Information Literacy Commons^™

Library-Sponsored Case Competitions: Best Practices And Assessment Of Learning Gains, Ilana Stonebraker

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The Parrish Library Case Competition is an annual library-administered, library-sponsored case competition where teams of undergraduate students compete against one another to make better evidence-based decisions for business problems. This article includes a description the case competition as a resource for other libraries interested in sponsoring similar case competitions as part of their information literacy programs. Students who participated in the case competition saw their learning grow as assessed through questionnaires and focus groups. Students who had not taken an information literacy course perceived their understanding as lower than those who had taken a course.

Bibliography Of Books On Sexual Minority Health 2005 To Mid-2015, Sharon A. Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

No abstract provided.

Critical Pedagogy For Business And Management Undergraduates: Evaluation Of Marketing Information, Ilana Stonebraker, Caitlan Maxwell, Jessica Jerrit

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

No abstract provided.

The Rescinding Of The Acrl 2000 Information Literacy Competency Standards For Higher Education…Really??, Lana W. Jackman, Sharon A. Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This is an opinion piece on the decision by the ACRL Board of Directors to rescind its “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education” in June 2016.

Toward Informed Leadership: Teaching Students To Make Better Decisions Using Information, Ilana Stonebraker

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Studies have shown that introducing additional information without context leads to worse decision making. Informed leadership is the purposeful integration of information into decision management. This article reframes information literacy as decision management using elements of evidence-based management. It highlights strategies such as decision awareness, process creation, and decision practice and approaches for purposeful application in the information literacy classroom.

Pilot Data Information Literacy Competencies Matrix Scaffolded Across Undergraduate, Graduate And Data Steward Levels, Megan R. Sapp Nelson

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Initial work in identifying data management or data information literacy skills went as far as identifying a list of proposed competencies without further differentiation between those competencies, whether by discipline, complexity, or use case. This article describes a significant innovation upon existing competencies by identifying a scaffolding (built upon existing competencies) that moves students progressively from undergraduate training through post graduate coursework and research to post-doctoral work and into the early years of data stewardship. The scaffolding ties together existing research that has been completed in research data management skills and data information literacy with research into the outcomes that …

Sexual Minority Health: A Bibliography And Preliminary Study Of The Book Literature, Sharon A. Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The literature on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersexual (LGBT) people appears in many types of resources and disciplines. To begin to address the need for relevant, easily accessible information for LGBT people and health care providers, this study identified popular and scholarly books published in the past 10 years and analyzed topics; number of books published per year; more prolific authors; and primary publishers. The results indicated that a relatively small number of books were published (521) by a wide range of publishers/self-publishers. Most were about mental health, relationships, or family and 24% were personal accounts.

Use It Or Lose It? A Longitudinal Performance Assessment Of Undergraduate Business Students' Information Literacy, Ilana Stonebraker, Rachel Fundator

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

No abstract provided.

Overview Of Altmetric Tools Available As Of Spring 2016, Megan Sapp Nelson

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Engineering faculty members are increasingly looking at the pros and cons of the number of research communication tools that are available but are overwhelmed by the variety and lack of evidence that the tools will have a positive influence on research impact, promotion, and tenure. Engineering faculty are drawn to altmetrics for a more complete picture of real world impact while simultaneously dubious of the validity of these emerging measures. This paper reviews the literature on altmetric tools, identifies the existing tools, as well as pros and cons of using those tools. The author investigates how the tools can be …

Student See Versus Student Do: A Comparative Study Of Two Online Tutorials, Ilana Stonebraker, M Brooke Robertshaw, Jennifer D. Moss

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This study examines the impact on student performance after interactive and non-interactive tutorials using a 2 × 2 treatment-control design. In an undergraduate management course, a control group watched a video tutorial while the treatment group received the same content using a dynamic tutorial. Both groups received the same quiz questions. Using effect size to determine magnitude of change, it was found that those in the treatment condition performed better than those in the control condition. Students were able to take the quiz up to two times. When examining for change in performance from attempt one to attempt two, the …

