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Do People Overestimate Their Information Literacy Skills? A Systematic Review of Empirical Evidence on the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Abstract
This systematic review has analyzed 53 English language studies that assessed and compared
peoples’ self-reported and demonstrated information literacy (IL) skills. The objective was
to collect empirical evidence on the existence of Dunning-Kruger Effect in the area of
information literacy. The findings clearly show that this theory works in this area. It is
concluded that there is no calibration in peoples’ perceived and actual IL skills; in most cases
low-performers overestimate their skills in self-assessments. The findings have theoretical
and practical implications for librarians and IL educators.
Supplementary resource (1)
... Despite the importance of these skills touted by many professional organizations, there is confusion about when and how these skills are acquired within a college degree program (Dubicki, 2013;Stranger, 2012;Yevelson-Shorsher & Bronstein, 2018). Furthermore, faculty and student perceptions of information literacy skills are incongruent with students' actual abilities, with evidence suggesting students often overestimate their own information literacy skills (Dubicki, 2013;Gross & Latham, 2012;Mahmood, 2016). ...
... Many college students struggle with basic information literacy concepts, such as locating a specific information format or searching in a database (Lanning & Malleck, 2017;Smith, Given, Julien, Ouellette, & DeLong, 2013). Coupled with this actual deficit are perceived information literacy abilities or misconceptions about information literacy competencies (Hinchliffe, Rand, & Collier, 2018;Mahmood, 2016). The culmination of these factors likely means that students are not aware of the need to develop these skills or that these skills can help them throughout their academic career, and even beyond formal education settings. ...
In ethics courses, students need to begin or continue their transformation from smart, motivated people to ethical, self-reflective professionals. This chapter focuses on some principles and strategies to achieve that goal, including backward design, developing an effective course atmosphere, the nature of teaching and learning ethics, and skill development. Rather than thinking first about classroom activities, reading assignments, and topics, instructors who use backward design start with consideration of the goals they wish their students to achieve, then move on to how they will assess whether students meet those goals. Only then can they design specific, effective activities and assignments for a course. We explore several other principles and assumptions relevant to the teaching of ethics. We do this by presenting an instructor’s observations and reflections on his graduate ethics course, followed by three graduate students’ views of (a) the course and (b) how the instructor attempted to actualize these principles.
... The difference between the subjective and objective assessments of UHDs can be explained by the Kruger-Dunning effect (1999). The literature reported that people inflated their knowledge level: they were overconfident in reporting their competencies compared to their actual performance (Mahmood 2016). The overestimating behavior observed in this study was in line with findings reported by various studies in many subject areas, such as university students' logical reasoning ability, specialist physicians' clinical practice (Abdullah 2014;Kruger and Dunning 1999;Lai and Teng 2011;Mahmood 2016). ...
... The literature reported that people inflated their knowledge level: they were overconfident in reporting their competencies compared to their actual performance (Mahmood 2016). The overestimating behavior observed in this study was in line with findings reported by various studies in many subject areas, such as university students' logical reasoning ability, specialist physicians' clinical practice (Abdullah 2014;Kruger and Dunning 1999;Lai and Teng 2011;Mahmood 2016). ...
Knowledge of Plagiarism Among Tunisian University Hospital Doctors
Objectives: To assess plagiarism knowledge among Tunisian University Hospital Doctors (UHDs).
Methods: This was a descriptive study conducted from May to October 2016. Recruitment was performed among the UHDs of the six Tunisian faculties of medical sciences (medicine (n=4), pharmacy and dentistry). UHDs were recruited by convenience sampling via a questionnaire provided directly or via electronic mails sent to all the Tunisian UHDs through the national health networks. The French survey includes 11 questions related to plagiarism knowledge, with three-choice answers (yes or no or may be). One point was awarded for each correct answer. A total score lower than six corresponded to a low level of plagiarism knowledge.
Results: Ninety-six UHDs (69 females) responded to the survey either through emails (39.6%) or by fitting in directly on a paper (60.4%). The mean score of plagiarism knowledge was considered low at 5.4±1.9. 74% of the participants had a low plagiarism knowledge. The results were significantly different between the categories of assistants and professors. Data comparison between subjective and objective assessments revealed that significant percentages of UHDs underestimated their low plagiarism knowledge.
Conclusions: Plagiarism is not well-known to North African UHDs. It is important to alert Tunisian officials about plagiarism in the medical field.
Division: Tunisian Annual Meeting
Meeting: 2018 Tunisian Annual Meeting (Monastir, Tunisia)
Location: Monastir, Tunisia
Year: 2018
Final Presentation ID:
Authors
Khemiss, Mehdi ( Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital , Monastir Monastir , Tunisia )
Berrezouga, Latifa ( Dental Clinic , Monastir Monastir , Tunisia )
Ben Khlifa, Mohamed ( Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital , Monastir Monastir , Tunisia )
Ben Saad, Helmi ( Faculty of Medicine , Sousse Sousse , Tunisia )
Financial Interest Disclosure: NONE
SESSION INFORMATION
Oral Session
Oral Communication
... Notwithstanding, it should be emphasised that these surveys reported self-perceived skill in EBP and did not measure the actual skill level of respondents. It is possible that respondents who lack comprehensive knowledge of EBP could have over-estimated their skill level [40]. ...
... Other limitations inherent in the survey design include the reliance on self-reported information and recall bias. Additionally, perceived skill level can be tainted by cognitive bias, particularly among participants with lowlevel knowledge and skill, which may result in overestimation of such knowledge and skill (referred to as the Dunning-Kruger effect) [40]. ...
Background:
Osteopaths are an integral member of the health care team, playing a pivotal role in the provision of care for patients with musculoskeletal disorders. Osteopaths, like other health care providers, are under increasing pressure to deliver evidence-based health care and to improve patient outcomes. However, the extent to which osteopaths engage in evidence-based practice (EBP), particularly in Australia, is not well understood. This study therefore set out to investigate the attitudes, skills and use of EBP, and perceived barriers and enablers of EBP uptake, among osteopaths practicing in Australia.
Methods:
National cross-sectional survey of Australian registered osteopaths. Eligible participants were invited by email and other digital media recruitment strategies to complete the online Evidence-Based Practice Attitude and Utilisation Survey (EBASE).
Results:
A total of 332 osteopaths completed the survey. The demographic characteristics of respondents were generally consistent with the characteristics of the Australian osteopathy workforce. The respondents were mostly favourable of EBP, with the majority agreeing or strongly agreeing that EBP assists in making decisions about patient care (86.7%) and improves the quality of patient care (75.6%). While most respondents (88.3%) had some training in EBP, most reported a moderate level of perceived skill in EBP. The majority of respondents engaged infrequently (0-5 times) in EBP activities within the last month, and most indicated that a very small or small proportion of their clinical practice was based on clinical research evidence. Leading barriers to the uptake of EBP were lack of time and lack of clinical evidence in osteopathy. Key enablers of EBP uptake were access to the internet and online databases at work, and access to full-text articles and EBP education materials.
Conclusions:
Osteopaths participating in the survey were largely supportive of evidence-based practice, yet engaged infrequently in EBP activities. An important next step in this research is to identify suitable strategies that effectively improve EBP uptake in osteopathy, and perchance, improve patient outcomes.
