Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Where Students Start And What They Do When They Get Stuck: A Qualitative Inquiry Into Academic Information-Seeking And Help-Seeking Practices, Eamon Tewell, Susan E. Thomas, Gloria Willson

Brooklyn Library Faculty Publications

This study investigates two questions key to academic library resources and services: Which sources are students most likely to use to begin their academic work? Whom do students tend to consult for research assistance? In-depth interviews conducted with 15 undergraduate and graduate students were thematically analyzed through a three-step process. The findings indicate that students are most likely to consult faculty and peers for assistance and are largely unaware of librarians' roles, while they tend to begin research using library databases and do not necessarily start with Google. In addition, student use of small study groups as learning networks and …

Mapping The Association Of College And Research Libraries Information Literacy Framework And Nursing Professional Standards Onto An Assessment Rubric, Gloria Willson, Katelyn Angell

Brooklyn Library Faculty Publications

Objective: The authors developed a rubric for assessing undergraduate nursing research papers for information literacy skills critical to their development as researchers and health professionals.

Methods: We developed a rubric mapping six American Nurses Association professional standards onto six related concepts of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. We used this rubric to evaluate fifty student research papers and assess inter-rater reliability.

Results: Students tended to score highest on the “Information Has Value” dimension and lowest on the “Scholarship as Conversation” dimension. However, we found a discrepancy between the grading patterns …

Teaching And Un-Teaching Source Evaluation: Questioning Authority In Information Literacy Instruction, Katelyn Angell, Eamon Tewell

Brooklyn Library Faculty Publications

This study details the design of library instruction sessions for undergraduate students that intended to encourage critical source evaluation and the questioning of established authorities, and appraises these instructional aims through a thematic analysis of 148 artifacts containing student responses to group and individual activities. The authors found a widespread reliance on traditional indicators of academic and scholarly authority, though some students expressed more personal or complex understandings of source evaluation, trustworthiness, and authorship. Based on the findings, recommendations are made for academic librarians interested in promoting learners’ senses of agency and authority.