demands
  (Baruchson-Arbib, S. Schor, F. (2002))
• Students use digital resources and they also
  like to access them from home
• Students prefer general search machines and it
  seems that they have difficulties distinguishing
  between internet resources and library resources
• It is difficult for students to evaluate the
  quality of resources found on the internet.
  (Grimes,D. and Boening,C.H.(2001))

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• Students develops more or less rational
  strategies to reduce their information anxiety in
  relation to their feeling of information
  overload.
• The information the students select is often
  randomly chosen and the choice is based on a
  least effort principle. In connection with this
  we often see that students employ an cut and
  paste culture or they redefine their assignments
  to fit the information found (Markland, M.
  (2005))
• Increasingly, students download full text papers
  just in case
• Students tend to avoid the library based
  resources like guides, portals and the like
  (Crawford, J., DeVicinte, A. Clink,S. 2004))
• Students have difficulties in distinguishing
  different databases and information tools from
  each other. From time to time they use library
  resources without any idea of the library system
  behind (DEsposito, J. and Gardner, R. (1999)

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• The immediate availability of information in
  printed or digital form can not be
  overestimated
• Students sometimes demonstrate an individual
  rational behaviour like reserving the same
  documents at different libraries with the
  unintended consequence that the overall
  availability decrease
• Libraries and information resources are means and
  not ends for students
• Students want simple and common interfaces and
  they dont want to go to different vendors with
  different search requirements and interfaces.
  They want ease of use and simplicity (Vilar, P.
  Zumer, M. (2005))

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The survey

• Nation - wide based on a sample of all students
  born the 15th in a month
• Sample size 4900 students
• Online survey Response rate 35 (1694 responses)
• 110 questions and statements

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Use of academic library and study year
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Use of academic library and field of study
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who at least weekly
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Results 1

• Overall the survey confirmed previous research
  results.
• Subject and study year plays a significant role
  in students use of both academic and public
  libraries.
• 10 does not use libraries at all.
• The physical library is very popular among the
  students. 75 visits an academic library at least
  monthly.

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Results 2

• A majority of all students use Google to seek
  information for study purposes.
• 55 of the students prefer to use Google.
• Students do only to a limited degree use
  web-based library resources (e.g. catalogues,
  databases and subject-portals).
• Use of Google on a regular basis correlates
  strongly with the use of web-based library
  resources
• Information intensive users
• Information moderate users

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Results 3

• Both the information intensive and the
  information moderate students seems to have
  received library introductions.
• Both the information intensive and the
  information moderate students seems to have
  received introduction to electronic library
  resources.
• Both segments only have vague ideas about whether
  there exists any cooperation between their
  teachers and the library.
• A small but significant difference can be
  identified among the two segments concerning
  requirements for using additional literature
  during their study.

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The table is a comparison between information
intensive and information moderate students.
Signifies a statistical significant difference
between the two groups
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Table 2 Dimensions of Information Literacy. A
comparison of information intensive and
information moderate students. The numbers are
the proportions that answer yes to the questions.
Signifies a statistical significant difference
between the two groups
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The proportion of students who state that they
often or from time to time come to the library to
conduct the following tasks (clusters based on
perceptions of requirements)
All the differences are statistically significant
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A cross tabulation of clusters based on degree of
information intensity and clusters based on
perceptions of requirements from education
institution. Numbers and
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Cooperation teacher and library
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The teacher points to the importance of the
library as part of the program
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School of Nursing

• A controlled experiment with IL teaching
• Two groups 1 control group with the normal
  voluntary participation in IL and an intervention
  group with teaching heavily oriented towards IL
• Pre-test and Post-test design
• Measuring cognitive skills, affective skills and
  IT competencies
• 78 participants

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Selected cognitive skills change between pre
and post-test
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Selected affective skills change on a 5 point
scale between pre and post-test
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Perspectives from the experiment

• Other influences from studies
• A negative correlation between knowledge about IL
  and assessments of ones competencies?
• Extremely difficult to isolate the effect of IL
  teaching
• A multi perspective approach is probably needed.

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Perspectives

• Marketing of resources and services
• Subjects and field of study
• Co-operation between different types of libraries
  in acquisition
• Target groups and prioritising
• Integrating the library into the teaching
• Need for outreach programmes in relation to
  electronic services, students groups under using
  library resources, contacts with educational
  institutions and so on

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Perspectives

• In the overall perspective students information
  behaviour seems in many ways to be difficult to
  capture in the idea of the information literate
  person.
• Students information behaviour depend on their
  individual perception of what might be a rational
  and efficient approach to information according
  to the requirements that they have to meet.
• Instead of normative standards information
  literacy should be conceptualised in a way that
  takes into account the contextual and situational
  factors that influences, in this case, students
  information behaviour.

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Rationality in students study- and information
behaviour

• The survey reveals that pedagogical requirements
  influences the students information behaviour.
• It means that students seems to do what they have
  to do according to pedagogical requirements and
  to pass their examinations
• It results in a situational and individual
  perception and interpretation of these
  requirements into (rational) information
  behaviour.

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Conclusion lessons to be learned

• Librarians have a different discourse than users
• Librarians construct the user and her
  information needs
• Librarians use many resources creating services
  no one really wants or use
• Librarians are invisible both in the physical and
  digital library

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Conclusion lessons to be learned

• Librarians need to sleep with the enemy
• Librarians need to segment user groups
• Librarians need to be much more proactive
  involving themselves in academic life
• Librarians need to be active partners in
  education and research
• Libraries need a much more flexible management
  culture

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Conclusion lessons to be learned

• Librarians need to personalise services for
  academic staff and students
• Librarians need to market their services
• Librarians need to expose their qualifications
  and competencies
• Librarians need to recognize that they are in a
  very tough competition
• Libraries need to form partnerships with e.g.
  Google

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Conclusion lessons to be learned

• Libraries need to cooperate creating the
  seamless library system
• Libraries need to acknowledge that library skills
  are means and not ends.
• Librarians should think about the relationship
  between user satisfaction, perceptions and
  importance of services
• Libraries should do everything to create
  immediate access to full text documents

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Conclusion lessons to be learned

• Libraries need to employ the communication
  channels students use
• Librarians need a sceptical approach to the
  content of positive fashion concepts like IL,
  lifelong learning and so on