... In fact, previous research has shown that students use SciELO as their first source of information search. The issue is that students overestimate their ability to identify and select quality scientific information by favoring SciELO over databases such as Scopus or WoS [51]. SciELO has some limitations, such as the variety of topics it covers and the regional scope of its publications, given that it is made up of journals and publications from Ibero-American countries. ...
Background:
The aims of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties and to characteristics of a scale on research skills as well as to characterize the experience of university thesis students using information databases (i.e., Scopus or Web of Science) and bibliographic reference managers.
Methods:
A sample of 1598 university students from five departments, acroos the different campuses of one Peruvian university. The psychometric properties of the instrument were evaluated using factor analysis and measurement invariance according to sex and age groups. In addition, an internal consistency analysis was conducted for scale reliability using Cronbach's alpha, ordinal alpha, and the omega index.
Results:
Our study identified that the unidimensional model with correlated errors showed adequate indicators of reliability and goodness of fit, with the exception of the RMSEA, which shows values higher than 0.08. Measurement invariance by sex and age group was present. The majority of university students in E-learning showed use of the bibliographic manager Mendeley (52.13%), low ability to use information databases such as Scopus (22.24%) or Web of Science (17.26%), and the least skilled research skills were in formulating the problem, objectives, and hypotheses (51.63%) and carrying out data analysis and processing using statistical techniques (49.37%).
Conclusions:
The conclusions of the study were that the 8-item research skills instrument presents acceptable psychometric indicators in Peruvian university students in thesis courses. Likewise, a scarce use of global databases, the approach to the research topic, and carrying out its statistical processing.
... From the student perspective, the online environment in which students are increasingly expected to learn presents different experiences of information in comparison to traditional ways of learning. Combined with a perceived sense of overconfidence in their ability to find and use appropriate information sources through search engines (Mahmood, 2016;Hinchliffe, Rand & Collier 2018), some students are not investing adequate effort in developing the necessary information and digital literacies to avoid unethical scholarly behaviours, thereby sometimes resulting in academic misconduct, inadvertent or otherwise. ...
Concerted efforts are being directed towards academic integrity in Australia’s higher education sector. University students encounter many challenges as they progress through their tertiary studies. Some of those challenges are seemingly allayed by increasingly easy opportunities to engage in deliberate or inadvertent unethical scholarly behaviours, such as contract cheating, plagiarism, or collusion. Academic librarians have much expertise to offer to the development and implementation of sustainable and scalable learning and teaching strategies as part of university-wide approaches to managing academic integrity. This article offers a case study of the development and trial of an educative strategy by a library at an Australian regional university in the form of a self-paced, online learning activity for coursework students. It demonstrates the important role of libraries and librarians in contributing to the development of evidence-based, educative approaches for preventing and reducing incidents of academic misconduct. The case study shows the critical role of librarians in engaging with students and staff in awareness raising and capacity building around ethical scholarly behaviour as students work towards those graduate attributes that form the basis for professional integrity. The article also confirms the valuable contribution librarians make to learning, teaching, and research beyond traditional academic understandings of the role of librarians.
... These findings were expected as academic libraries in Pakistan did not impart advanced levels of IL in Pakistan (Anwar and Naveed, 2019; Naveed, 2022; Naveed and Mahmood, 2019, 2021). These findings needed to be interpreted considering the theory of the Dunning-Kruger effect as low performers overstate their IL skills in most of the cases (Mahmood, 2016). These results also corroborated the results of certain other studies addressing WIL (e.g. ...
This study investigated the current state of information literacy (IL) skills among lawyers practicing at the District Bar Association of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire was conducted to collect data from 297 lawyers. The questionnaire comprised 20 statements related to information literacy along with certain demographic variables. Each lawyer was personally visited in the assigned chamber by one of the researchers to record responses. Both descriptive (frequencies, percentages, mean scores, standard deviations) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient, t-test, and one-way analysis of variance) were applied for data analysis in SPSS. The results showed that a large majority of lawyers participating in the survey never received any formal training concerning information literacy. However, most of these lawyers perceived IL skills as important in the context of their workplace especially in conducting legal research. These lawyers were more competent in the basic IL skills and less competent in advanced IL skills. In addition, the lawyers’ age, practical experience, practicing levels, computer proficiency, and English Language proficiency predicted their levels of IL skills. There was a critical need for the development of IL instruction programs for not only practicing lawyers but also for law students to improve their skills since these lawyers felt less competent with advanced levels of IL skills. It is hoped that the present study contributes to the existing body of WIL literature focusing especially on the role of IL in the context of legal work and outlining the current state of lawyers’ IL skills in Pakistan as no such study has appeared so far.
... Our study demonstrates that librarians must regularly engage to actively invite the users to talk about their aims and reasons for borrowing a specific item in the library collection or for learning about the library's procedures. An engagement in the users' goals opens an opportunity to reveal new aspects of their information needs and of the library collections, for users who, perhaps -as much current research indicates -overestimate their search skills (Mahmood, 2016) and possibly even their understanding of what information they need (Cole, 2011;Taylor, 1968). At the same time, the librarians need to use their competenceboth in reference interviews and search skills -to stay up-to-date. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate why users turn to the university library’s reference desk and whether librarians make use of the opportunity to conduct reference interviews to disclose any unexpressed information needs.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents the results from a qualitative exploration study where interactions between librarians and users were observed in authentic situations at the reference desk and analyzed using a modified version of Radford and Connaway’s (2013) categorization of inquiries.
Findings
Most inquiries were seemingly easy to answer and pertained to collections and procedures in the library. Lending out desk supplies accounted for a high proportion of the activity. Only a small number of requests were subject-oriented and reference interview techniques were only used in 5% of the recorded inquiries. This means that the users’ information needs were not probed in the vast majority of the interactions.
Research limitations/implications
The study is exploratory and mirrors the activity that takes place in one specific library. The low number of reference interview techniques used may indicate a lack of interest in users’ information needs, which signifies a risk of the reference desk being reduced to an arena for instrumental and superficial interaction between librarians and users.
Originality/value
This study illustrates current developments in work at a physical library desk. Few recent studies address face-to-face interactions between librarians and users.
... Self-assessment methods might, on the other hand, not accurately reflect students' real knowledge of information literacy, as most overestimate their abilities. 25 When information literacy teaching is developed and students improve their competence in search strategies, the teachers supervising the candidate theses might lag behind, which might lead to difficulties in supervision. Therefore, it is important to offer teachers support in supervising candidate theses regarding their skills in information literacy. ...
Background:
The majority of candidate theses in baccalaureate nursing programs in Sweden are written as literature studies. Being able to carry out a systematic and structured literature search is an essential part of thesis-related work.
Aim:
The aim of the current study was to investigate changes in nursing students' search strategies in candidate theses.
Methods:
A retrospective, quantitative study design was obtained. Librarians (n = 2) and teachers (n = 4) randomly examined selected candidate theses (every third thesis, n = 89) from the years 2012, 2014, and 2016.
Results:
The result showed a significant improvement over the years (from 2012 and 2014 to 2016) regarding the use of a sufficient number of synonyms, matching search terms to the respective database, use of the Boolean operator OR, and the use of subject headings and free text searches. Use of the title/abstract search largely disappeared. There was a significant change in the types of searches being done. The searches have become more structured in later years as the use of block searches increased significantly; in other words, more systematic and relevant searches have been done in recent years.
