Abstract
ObjectiveThis article describes the collection and analysis of annotated bibliographies created by first-year health sciences students to support their final poster projects. The authors examined the students’ abilities to select relevant and authoritative sources, summarize the content of those sources, and correctly cite those sources.MethodsWe collected images of 1,253 posters, of which 120 were sampled for analysis, and scored the posters using a 4-point rubric to evaluate the students’ information literacy skills.ResultsWe found that 52% of students were proficient at selecting relevant sources that directly contributed to the themes, topics, or debates presented in their final poster projects, and 64% of students did well with selecting authoritative peer-reviewed scholarly sources related to their topics. However, 45% of students showed difficulty in correctly applying American Psychological Association (APA) citation style.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate a need for instructors and librarians to provide strategies for reading and comprehending scholarly articles in addition to properly using APA citation style.
Highlights
Information literacy instruction provides an essential foundation for students who are contemplating careers in the health sciences
Our results suggested that first-year students, new to using scholarly sources, had a good grasp on how to locate scholarly articles for an annotated bibliography assignment
Half of the students were competent in their abilities to locate scholarly articles that were relevant to the topics they covered in their final posters
Summary
Information literacy instruction provides an essential foundation for students who are contemplating careers in the health sciences. Throughout their undergraduate experiences, health sciences students engage with health sciences and scientific literature in increasingly sophisticated ways. Evidence shows that first-year students entering university environments struggle with the content of scholarly and scientific literature [1,2,3]. These students lack sophisticated research skills to help them navigate resources that are available through university libraries [1,2,3,4,5]. By characterizing the information literacy skills of first-year health sciences students, the authors aimed to guide librarians’ efforts to improve their information literacy instruction
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