Definition Of Information Literacy Research Articles

THE ROLE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN FORMING STUDENTS’ RESEARCH COMPETENCE

This article will define the role of the critical thinking strategy in the development of students' research competencies. The study reports that research-oriented learning refers to the type of learning that improves students' critical thinking and enhances student engagement. Conclusions are presented based on the outcomes of both shortened and complete practical lessons.It is noted that students with critical thinking develop the ability to correctly select and analyze information from various sources and give them a critical assessment. The definition of information literacy as a form of critical thinking is given. The purpose and objectives of the study are explained. The ideas of various scientists who have studied the skills of critical thinking and conducting research are compared, on the basis of which conclusions are drawn. For the formation of research competence, some forms of training and pedagogical methods are proposed. For the development of critical thinking and research skills, an analysis is carried out based on samples of shortened and full lessons on the discipline “Constructive teaching methodology”. At 2 different stages, the lesson plan is discussed, the criteria for success, success / failure of the lesson are identified, and a reflective analysis is carried out. The results obtained mean that the ability of students to think critically is important for understanding, analyzing and evaluating information by students.

An information literacy lens on community representation for participatory budgeting in Brazil

This paper presents an evaluation of the information literacies used by community representatives when engaging with participatory budgeting in São Paulo City, Brazil. Using questions established from context-setting interviews with stakeholders, a focus group was held in 2019 with eight participative councillors, with in situ interpretation, resulting in a translated transcript of the discussion. Thematic analysis was used to understand information issues faced by community representatives in relation to past research. It was found that the community representatives face informational barriers to their engagement with participatory budgeting, in (a) learning about their role (b) understanding the information needs of the communities served and (c) gathering and sharing information about local issues with stakeholders. These findings allow the refining of CILIP’s definition of information literacy (IL) for citizenship and provide the basis for proposing a model for the IL of community representatives. It is also proposed that future IL research could further develop the role of digitally-enabled place and community in shaping the landscape of literacy and the role of hyperlocal representation. Additionally, the role of translation in cross-lingual IL research is considered.

Searching for a Definition of Information Literacy as a Socially Cohesive Component of Community: A Complementarity of Experts and Student Approach

Information literacy can be seen as a fundamental prerequisite for a sustainable complex information society. As a lack of information literacy, information poverty represents a significant social and educational issue. Information literacy and information poverty will be the new dividing lines of a complex world, as the “rich north and poor south” metaphor became in the 20th century. A careful study of discourses in information literacy allows for effective educational and social policies aimed at its development. The aim of this study is to present an analysis of different approaches and discourses to define the concept of information literacy based on a review of papers from Web of Science. The study identifies four important directions of definitions or new grasps of information literacy, with an emphasis on social justice, the analysis of social and technological change, and a demand for higher quality information literacy education. Based on this analysis, the discourses present in the responses of undergraduate information studies and library science students (n = 132) collected between 2019 and 2022 are studied. The qualitative study shows that these underlying discourses are present in the students’ responses but, at the same time, offer specific perspectives on their fulfilment.

Using a Definition of Information Literacy to Engage Academics and Students: A UK Perspective

Using a Definition of Information Literacy to Engage Academics and Students: A UK Perspective

Frames, models and definitions

See RECORDING.
 This keynote is both a practical and strategic view of information literacy from my perspective as a Senior Lecturer in Educational Development at City University, London and Chair of the UK’s Information Literacy Group.
 I’ll reflect on the experiences I have had since leaving the library profession and moving into the field of educational development, which involves working with faculty to enhance teaching and learning and to develop their curricula. Since taking on this role I have had rich conversations with academic staff about all aspects of information literacy, often under other guises. I’ve recently undertaken a small-scale study to understand their approach to thinking about the related concepts of digital literacy and open practice and I’ll discuss some findings from this research. Faculty express concerns about how to create independent learners in the age where information is abundant, but knowledge is still scarce and privileged. Those who complete my module on the same topics have reflected on the plethora of terms and frameworks which are designed to support them which in fact sometimes leave them further confused. I’ll also draw on a recent chapter I wrote (Secker, 2018) on the trouble that terminology can cause, when we try to collaborate with both academic staff and with colleagues in other areas of learning support.
 The second part of my keynote will focus on the efforts of the UK’s Information Literacy Group (ILG) to broaden the definition of information literacy and to try to get the concept recognised outside the library. In many ways there are parallels between the work I do at an institutional level and the efforts of the group to raise awareness of information literacy more broadly. In April 2018 the ILG launched a new definition of information literacy and much of the efforts of the group have been to build links with organisations and people outside of the library sector. For us to achieve true universal information literacy, as Paul Zurkowski first envisaged, (Zurkowski, 1974) I will argue information literacy needs to become an ongoing concern or everyone who works in education, government, the media or who cares about social justice.
 I’ll end by considering the challenges and opportunities that collaboration presents whether it is librarians, academics and other professional staff in education or policy makers and other organisations working with those outside the library world. Collaboration is vital for information literacy to become truly embedded into all aspects of formal and informal learning and to achieve the goal of universal information literacy that Zurkowski first envisaged. However, we still have a big task ahead of us to achieve this. I will attempt to consider the lessons I’ve learnt from working in this field for over 15 years, and advocate for a vision of information literacy that extends far beyond the library community. I’ll draw on the work and the framework in developed in 2011 (Secker and Coonan, 2013) to explore how we can rethink information literacy and provide a framework for supporting learning in the digital age.