Conclusion:
The result of this study shows that the quality of the students' search strategies improved significantly during the studied years. It is recommended that search documents are used in both formative and summative assessments to evaluate students' search strategies. Educational development in the form of enhanced collaboration between librarians and teachers in nursing programs is recommended because it might help to develop student search strategies in literature-based candidate theses.
... One of the most frequently discussed cognitive and psychological biases is the Dunning-Kruger effect, which posits that incompetent people are too incompetent to know that they are incompetent (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). This has significant implications for information literacy as evinced in a systematic review of 53 English language studies which concluded that the theory was indicative of self-assessment of information literacy skills in that most lowperformers overestimated their skills (Mahmood, 2016). ...
The post-truth era and the increasing ease with which fake news is disseminated and consumed is a wicked problem that invites re-examination of the media environment, algorithmic authority, library and information science (LIS) professional practice, and what people bring to information interactions in terms of cognitive biases and worldviews. Fake news has social consequences such as undermining civic discourse and democracy, and inciting hatred. Consequently, the role of libraries as public, social institutions embedded in democratic societies and the relational aspects of information needs are important to consider. An alternative framework, the decent society, a society in which its attendant social institutions do not humiliate, is explored. An example from the Toronto Public Library (TPL) is used to illustrate the ways in which a social institution can uphold the principle of non-humiliation in an increasingly politicized world.
... When patients are asked to report how much they trust the information they find online, they might be more likely to interpret the question as a rating of their information literacy (Shenton, 2009) or eHealth literacy (Norman & Skinner, 2006), which are defined as the skills needed to find, retrieve and analyze information in general (information literacy) or health information online (eHealth literacy) and use it appropriately. The potential bias that occurs when patients rate their own information literacy or eHealth literacy is that people are likely to overestimate their own abilities (Merritt, Smith & Di Renzo, 2005;Mohmood, 2016;Van der Vaart et al., 2011). Furthermore, two of the studies with higher reported trust scores (Losken et al., 2005;Pereira et al., 2000) mainly focused on breast cancer patients. ...
Background
The use of the internet to satisfy information needs is widespread among cancer patients. Patients’ decisions regarding whether to act upon the information they find strongly depend on the trustworthiness of the information and the medium. Patients who are younger, more highly educated and female are more likely to trust online information. The objectives of this systematic review were to examine the extent to which cancer patients trust in cancer-related online information, internet websites as a source of cancer-related information or the internet as a medium of cancer information.
Methods
A systematic review was conducted using five databases (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42017070190). Studies of any kind were included if they measured cancer patients’ trust in online health information. Study quality was assessed using the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) item bank. A narrative synthesis was undertaken to examine the included studies.
Results
Of the 7,314 citations obtained by the search, seven cross-sectional studies were included in the synthesis. A total of 1,054 patients reported having some or a great deal of trust in online cancer information; 154 patients reported moderately trusting such information; and 833 patients reported having no or little trust in online cancer information, internet websites as a source of cancer-related information or the internet as a medium of cancer-related information. Two of the seven studies reported between group comparisons for the above-stated patient characteristics. The methodological quality of the included studies was diverse.
Conclusion
The results of the included studies indicates that approximately half of cancer patients appear to trust cancer-specific online information, internet websites as a source of cancer-related information or the internet as an information medium. However, the small number of included studies, high heterogeneity of participants, methods and outcomes calls for further systematic research. It is important to understand that cancer patients do and will increasingly use trusted cancer information websites to search for information concerning their disease. Therefore, physicians and other health care providers should provide more support and advice to these patients.
... This may differ from actual competence. Over confidence in information literacy is a known phenomenon [67]. ...
Background:
The tracking, or logging, of food intake and physical activity is increasing among people, and as a result there is increasing evidence of a link to improvement in health and well-being. Crucial to the effective and safe use of logging is a user's information literacy.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to analyze food and activity tracking from an information literacy perspective.
Methods:
An online survey was distributed to three communities via parkrun, diabetes.co.uk and the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Network.
Results:
The data showed that there were clear differences in the logging practices of the members of the three different communities, as well as differences in motivations for tracking and the extent of sharing of said tracked data. Respondents showed a good understanding of the importance of information accuracy and were confident in their ability to understand tracked data, however, there were differences in the extent to which food and activity data were shared and also a lack of understanding of the potential reuse and sharing of data by third parties.
Conclusions:
Information literacy in this context involves developing awareness of the issues of accurate information recording, and how tracked information can be applied to support specific health goals. Developing awareness of how and when to share data, as well as of data ownership and privacy, are also important aspects of information literacy.
... The findings of Bhatti (2012) also led to the conclusion that search engines and websites were the most often used resources by the students. Chen et al. (2007) and Mahmood (2016) concluded in their studies that students perceived the Internet as the most effective method of obtaining information because it was easy to understand. Rafique, (2014b) also revealed that the students mostly used the internet sources for their required information. ...
The objective of this study was to determine the information literacy (IL) skills of Management Sciences students. A questionnaire was adopted to collect data from 254 currently enrolled graduate and undergraduate students of two universities, one public sector and one private sector, situated in Lahore, Pakistan. An equal-sized stratified random sampling technique through random numbers was used for this purpose. The results showed that the majority of the students used the university library infrequently to locate their requisite information. Most of the students required a moderate level of information and preferred to get this information in an online format. The opinion of most of the students showed that they were proficient in using internet services (e.g. Google, Yahoo etc.) and different websites to identify their required information. The findings revealed that most of the students were unanimous in their skills to precisely recognize and describe the information they required. This study highlights the importance of IL skills, in order that students can become lifelong learners in retrieving, using, organizing, and presenting their information. The findings of this study would provide some insightful guidelines to university management, policy makers, and those concerned to augment and increase the IL training sessions and programs in Pakistan at the university level. These findings could be implemented on other universities with the same teaching and learning system, strategies, and circumstances.
... There are some limitations, with results based on participants' self- reported perceptions about their actual IL skills which were not currently examined in the study. Moreover, the findings need to be interpreted considering the theory of Dunning- Kruger Effect as low performers overestimate their IL skills in most of the cases (Mahmood 2016). Also, these results cannot be generalized as this research surveyed a limited number of working scientists from the Lahore unit of PCSIR. ...
Information literacy is considered an essential competency in the workplace because it gives a competitive advantage, improves decision-making and enhances efficiency as well as effectiveness of the workforce. This study intends to investigate information literacy among scientists working at the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), Lahore. The data were collected from 121 scientists using a questionnaire, with both descriptive as well as inferential statistics applied for data analysis. The results indicated that a large majority of these scientists never received any formal IL training during their entire career. A large majority of these scientists, in general, perceived IL instructions as important and preferred short-term training programs if offered. In addition, these scientists were confident and competent in using searching tools, multiple printed and electronic information resources, comprehending published research and writing research papers. However, they were less comfortable in interpreting visual information, defining information needs, assessing relevance and quality, synthesizing and evaluating gathered information, using library e-resources, managing citations as well as developing and initiating search strategies. The age, gender, academic qualification, research experience and number of publications appeared as the predictor of IL self-efficacy. There was a critical need for making arrangements regarding IL instruction program for in-service scientists.