Motivating Learners Through Information Literacy, Clarence Maybee, Michael Flierl

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This paper is included in the Information Literacy: Key to an Inclusive Society, the proceedings of the European Conference on Information Literacy, 2016. The paper introduces a model for creating information literacy learning activities that motivate students. The model draws from informed learning, an approach to information literacy that emphasizes the role that information plays in fostering learning about a subject. Self-determination theory, a motivational theory that focuses on enabling self-determined learners, is applied within the informed learning framework. The results of the investigation outline characteristics of motivating learning activities that enable learning subject content through engagement with information. The …

Designing Rich Information Experiences To Shape Learning Outcomes, Clarence Maybee, Christine Susan Bruce, Mandy Lupton, Kristen Rebmann

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Students in higher education typically learn to use information as part of their course of study, which is intended to support ongoing academic, personal and professional growth. Informing the development of effective information literacy education, this research uses a phenomenographic approach to investigate the experiences of a teacher and students engaged in lessons focused on exploring language and gender topics by tracing and analyzing their evolution through scholarly discourse. The findings suggest that the way learners use information influences content-focused learning outcomes, and reveal how teachers may enact lessons that enable students to learn to use information in ways that …

Developing A Practical Framework For Information Literacy Program Evaluation, Paul Bracke, Clarence Maybee, Sharon Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This paper was presented at the Library Assessment Conference held in Arlington, VA October 31–November 2, 2016.

Purpose. The Purdue University Libraries, like many academic libraries, face increased expectations for demonstrating their value and impact. This has not only led to an expectation of the increased use of metrics to demonstrate impact, but also a more fundamental imperative that libraries more clearly articulate their contributions to educational and research outcomes of their campus communities (value). At Purdue, the Provost implemented a new program review process in July 2015, while the Libraries were simultaneously going through the process of developing …

“It’S In The Syllabus”: Identifying Information Literacy And Data Information Literacy Opportunities Using A Grounded Theory Approach, Clarence Maybee, Jake Carlson, Maribeth Slebodnik, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Developing innovative library services requires a real world understanding of faculty members' desired curricular goals. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive and deeper understanding of Purdue's nutrition science and political science faculties' expectations for student learning related to information and data information literacies. Course syllabi were examined using grounded theory techniques that allowed us to identify how faculty were addressing information and data information literacies in their courses, but it also enabled us to understand the interconnectedness of these literacies to other departmental intentions for student learning, such as developing a professional identity or learning to conduct original research. …

Flipping The Business Information Literacy Classroom: Redesign, Implementation And Assessment Of A Case Study, Ilana Stonebraker

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

A team of librarians at Purdue University transformed a business information literacy course from a traditional lecture, 40-student class into multiple sections of a flipped, 70-student classroom to meet the request that the successful course be required for all 500 undergraduate students. Scaling up required the adoption of flipped learning techniques for better utilization of library teaching resources. This case study provides key insights for others implementing credit classes or integrating similar content into one-shots or embedded work. It also describes the assessed results determined through student feedback (focus groups) and student performance (pre/post-tests).

Keynote Address: The State Of Information Literacy Policy: A Global Priority, Sharon A. Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Access to information is important for economic development and community-based solutions to global challenges. However, access to information alone is not sufficient: people need to know how to find, evaluate, manage, analyze, and compile information and communicate the results effectively for the intended audience. This paper presents a global overview of information literacy policy. The paper discusses the meaning of information literacy and its relation to information policy. The paper proposes a role of information literacy in addressing global challenges. It gives national examples of information literacy policy. Finally, the paper identifies challenges in information literacy policy and discusses ways …

Crowdsourcing Reference Help: Using Technology To Help Users Help Each Other, Ilana Stonebraker, Tao Zhang

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Librarians developed a crowdsourced web-based help system (“CrowdAsk”) which allows users (particularly undergraduates) to ask and answer questions related to library resources and services. This talk will describe CrowdAsk crowdsourcing project as well as how and why crowdsourcing can be powerful method for student engagement. Learn about a new open source technology you can implement at your library and explore new paradigms for reference focusing on users as an active and vital participant in help systems.

