Psychology guides and information literacy

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to provide an understanding of current practice and informs the further development of guides as key instructional tools. To assess the existing landscape of research guides as instructional tools, researchers examined the instructional content and associated media formats of online psychology research guides. Design/methodology/approach – Researchers devised an instrument utilizing Standard Two of the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL’s) Psychology Information Literacy Standards and inventoried the instructional content and associated media formats of a sample set of 36 psychology research guides. Findings – Although online research guides offer a platform for presenting instructional content in myriad formats, it was found that the sample set of psychology research guides rarely incorporated instructional content. Research limitations/implications – Psychology course guides were not part of the sample set; it is possible that guide authors approach the addition of instructional content in course guides differently than in general psychology subject guides. Practical implications – This paper provides an overview of how libraries are, or are not, using research guides as part of their instruction program. The researchers propose a framework for adding instructional content to psychology guides using Standard Two. Originality/value – Considering the ubiquity of online research guides on academic library Web sites, little research on the existing integration of instructional content into guides has been published. This study offers a snapshot of current guide practice and proposes a practical, systematic and unique model for aligning information literacy standards with guide content areas which has not been proposed elsewhere.