... In other words, students with a good grasp of their academic ability had a better chance of utilizing it when acquiring IL knowledge. This could be connected with findings that low-performers often overestimate their IL skills [22]. On the other hand, students relying primarily on the outside motivation also attained a lower IL level. ...
... Masterstudenten schnitten oft etwas besser ab als Bachelorstudenten ( Gerharter, 2015;Beckers, 2015). Zudem wurden auch Ergebnisse anderer Studien ( Mahmood, 2016) bestätigt, wonach Studierende ihre eigene Informationskompetenz überschätzen ( Maurer et al., 2016;Rust, 2016;Gerharter, 2015). , Gremm, J., Hartmann, S., Henkel, M., Ilhan, A., Mainka, A., Meschede, Chr., Peters, I. & Stock, W., Informationswissenschaft in der Urbanistik. ...
Zusammenfassung
Die Themen Informations- und Medienkompetenz werden seit vielen Jahren von verschiedensten Institutionen rund um den Globus wissenschaftlich beleuchtet. Auch die Abteilung für Informationswissenschaft der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf und das Institut für Informationswissenschaft und Wirtschaftsinformatik der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz forschten zu unterschiedlichen Aspekten aus diesem Bereich. Neben der Erfassung des Stands der Informationskompetenz verschiedener Zielgruppen wurden auch neue Ansätze zur Vermittlung von Informationskompetenz in den Fokus genommen. Dieser Artikel gibt eine Übersicht über die an den Universitäten Düsseldorf und Graz erarbeiteten Forschungsprojekte zum Thema Informationskompetenz der letzten Jahre. Hierfür werden zunächst die nötigen theoretischen Grundlagen der Informations- und Medienkompetenz dargestellt und die Anstrengungen der beiden Standorte in diesen Bereichen aufgezeigt. Im Anschluss werden die Ergebnisse der verschiedenen Studien der Institute verglichen, diskutiert und zusätzlich die Möglichkeiten zur Vermittlung von Informationskompetenz erläutert. In diesem Zusammenhang wird dem vielversprechenden Thema der MOOC ein besonderer Platz eingeräumt.
... Kevésbé vitatott viszont, hogy a jobb teljesítményt mutató hallgatók átlagosan pontosabb becslést adnak saját teljesítményükre (sajnos a pontosság fogalma körül is legalább akkora a zavar a vonatkozó irodalomban, mint az önértékelés definíciója körül). Ezt erősítik meg Boud és Falchikov (1989), Kruger és Dunning (1999), Sundström (2005), Karnilowicz (2012), Tejeiro et al. (2012), Lindsey és Nagel (2015), Mahmood (2016) és Kun (2016a). Ettől eltérő következtetésre pedig ismereteink szerint eddig egyedül Lynn, Holzer és O'Neill (2006) cikke jutott. ...
Frequency and intensity of usage of Internet resources as such do not improve information literacy. Moreover, Internet users often suffer from the consequences of problematic Internet use and fear of missing out (FOMO). The study explores if there is a dependency between the level of information literacy and the scale of FOMO intensity among the respondents. It is based on the results of the quantitative survey realized on a representative sample of Polish Internet users, concerning the FOMO scale in a population. The analysis includes only the answers related to FOMO, information literacy, and digital wellbeing. It reveals that information literacy as such does not protect against problematic Internet use, on the contrary – sometimes it is a factor contributing to it. There is a need to include a digital wellbeing perspective in information literacy education – to put more attention on attitudes towards the Internet as an environment of everyday life.KeywordsDigital literacyDigital wellbeingFear of missing outInformation literacyProblematic Internet use
Predoctoral students enter dental school with varying skill levels for searching biomedical databases and a tendency to overestimate their abilities. Accordingly, PubMed instruction is embedded within a required dental course and includes a graded component. This article describes a pretest/intervention/posttest developed for the PubMed session. The expectation for this new assessment was that motivation to learn PubMed would increase during the intervention if pretesting objectively showed students the difference between their self-perceived versus actual PubMed abilities. The goals were to help students better self-assess their genuine searching abilities, spark learning during the instruction session, and elicit measurable improvement in skills.
No previous North-African study has evaluated the university hospital doctors (UHDs) understanding of plagiarism (UP). This descriptive study aimed to assess UP among Tunisian UHDs. UHDs were recruited via electronic mails sent to all the Tunisian UHDs through the national health networks and by convenience sampling via a questionnaire provided directly to some UHDs. The French survey, available from the Laval University website, includes 11 questions related to UP, with three-choice answers (yes/no/may be). One point was awarded for each correct answer. A total score lower than six corresponded to a low level of UP. 96 UHDs (69 females) responded to the survey either through emails (39.6%) or by filled in the paper (60.4%). The mean±SD [95% confidence interval] score of UP was considered low at 5.4±1.9 [5.0 to 5.8]. 74% of the participants had a low UP. The UP score was significantly different between the categories of assistants and professors. Data comparison between subjective and objective assessments revealed that significant percentages of UHDs underestimated their low UP. This was more marked in the professors' category. There was no significant correlation between the UP total score and the UHDS' age or professional experience. To conclude, plagiarism is not well-known to North African UHDs.
El objetivo principal de este estudio es evaluar si las revisiones sistemáticas en Biblioteconomía y Documentación (ByD) proporcionan información completa sobre todos los elementos que conforman el proceso de búsqueda. Se identificaron revisiones de las bases de datos Web of Science, Scopus, LISTA, Library Science Database, Medline y de una wiki, publicadas desde el 2000 hasta febrero de 2017, que tuvieran en el título los términos “revisiones sistemáticas” y/o “metaanálisis”. Se creó una lista con 12 elementos recomendados de las principales guías de publicación para valorar el grado de información sobre cada uno de ellos. La mayoría de las revisiones en ByD son creadas por profesionales de la información, que informan de manera deficiente del método de búsqueda, ya que de las 94 revisiones finalmente seleccionadas, solo el 4,3% incluían todos los elementos de la búsqueda, siendo el nombre de la base de datos el más frecuente (95,6%) y el menos la plataforma (35,8%). Es necesario mejorar y completar la información del proceso de búsqueda si se desea reproducir o actualizar la revisión y evaluar su calidad.
Library orientations do their part to familiarize students with information literacy, and how the library fits within university life. But what if an orientation could give a student a strong introduction to their academic librarians? Research in academic libraries has noted that library anxiety remains a continual problem among current students. Valparaiso University librarians created the Get to Know Your Librarian program, which sought to make librarians accessible. Using humor and casualness, incoming students were “introduced” to librarians through a series of fun facts. This simple program was successful in helping alleviate incoming students’ library anxiety before their first semester.
This research explored how to effectively teach today???s students Information Literacy (IL) and credibility evaluation skills in the online information environment. In light of students??? reliance on the Internet, their general lack of IL skills, limited critical evaluation practices, and the lack of consistent institutional IL training, new pedagogical methods are needed to teach effective online IL skills. Specifically, there is a need for IL training that is customized to the online information environment and relevant to the research habits of today???s students. To address this problem, an online learning tool incorporating scaffolding and metacognitive support was prototyped and built. The tool decomposes credibility evaluation into a structured set of stages, giving students repeated practice in each stage while providing scaffolded support for learning and metacognitive reflection, and integrating the instruction into the online information environment.