Library SkillUP

This project report describes the workflow model used at the University of Hertfordshire to develop and test a suite of new digital information skills materials for students. The approach taken was informed by findings from the Jisc Student Digital Experience Tracker and good practice from Jisc’s NUS Benchmarking tool. Content was mapped against the digital information literacy segment of Jisc’s Digital Capabilities framework and CILIP’s information literacy definition. The project set out to reuse, refresh and repurpose existing online resources and identify new content where necessary to provide a set of up to date learning objects, which academics could easily embed at point of need into their programmes of study, according to the university’s Guided Learner Journey principles. The project also sought to make an informed decision around which digital technology/platform to use for content creation. Due to the required functionality, Instructure’s Canvas, which is already used by the university for all its courses, was chosen as a platform for the materials. The team used University College London’s ABC Learning Design methodology to design the curriculum and writing teams followed a pedagogical approach to create content and interactive learning elements for the Canvas Library SkillUP module. Students were consulted and provided feedback at all stages of the project.

Information literacy as a measurable construct

Though definitions of Information Literacy (IL) vary, there is consensus in the literature that it is one coherent variable or measurable construct so important it has been called a human right (Sturges & Gastinger, 2010). This paper reviews existing IL measures, treating them as psychometric tests, aiming to address two questions: do existing IL tests sufficiently meet the needs of researchers and what do the tests tell us about whether or not there truly is a single variable identifiable as IL? Existing instruments for testing IL will be assessed. Only validated, freely available, testing instruments are considered. All of the current IL tests of this type are context bound to education, and are often domain-specific. These are only useful for researchers looking to assess these particular populations. However, if IL is a human right it ought to be a construct that exists across all human populations. The context and domain specificity of existing IL tests is therefore surprising; it implies that IL is something specific to higher education, not a factor in the population at large. This paper therefore argues for a need to develop validated testing instruments for IL that are context and domain independent and made freely available. The review of IL tests will benefit researchers looking to investigate IL. The broader argument of this paper aims to be of interest to a wider library and information science audience seeking to understand whether IL is indeed a coherent singular construct.

REDEFINING INFORMATION LITERACY IN INDIAN CONTEXT

Information literacy is the ability to search and use information effectively. This is a very broad meaning of information literacy. Many experts have explained meaning of information literacy through various definitions.. This paper elaborates all the existing definitionsof information literacy and tries to redefine it from Indian Perspective.

Learning from faculty voices on information literacy

Purpose This paper aims to investigate faculty conceptions of information literacy (IL) in a digital information landscape by examining faculty definitions of IL in the context of undergraduate education, as well as faculty perceptions of, and expectations for, undergraduate IL knowledge and abilities. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative research study with 24 semi-structured interviews of faculty in different disciplines at a large public research university in Toronto, Ontario. Findings Faculty view IL as fundamentally intertwined with other academic literacies and as central for the successful pursuit of much undergraduate academic research work including developing autonomous, engaged learners. Faculty place special emphasis on fostering higher-order cognitive skills, especially developing a questioning disposition and the ability to evaluate, contextualize and synthesize information sources. Faculty see considerable scope for improvement of undergraduate IL capabilities, and a large majority see a role for themselves and librarians here. Practical implications Findings of this and other studies align well with core elements in the new IL guidelines and frameworks for higher education both in North America and the United Kingdom. This includes highlighting a need for a strong faculty role in shaping IL in higher education in the future, a need for a holistic lens in developing multiple academic literacies, an emphasis on high-order cognitive abilities and a recognition of the importance of affective dimensions of learning IL. Originality/value This paper fills a gap in the literature where there is an absence of studies, especially of a qualitative nature, which explore faculty conceptions of IL. A majority of studies published focus instead on librarian conceptions and practice.