Archival Literacy Competencies For Undergraduate History Majors, Sharon A. Weiner, Sammie L. Morris, Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Undergraduate history majors need to know how to conduct archival research. This paper describes the second phase of a project to identify “archival literacy” competencies. Faculty, archivists, and librarians from baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral/research institutions commented on a draft list. This resulted in competencies in six major categories: accurately conceive of primary sources; locate primary sources; use a research question, evidence, and argumentation to advance a thesis; obtain guidance from archivists; demonstrate acculturation to archives; and follow publication protocols. Collaborations of archivists, faculty, and librarians can integrate the competencies throughout undergraduate history curricula in their institutions.

Thinking Critically About Data Consumption: Creating The Data Credibility Checklist, Lisa Zilinski, Megan R. Sapp Nelson

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

As STEM areas increasingly rely on pre-existing data, either to validate or extend the scientific body of knowledge, students who have baseline knowledge of how to find, evaluate, and access data will have an advantage. Accordingly, undergraduate STEM curricula is increasingly focused on research-based group projects that develop professional skills, building the professional portfolio needed for early career scientists, technologists, and engineers. This project works to develop new tools to implement basic data skills within the undergraduate disciplinary curricula. The first step in this process was to identify the competencies that are likely to be needed by those seeking data …

Developing Professional Skills In Stem Students: Data Information Literacy, Lisa Zilinski, Megan R. Sapp Nelson, Amy S. Van Epps

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Undergraduate STEM students are increasingly expected to have some data use skills upon graduation, whether they pursue post-graduate education or move into industry. This project was an initial foray into the application of data information literacy competencies to training undergraduate students to identify markers of data and information quality. The data consumer training appeared within two courses to help students evaluate data objects, including databases and datasets available on the Internet. The application of the Data Credibility Checklist provides a foundation for developing data reuse competencies. Based upon the initial presentation of the content, it became obvious that students need …

Bring Your Own Device In The Information Literacy Classroom, Ilana Stonebraker, M Brooke Robertshaw, Hal Kirkwood, Mary Dugan

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

In the 2013 school year, a team of librarians in the Parrish Library of Management and Economics at Purdue University taught a business information literacy course to approximately 500 management students in eight 70-person sessions. Due to limitations on a set of iPads borrowed from another department, one of two concurrent classes was taught with a set of iPads, while another had a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, where students brought their own laptops or iPads. Focus groups, observations of behavior, and final evaluations were utilized to evaluate the comparative perceived effectiveness of the two technology approaches. This paper …

Collaborators In Course Design: A Librarian And Publisher At The Intersection Of Information Literacy And Scholarly Communication, Catherine Fraser Riehle

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This paper describes a university press director and academic librarian’s collaborative effort to co-design and co-teach an honors course on publishing and scholarly communication. The project-based course, offered in Spring 2014, wove students through practical application of the publication process (the publisher’s perspective) while engaging in conversation, debate, and other activities related to the complex ethical, legal, and social aspects of scholarly communication (the author’s perspective), and culminated in the publication of a student-created print and Open Access e-book.