An experimental study was conducted to test the tool's effectiveness, with a total of 84 students randomly assigned to three experimental conditions to allow for statistically valid analysis of the results. The findings show that use of the online credibility evaluation tool significantly increased subjects' understanding of credibility criteria. The results did not show a significant difference between groups in the application of evidence-based source characteristics as the basis for their credibility evaluations, or in metacognitive awareness of the evaluation process, although descriptive trends suggest some improvement in the treatment group. Along with these three research questions, the study also examined the types of sources that students used in their research, showing that they relied on blogs and other hybrid online genres that do not conform to the traditional genres often covered by IL instruction. The study also solicited self-reports of student learning, with students reporting that they learned that online credibility evaluation is more complex than they thought, involving asking systematic questions and using critical thinking.
Overall, this research demonstrates that IL instruction needs to address the specific challenges of online credibility evaluation, and that scaffolding and metacognitive support in the form of an online learning tool can effectively integrate IL instruction into the online information environment where students actually do their research.
: Protocols of systematic reviews and meta-analyses allow for planning and documentation of review methods, act as a guard against arbitrary decision making during review conduct, enable readers to assess for the presence of selective reporting against completed reviews, and, when made publicly available, reduce duplication of efforts and potentially prompt collaboration. Evidence documenting the existence of selective reporting and excessive duplication of reviews on the same or similar topics is accumulating and many calls have been made in support of the documentation and public availability of review protocols. Several efforts have emerged in recent years to rectify these problems, including development of an international register for prospective reviews (PROSPERO) and launch of the first open access journal dedicated to the exclusive publication of systematic review products, including protocols (BioMed Central's Systematic Reviews). Furthering these efforts and building on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines, an international group of experts has created a guideline to improve the transparency, accuracy, completeness, and frequency of documented systematic review and meta-analysis protocols--PRISMA-P (for protocols) 2015. The PRISMA-P checklist contains 17 items considered to be essential and minimum components of a systematic review or meta-analysis protocol.This PRISMA-P 2015 Explanation and Elaboration paper provides readers with a full understanding of and evidence about the necessity of each item as well as a model example from an existing published protocol. This paper should be read together with the PRISMA-P 2015 statement. Systematic review authors and assessors are strongly encouraged to make use of PRISMA-P when drafting and appraising review protocols.
Purpose of the Study. Given the shift toward an increasingly knowledge-based economy, educators and employers have expressed the desire to emphasize students’ information literacy. Being information literate extends beyond the classroom setting and provides skills for independent investigations needed in internships and professional positions in marketing. However, in order to most effectively teach information literacy, what teaching styles are most appropriate? Should students be guided by the instructor or develop skills as independent learners? Our study determines the impact of a guided versus self-directed instruction method on students’ information literacy skills.
Method/Design and Sample. Using a survey with objective and subjective measures of information literacy, we collected data from eight sections of an introductory marketing course, where some of the students were guided in their information literacy education, while the others learned through a self-directed approach.
Results. Results indicate that a scaffolding approach through guided teaching enhances information literacy more than self-directed methods. This suggests emphasizing guided information literacy instruction in undergraduate marketing education; however, raises questions about the role of student independence in the learning process.
Value to Marketing Educators. In many instances, the formal incorporation of information literacy in undergraduate marketing programs is still developing. We provide a unique contribution to marketing education by assessing which teaching methodology is most effective in developing, promoting, and assessing the critical and analytical thinking of students. Our findings are readily applicable to similar introductory marketing classes, which is beneficial to educators.
This study aims to document first-year undergraduate students’ information literacy (IL) skills at a typical university college in Norway. This research is the first of its kind in Norway as previous studies on new students have focused mainly on the literature search. Prior to library instruction a selection of these students completed a survey with questions on the critical evaluation of sources, on plagiarism and on citing sources. Survey questions were designed to reflect the content of the library course in IL. Although most students were confident that they could avoid plagiarism when writing, many had large gaps in their knowledge, and lacked essential skills. Results also show that new students are better at evaluating sources than they are at citing them. Ethical aspects of plagiarism are discussed and comparisons drawn between students coming directly from upper secondary school and those who have some previous higher education. The article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Maintaining evidence-based nursing practice requires information literacy (IL) skills that should be established prior to completing an undergraduate nursing degree. Based on Bandura's social cognitive theory, this cross-sectional descriptive correlational study assessed the perceived and applied IL skills of graduate nursing students from two family nurse practitioner (FNP) programs in the midwestern United States. Results showed that although the 26 newly admitted FNP students demonstrated a high level of confidence in their IL skills, the students did not perform well in the actual IL skills test. According to Bandura, the students' confidence in their IL knowledge should allow students to be engaged in course activities requiring IL skills. Nurse educators teaching in undergraduate or graduate programs are in key positions to incorporate IL experiences into class activities to allow for skill assessment and further practice. Further research is needed on nursing students' IL self-efficacy and performance. [J Nurs Educ. 2015;54(x, Suppl.):xx-xx.].
Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.
This article examines the significance of information literacy self-assessments in higher education with a special focus on situational conditions increasing their explanatory power. First, it was hypothesised that self-assessments of information literacy correlate higher with factual information literacy if measured after the administration of information search tasks (and tests) due to the intrinsic feedback associated with their completion. Furthermore, it was assumed that self-assessments measured after the administration of information search tasks explain incremental variance over standardised information literacy tests in information search performance. A study with N = 82 German psychology students was carried out to verify these assumptions. Information literacy self-efficacy (as one form of self-assessment), as well as the PIKE-P information literacy test and several standardised information search tasks, was included in the test battery. As both assumptions were largely supported, we recommend that researchers complement their test batteries by self-assessments but warn them against relying primarily on this method. We further recommend that self-assessments should take place at the end of testing.
Protocols of systematic reviews and meta-analyses allow for planning and documentation of review methods, act as a guard against arbitrary decision making during review conduct, enable readers to assess for the presence of selective reporting against completed reviews, and, when made publicly available, reduce duplication of efforts and potentially prompt collaboration. Evidence documenting the existence of selective reporting and excessive duplication of reviews on the same or similar topics is accumulating and many calls have been made in support of the documentation and public availability of review protocols. Several efforts have emerged in recent years to rectify these problems, including development of an international register for prospective reviews (PROSPERO) and launch of the first open access journal dedicated to the exclusive publication of systematic review products, including protocols (BioMed Central's Systematic Reviews). Furthering these efforts and building on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines, an international group of experts has created a guideline to improve the transparency, accuracy, completeness, and frequency of documented systematic review and meta-analysis protocols-PRISMA-P (for protocols) 2015. The PRISMA-P checklist contains 17 items considered to be essential and minimum components of a systematic review or meta-analysis protocol.This PRISMA-P 2015 Explanation and Elaboration paper provides readers with a full understanding of and evidence about the necessity of each item as well as a model example from an existing published protocol. This paper should be read together with the PRISMA-P 2015 statement. Systematic review authors and assessors are strongly encouraged to make use of PRISMA-P when drafting and appraising review protocols.
© BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2014.
Objective:
To develop and psychometrically evaluate an information literacy (IL) self-efficacy survey and an IL knowledge test.
Methods:
In this test-retest reliability study, a 25-item IL self-efficacy survey and a 50-item IL knowledge test were developed and administered to a convenience sample of 53 chiropractic students. Item analyses were performed on all questions.
Results:
The IL self-efficacy survey demonstrated good reliability (test-retest correlation = 0.81) and good/very good internal consistency (mean κ = .56 and Cronbach's α = .92). A total of 25 questions with the best item analysis characteristics were chosen from the 50-item IL knowledge test, resulting in a 25-item IL knowledge test that demonstrated good reliability (test-retest correlation = 0.87), very good internal consistency (mean κ = .69, KR20 = 0.85), and good item discrimination (mean point-biserial = 0.48).
Conclusions:
This study resulted in the development of three instruments: a 25-item IL self-efficacy survey, a 50-item IL knowledge test, and a 25-item IL knowledge test. The information literacy self-efficacy survey and the 25-item version of the information literacy knowledge test have shown preliminary evidence of adequate reliability and validity to justify continuing study with these instruments.
Summarises the results of a study aimed at measuring the information skills of UK and international students pursuing an undergraduate course in business studies. Investigates the hypothesis that international students studying in the UK might be disadvantaged as a consequence of their different educational backgrounds. The recent higher education curriculum shift towards a more learning-centred approach and an emphasis on independent learning means that information skills are now far more fundamental to a student’s survival and success. No significant difference between the information skills of UK and international students was found. Only about one-quarter of students performed well on the test, while three-quarters had inadequate information skills. The majority of students feel negative or neutral towards library and information skills – with international students having a more positive attitude than home students. One of the main sources of negative attitudes cited was the inability to find information without help.
Purpose
– The main aim of this paper is to describe the development of a scale designed to measure self‐efficacy for information literacy.
Design/methodology/approach
– Cronbach's alpha, item analysis and item discrimination indices, principal component analysis, varimax rotation, and discriminant validity were used to measure reliability and validity of the scale. A 28‐item refined version of the scale was found highly reliable and of reasonable length.
Findings
– Further refinement based on principal component analysis indicated three major components, which allow approaching information literacy skills regarding to their complexity levels.
Originality/value
– The information literacy self‐efficacy scale is recommended to identify individuals with low self‐efficacy beliefs, which may be a significantly limiting factor for them to explore their information literacy skills.
Research in management information systems often examines computer literacy as an independent variable. Study subjects may be asked to self-report their computer literacy and that literacy is then utilized as a research variable. However, it is not known whether self-reported computer literacy is a valid measure of a subject's actual computer literacy. The research presented in this paper examined the question of whether self-reported computer literacy can be a reliable indication of actual computer literacy and therefore valid for use in empirical research. Study participants were surveyed and asked to self-report their level of computer literacy. Following, subjects were tested to determine an objective measure of computer literacy. The data analysis determined that self-reported computer literacy is not reliable. Results of this research are important for academic programs, for businesses, and for future empirical studies in management information systems.
This investigation uses interview data on student conceptions of and experiences with interacting with information. In addition, student scores on the Information Literacy Test (ILT) provide data that allow for comparison of student perceptions to their level of information literacy as measured by a standardized test. A relational approach, informed by competency theory and the imposed query model, provide the framework for the study design and interpretation of the data. Findings reveal a general view of information literacy focused on product rather than process, a perception of achieving information skills on their own, a preference for people over other information sources, and an emphasis on personal interest as key to successful information seeking.
An instrument measuring online searching self-efficacy beliefs was developed. Several hypotheses related to self-efficacy and performance on assignments were tested. Students' efficacy beliefs rose significantly after an online course, and were related to good performance on assignments. The instrument may be used to measure changes in student attitudes after instruction.
Interest in developing ways to assess information literacy has been growing for several years. Many librarians have developed their own tools to assess aspects of information literacy and have written articles to share their experiences. This article reviews the literature and offers readers a flavour of the methods being used for assessment: those which are popular within the field and also illustrative examples from some of the case studies found, particularly where they show how reliability and validity of the methods, have been considered. It does not aim to be an exhaustive list of case studies or methods, but a representative sample to act as a “jumping off point” for librarians considering introducing assessment of information literacy into their own institutions.
In this technology intensive society, most students are required to be proficient in computer skills to compete in today's global job market. These computer skills usually consist of basic to ad- vanced knowledge in word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet applications. In many U.S. states, students are required to demonstrate computer proficiency early in their educational ex- perience by means of passing an assessment test. This research was conducted in North Carolina where all students must pass a computer/technology skills assessment test prior to completing twelfth grade. This study explored U.S. college students' perceived mastery of their computer skills, evaluated their actual scores on a computer skills assessment, and compared the results to realign and enhance an introductory business computer applications course. T wo instruments were developed to accomplish the objectives for this research: a survey to capture students' per- ceptions of their computer proficiency and a computer skills assessment to measure their actual performance. The assessment tool evaluated their knowledge of three computer application skills - word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet - with three levels of proficiency - basic, mod- erate, and advanced. The survey and assessment instruments were administered to over 200 busi- ness students in a medium sized, public university with a required introductory computer applica- tions course. The findings of this study indicate some differences in the students' perception of their word processing skills and actual performance, no difference in perception and performance for their presentation skills, and a significant difference in perception and performance for their spreadsheet skills. As a result of this research, the curriculum for the introductory course was re- designed to concentrate primarily on the substantial skill deficiency in spreadsheet skills while still allowing the students to demonstrate their level of proficiency in word processing and pres- entation skills through a mandatory online assessment test beginning in fall semester 2008. Any student who does not perform well on the word processing and presentation assessment will be required to obtain additional training to enhance these skills. These findings have important implications for two reasons: 1) schools with a similar profile can possibly replicate the realignment and enhancement of the business computer application course and 2) any school interested in comparing their students' perception of their computer skill profi- ciency and actual performance on three different levels can apply a modified version of this study.
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the potential relevance of academic self-beliefs to Gross's imposed query model as they apply to undergraduate students, particularly at the IQ2 (transferred) and IQ3 (interpreted) stages. The author argues that, at these two stages, students will decide if they have the skills required to be successful, how much effort they will put into the research process, and if they will seek help from an expert information intermediary. Furthermore, the author proposes an expanded model of the IQ2 (transferred) and IQ3 (interpreted) stages to be tested by future research seeking to understand how undergraduate students navigate the course-related research process.
Progress testing is a common assessment tool within medical schools. A similar assessment tool, the “Progress Test of Information Literacy” (PTIL) has been created. To become an information literate person, information literacy selfefficacy (ILSE) is a meaningful part and important to evaluate. In this study, every PTIL-item has been mapped with an item of the 38-ILSE scale. Even though the mapping turned out to be delicate and context related, the results of this study suggests a relation between PTIL and specific ILSE items. Students of the first two medical years scored better for certain PTIL questions compared to students in the last years. In addition, students from year 1 were less certain about their answers. Once extra-integrated IL courses were organized, students were much more certain about their answers. Integrated and repeated IL-courses are necessary throughout the whole curriculum.
Mandated by Colorado's legislators to assess learning outcomes, James A. Michener Library-at the University of Northern Colorado-developed a survey instrument with a test component against which students' self-assessed skills could be compared by academic status, freshmen through graduate students. Although the library has no formalized course or program for library skill development, the investigators examined the four components of library literacy outlined in the Colorado Academic Library Master Plan through ten test questions incorporated into the survey. Findings indicated no dramatic trend of higher proficiency when comparing results of freshmen and seniors in the test portion of the survey, although self-assessed skills showed such a trend.