What Do Students Learn From Participation In An Undergraduate Research Journal? Results Of An Assessment, Sharon A. Weiner, Charles Watkinson

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

INTRODUCTION Undergraduate research journals provide students with an opportunity to disseminate their work while learning about the scholarly publishing process. The opportunities to learn about scholarly communication have been demonstrated, but such journals also offer a means of helping students attain necessary information literacy competencies. By partnering in the publication of undergraduate journals, libraries can further strategic goals related to information literacy and establish a connection between library publishing and student success. This paper reports on an assessment of the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research (JPUR) that was designed to evaluate student learning outcomes and demonstrate connections between journal participation …

Experiences Of Informed Learning In The Undergraduate Classroom, Clarence Maybee

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The same thing can be experienced in a variety of ways. For example, think of a time that you and a friend read the same book, but each got something quite different out of it. Essentially you experienced different aspects of the book. Applying this to higher education, we cannot assume that all students are experiencing their coursework in the same way. In fact, a number of studies reveal that this is not the case. Learning occurs when students begin to experience the thing being learned about in a new way. Learning designs that teach undergraduates to use information require …

Strategizing For Public Policy: The Information Literacy State Proclamation Project, Sharon A. Weiner, Lana W. Jackman, Emily Prause

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This paper describes a project designed to raise the awareness of policymakers about the importance of information literacy to achieve societal goals. Issues benefit from the governmental support, prioritization, mandates, and funding that can result when there is policy behind them. Studies indicate that many people lack the ability to draw on quality sources of information for a variety of purposes. Attention by policymakers would accelerate the inclusion of information literacy in settings such as education, workforce training, citizenship preparation, and lifelong learning. One way to raise awareness of policymakers is by recommending a proclamation to government executives.

Learning To Use Information: Informed Learning In The Undergraduate Classroom, Clarence Maybee, Christine S. Bruce, Mandy Lupton, Kristen Rebmann

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

“Informed learning” is a pedagogy that focuses on learning subject content through engaging with academic or professional information practices. Adopting the position that more powerful learning is achieved where students are taught how to use information and subject content simultaneously, the research reported here investigated an informed learning lesson. Using phenomenographic methods, student’s experiences of the lesson were compared to what the teacher enacted in the classroom. Based on an analysis of student interviews using variation theory, three ways of experiencing the informed learning lesson emerged. Some students understood the lesson to be about learning to use information, i.e., researching …

Who Teaches Information Literacy Competencies? Report Of A Study Of Faculty, Sharon A. Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Information literacy is recognized as an essential competency for educational success. It relates to all disciplines but is not a separate discipline, so it is not clear who takes responsibility for teaching this competency to undergraduates. This is a report of a survey conducted to better understand the extent to which teaching information literacy concepts by faculty occurred in a research university. The results indicated that faculty in the disciplines generally teach information literacy competencies to undergraduate students without collaborating with others on their campus. Many faculty also had the expectation that students know how to avoid plagiarism, find articles …

Information-Seeking Behaviors Of First-Semester Veterinary Students: A Preliminary Report, Sharon A. Weiner, Gretchen Stephens, Abdelfattah Y.M. Nour

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Although emphasis in veterinary education is increasingly being placed on the ability to find, use, and communicate information, studies on the information behaviors of veterinary students or professionals are few. Improved knowledge in this area will provide valuable information for course and curriculum planning and the design of information resources. This article describes a survey of the information-seeking behaviors of first-semester veterinary students at Purdue University. A survey was administered as the first phase of a progressive semester-long assignment for a first semester DVM course in systemic mammalian physiology. The survey probed for understanding of the scientific literature and its …

Information Literacy And The Workforce: A Review, Sharon A. Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This paper is a review of reports on information literacy and the workforce. There is a substantial body of literature on information literacy in K-16 educational settings, but there is much less literature on implications for the workplace and job-related lifelong learning. The topical categories of the reports are: the importance of information literacy for the workforce; how information literacy differs in work and educational settings; and barriers to information literacy in the workplace. The paper concludes with recommendations for practice and for further research.

Letters To The Editor, Bert Chapman, Jon Shuler

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Letter responding to an article predicting the phaseout of government information librarians in a survey of Association of Research Library (ARL) Directors. We criticize this conclusion maintaining that the multifaceted and interdisciplinary nature of government information makes it more critical that libraries users needing government information resources need to have highly trained and specializing librarians with extensive knowledge of these resources assisting them.