PurposeTo thrive, any individual, organization, or society needs to separate true from false expertise. This chapter provides a selective review of research examining self and social judgments of human capital – that is, expertise, knowledge, and skill. In particular, it focuses on the problem of the “flawed evaluator”: most people judging expertise often have flawed expertise themselves, and thus their assessments of self and others are imperfect in profound and systematic ways.
Methodology/approachThe review focuses mostly on empirical work specifically building on the “Dunning–Kruger effect” in self-perceptions of expertise (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). This selective review, thus, focuses on patterns of error in such judgments.
FindingsBecause judges of expertise have flawed expertise themselves, they fail to recognize incompetence in themselves. Because of their flaws, most people also fail to recognize genius in other people and superior ideas.
Practical implicationsThe review suggests that organizations have trouble recognizing those exhibiting the highest levels of expertise in their midst. People in organizations also fail to identify the best advice and correct flawed ideas. Organizations may also rely on the “wisdom of crowds” strategy in situations in which that strategy actually misleads because too few people identify the best idea available.
This pilot study was developed to determine if the University’s students were proficient in information literacy (IL) based on the requisite skills defined by ALA (2000), to define faculty and student perceptions and behaviours related to IL and to test an evaluation rubric using empirical inquiry and triangulated methods. Findings suggested that not all students ( n =164) had satisfactory IL skills even at the senior student level. While 4th year college students (seniors n =91) fared better on an IL survey when compared to 1st year college students (freshmen n= 53), analysis of the senior students’ theses led researchers to believe that students were most likely not skilled in this area, and had an inflated opinion of their own IL abilities. Overall, students felt they were less IL challenged compared to the faculty’s ( n= 55) observation of the IL challenges experienced by the students. Students’ self-assessment of their literacy skills may have been coloured by the propensity of the faculty to over-edit students’ papers rather than simply providing constructive feedback, thus altering the natural end result. These authors used a triangulated approach including thesis review, comparisons between student and faculty survey responses and comparison of findings from the theses and the student and faculty surveys. Findings and discussion of methodology will hopefully provide valuable lessons for those interested in assessing students’ IL.
http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Qu~h1Hucd1YX5
This study examines the effect of regulation feedback in a computer-based formative assessment in the context of searching for information online. Fifty 13-year-old students completed two randomly selected assessment tasks, receiving automated regulation feedback between them. Student performance was (self-)graded by students and by experts. Expert, as well as student (self)grades showed a significant increase between Task 1 and Task 2. However, further analysis of the expert grades showed significant improvement in performance for girls only. Furthermore, the formative assessment system traced the number of searches and the number of websites consulted per student to complete the two assignments. On average, the results showed that students consulted significantly more websites for Task 2, compared to Task 1. The average number of searches did not differ significantly between Tasks 1 and 2. On the other hand, significant differences were found for those students who, during the evaluation of their performance on Task 1, explicitly stated that they would increase their searches.
Many studies suggest that young people, including commencing undergraduates are increasingly ―Net-savvy‖ and sophisticated users of information and communication technologies, devices and techniques, including their ability to find information. This paper reports on the self-efficacy and ability of two diverse cohorts of students (one in 1999–2000 and the other in 2004–5) in finding websites and journals for academic purposes, using the same methods. The preliminary results suggest that more recent cohorts (that is, those closer to what has been more recently described as the Net Generation) have greater confidence in their ability to find websites and journals for academic study, and that their confidence is justified. Deeper investigation suggests, however, that these Net Gen undergraduates are more confident than they should be, and that academic and information literacy programmes for commencing students are still necessary to ensure that our more Net-savvy students are also ―search-savvy.‖ Because of the differences in the cohorts tested in this research, the findings are limited; nevertheless, this small study does highlight discrepancies in students' self-efficacy and indicators of ability. Having more robust tools to assess students' abilities to find information, particularly for use with commencing undergraduates, would be a useful addition to university curricula. This article has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in SLEID, an international journal of scholarship and research that supports emerging scholars and the development of evidence-based practice in education. © Copyright of articles is retained by authors. As an open access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings.
People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. The authors suggest that this overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it. Across 4 studies, the authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd. Several analyses linked this miscalibration to deficits in metacognitive skill, or the capacity to distinguish accuracy from error. Paradoxically, improving the skills of the participants, and thus increasing their metacognitive competence, helped them recognize the limitations of their abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article looks at the information literacy (ILS) skills of graduate students and is based on an audit at the ANU in 2003 which included database searching, web searching, information management and word processing skills — vital to all graduate students. Each student who completed the audit received a ‘training needs profile’. Staff also benefited as they had a better understanding of the skills of the students that they were providing training for.
Librarians with instructional responsibilities will base information literacy session content upon course syllabi and teaching faculty's assessments of student readiness. Often students' self-perceived competencies do not factor into the lesson planning process. The aim of this project is to collect the levels of self-confidence for a group of students who are primarily entering health care professions. This study observes students' levels of self-confidence in performing research-related activities and their corresponding ability to correctly answer content questions for those tasks. Students' self-confidence ratings are not reliable indicators for information literacy competence. The confidence levels for information literacy tasks of students entering health care professions may have clinical implications for future practice.
The ubiquity of the Internet in our daily lives and the pervasiveness of computer technology in K-12 education today suggest that incoming college students should be better prepared to use computer technology than their predecessors. This chapter presents the results of a study to determine the incoming computing skills levels of business students. The study also measured the difference between the students' self-assessment of these computer skills and an actual assessment of their computer skills. In discovering what level of computer literacy our students actually have, and pinpointing areas where students lack proficiency, we can look to develop curriculum to address the weaknesses. Our goal would be to look at developing a curriculum model that provides flexibility in tailoring content to accommodate the evolving literacy of students, ultimately providing a richer educational experience for our students.
This study replicates a previous study based on work in psychology, which demonstrates that students who score as below proficient in information literacy (IL) skills have a miscalibrated self-view of their ability. Simply stated, these students tend to believe that they have above-average IL skills, when, in fact, an objective test of their ability indicates that they are below-proficient in terms of their actual skills. This investigation was part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services-funded project and includes demographic data about participants, their scores on an objective test of their information literacy skills, and self-estimates of their ability. Findings support previous research that indicates many students come to college without proficient IL skills, that students with below-proficient IL skills have inflated views of their ability, and that this miscalibration can also be expressed by students who test as proficient. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
There is no doubt that the ‘Google Generation’ or ‘Digital Natives’ are entering legal education with a very different set of skills than those who came before them. In this article Daniel Bates examines the precise nature of the skillset of those beginning their legal careers, and considers his experiences teaching research skills to law students at the University of Cambridge for over a decade. Furthermore, he considers how students' educational and cultural background in the areas of research and information literacy should inform the teaching of legal skills.
http://www.caudit.edu.au/educauseaustralasia/2003/EDUCAUSE/PDF/AUTHOR/ED030011.PDF
This article demonstrates an innovative method used to determine the need for information literacy among science undergraduate students at Adelphi University. Using clickers technology, this study measured the disconnect between biology undergraduates' perceived and actual knowledge of scientific literature. The quantitative data collected in the clickers sessions clearly show the deficiency of knowledge about the structures and contents of various types of articles published in scientific literature that exists in biology undergraduates. This study reinforces the importance of incorporating information literacy into training and learning processes for science majors.
A diagnostic assessment of information literacy (IL) skills of students is useful to design an effective IL in-struction program for them. This paper reports results of a study conducted to investigate students' perceived IL skills in the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Using a locally developed 20-item scale, a cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1,414 conveniently selected students from all 73 academic units of the university. The findings indicate that the students were more comfortable in basic computing and internet related activities but less com-fortable on specialized information searching tasks. The relationship of 'total score' of students' IL skills was ex-plored with six personal and academic variables (i.e., gen-der, discipline of study, degree level, social background, English language proficiency, and access to computer at home). This baseline study may be helpful for designing and implementing IL instruction programs in universities.
This article reports on a project to embed information literacy skills development in a first-year undergraduate business course at an Australian university. In accordance with prior research suggesting that first-year students are over-confident about their skills, the project used an optional online quiz to allow students to pre-test their information literacy skills. The students’ lower than expected results subsequently encouraged greater skill development. However, not all students elected to undertake the first quiz. A final assessable information literacy quiz increased the levels of student engagement, suggesting that skill development activities need to be made assessable. We found that undertaking the information literacy quizzes resulted in a statistically significant improvement in students’ information literacy skills from the pre-test to the post-test. This research therefore extends previous research by providing an effective means of delivering information literacy skill development to large cohorts of first-year students.
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.
This study compares computer-assisted instruction in the form of an online library tutorial to the more traditional classroom approach to bibliographic instruction. First-year students enrolled in English composition classes who completed either an online tutorial or classroom instruction were tested both prior to and following the instruction and were compared with first-year students who had not participated in instruction. The study found no statistically significant differences between the two methods of instruction in terms of post-instruction performance, although students did favor the pace of the tutorial. Students in both groups showed a fairly strong confidence in their ability to use the resources demonstrated in the instruction that did not correspond with their post-test scores. Further study in the area of confidence levels and library use is needed.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Information Literacy Task Force developed a survey primarily based on the Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy Standards to gather baseline data about the skills of incoming students. Although multiple departments were involved, the biological sciences provided the highest number (151) of initial participants for the 51—item online survey. Findings indicate that the majority of students have some understanding of information literacy skills; however, a significant number were not familiar with important concepts such as search techniques, identifying print citations, how to determine bias or quality of sources, and correct citation behaviors when using research or copyrighted works. These data are being used to further develop an information literacy program that focuses on faculty development and targets areas where students lack the necessary skills for academic success and lifelong learning
A faculty member and a librarian collaborated on an information competence workshop designed to enhance the skills necessary to complete a specific class project. Twenty-five students participated in the workshop and reported their skill level and comfort with researching for information at three times: before the workshop, the class session after the workshop, and at the end of the semester when the project was due. Further aspects of information competence instruction and project-specific performance are discussed.
Competency theory suggests that people who function at a low level of skill lack the metacognitive ability to recognize their own incompetence and are unable to accurately assess the skill levels of others. Therefore, they tend to overestimate their own abilities and to proceed with confidence as they develop awkward strategies and make poor decisions. Worse still, because the incompetent do not know they are incompetent, they may be unlikely to seek training or skill-remediation services. This article reviews competency theory and outlines how this theoretical perspective may allow for a new approach to research and practice in the area of information literacy instruction.
Although national standards for information literacy have been developed and approved by the Association of College and Research Libraries, little is known about the extent to which undergraduates meet these or earlier sets of standards. Since 1994, the Teaching Library at the University of California-Berkeley has conducted an ongoing Survey of Information Literacy Competencies in selected academic departments to measure the "lower-order" information literacy skills of graduating seniors. The most fundamental conclusion that can be drawn from this survey is that students think they know more about accessing information and conducting library research than they are able to demonstrate when put to the test. The University of California-Berkeley library experience is consistent with earlier study findings that students continue to be confused by the elementary conventions for organizing and accessing information.
This article uses information gathered from a short quiz and questionnaire administered to 521 incoming students in order to examine their attitudes toward, opinions about, and knowledge of libraries and research. The data analysis uncovered meaningful correlations between students' performance and high school class size, gender, grade point average, and previous experience with library research. No significant correlation was discovered between students' test scores and their levels of self-confidence, comfort in libraries, or self-assessment of library skills. The findings both reinforce and contradict stereotypical assumptions about incoming students and provide information that can be used when modeling programs of bibliographic instruction.
This paper considers the validity of using self-assessment to measure computer literacy among entry-level undergraduate accounting students. Data collected from objective and self-appraisal computer literacy tests completed by students at two UK universities are analysed and the results of the tests compared for each student. The findings reveal significant differences in the students' perceived and actual computer literacy with the vast majority over-estimating their computer knowledge. Furthermore, evidence is provided that more-able students are more accurate in their self-assessment. These findings indicate that self-assessment is not an appropriate means of determining computer literacy among entry-level undergraduate accounting students when used in isolation. However, as an adjunct to a more robust measure of computer literacy, self-assessment may provide a useful insight into students' attitudes to computing. In addition, self-assessment stimulates reflection and thereby contributes to lifelong learning, a concept particularly important for accountants who must assess their competence throughout their professional careers.
This study focuses on the relationship between freshman college students’ self-reported confidence level in library research and their actual library research skills. A demographic survey and skills test were administered to 377 freshmen at East Carolina University in their first-semester English composition classes. The article addresses two research questions: What is the correlation between freshman students’ self-reported confidence level and tested skills? Do other factors such as age, gender, high school grades, or previous library instruction have an impact on students’ confidence level or skills? Results examine implications for library instruction.
Competency theory predicts a miscalibration between students' self-assessments of their information literacy skills and their actual skill level. This study investigates whether such a disparity is evident among incoming freshmen who test as non-proficient on a standardized test of information literacy. In addition, this study analyzes Information Literacy Test scores and library anxiety test scores to provide preliminary data on whether library anxiety is related to information literacy skill attainment. Findings reveal that the relationship between information literacy skills and self-assessments predicted by competency theory are evident in the domain of information literacy. This study did not find an association between information literacy skill scores and total library anxiety scores. However, a significant negative correlation between information literacy scores and the subscale “knowledge of the library” indicates that as information literacy scores rise, anxiety scores related to a lack of knowledge of the library fall. The findings suggest that traditional information literacy instruction may not be effective with non-proficient students, who are unlikely to see themselves as needing or benefiting from such instruction.
From 85 students surveyed before and after library instruction, it was found that their self-efficacy in electronic information searching increased after the training. That increase was related to attitudes, emotional experiences, search performance, and so on. Implications of these findings to library instruction and reference services are discussed.
Self-managed learning is the normal way that users learn to work with software within organizations. To be effective, self-managed, learning requires individuals to self-assess their IT knowledge; accurate self-assessment helps them optimize the capabilities they possess and be aware of those they do not. This study demonstrated that, in general, individuals did not accurately self-assess their knowledge of the software they used. However, we also found that the accuracy of self-assessment increased with greater experience in, and better understanding of, IT domains.Organizations need to recognize the self-assessment problem to facilitate effective software learning and to gain the most from their software investments.