Experiencias de alfabetización informativa en ambientes virtuales de aprendizaje

Objetivo. Sugerir la utilización de ambientes virtuales de aprendizaje como alternativa para promover la Alfabetización Informativa (AI). Método. Análisis de los elementos más importantes de los sitios web. Para cubrir este objetivo se abordan varios temas: la relación entre AI y ambientes virtuales de aprendizaje (definiciones de ambas frases); las etapas para generar programas virtuales de AI; el proceso para elaborar medios didácticos; las aplicaciones que pueden apoyar esta elaboración; y la descripción de once experiencias de AI en ambientes virtuales (México, Estados Unidos de Norteamérica, España y Reino Unido) que cumplen con lo expuesto en las definiciones y en los procesos. Resultados. Se obtuvieron cuatro cuadros comparativos que examinan 5 elementos de cada experiencia: objetivos; comunidad meta; institución; país; y plataforma utilizada. Conclusiones. La generación de cualquier propuesta de Alfabetización Informativa debe basarse en una definición claramente establecida; las experiencias deben seguir un proceso didáctico sistemático; las experiencias descritas se circunscriben a la definición de AI propuesta; existen varias similitudes en las experiencias analizadas; los entornos virtuales de aprendizaje pueden ser alternativas viables para la AI.

Refining the definition of information literacy:

A recently-conducted phenomenographic research study described six ways of experiencing information literacy (IL) in nursing practice. These findings and a re-interpretation of those of several other studies into IL experience, appear to show that such experience is always focused on context-specific knowledge creation. This suggests that those definitions of IL which focus on information gathering processes but not on their outcomes could be refined in a way which shows its role and value in a more explicit manner. Such a refinement might yield greater understanding and prominence for IL outside the information professions.

Teaching Information Literacy in Nursing Using Blended Learning Pedagogy

Information literacy is a crucial skill for nurses to retrieve, judge, and provide appropriate information to patients and their caregivers. This study aimed to develop a blended course to cultivate nursing students’ informatics competency. This was a three-semester study including a development of the course, pilot-test and modification of the course design, and final implementation of the modified course design. Almost all class activities were done online except for periodical meetings for problem discussions. Information literacy definition, tool literacy, resource literacy, social literacy, research literacy, publishing literacy, and critical literacy were included in the course curriculum. Twenty-one and 18 students enrolled in the first and third semester of the study. Those students were invited to complete a survey consisting of 25 Likert-scale questions that asked about perception of blended-learning/teaching strategy, effectiveness of the blended course, and what was learned at the conclusion of the course. The majority of students perceived positively toward the teaching strategies, expressed that they understood more about information literacy, and presented abilities in applying information literacy skills in nursing. Structure of the course can be used to cultivate and improve nursing students’ competency in informatics. The teaching model can be used in future online courses.

How We Got Here: A Historical Look at the Academic Teaching Library and the Role of the Teaching Librarian

This paper outlines a brief history of the academic teaching library and, in consequence, it examines the changing role of librarians. As part of that history, the paper also discusses distinctions among various terms used to describe instructional activities in teaching libraries, such as "bibliographic instruction" and "information literacy." Finally, amidst the renewed debates about the definition of information literacy and the Information Literacy Competency Standards, it attempts to answer the question, "What is a teaching Library?"

Information Literacy in Chinese Studies

The present essay proposes a dual stratification of information literacy (IL). Information search in academia generally takes place in specific subject areas. While recognizing the importance of basic IL in one’s search for information, the essay observes that the search cannot be complete without the awareness of what information to seek in that particular subject field as well as the ability to locate and evaluate information in the field. Each subject area may need to have its own definition of IL. Such IL in a given area may largely overlap with, and yet significantly differ from, the general IL that is, to quote the definition by ALA (American Library Association), “common to all disciplines.” The essay uses the field of Chinese studies to illustrate the point and, accordingly, suggests ways of IL instruction that is suitable to Chinese studies.

Information fluency: Where to start

There are many different definitions of information literacy, but perhaps the best succinct and comprehensive definition is: Information literacy (or fluency) is a set of abilities requiring individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.” This skill set will be invaluable throughout life in making informed decisions.

Canadian Public Library Users are Unaware of Their Information Literacy Deficiencies as Related to Internet Use and Public Libraries are Challenged to Address These Needs

Canadian Public Library Users are Unaware of Their Information Literacy Deficiencies as Related to Internet Use and Public Libraries are Challenged to Address These Needs

Information behavior of people in the fourth age: Implications for the conceptualization of information literacy

The information literacy (IL) needs of people in the fourth age, a stage of increasing dependence and disability, have not been considered in the research literature. Based on the premise that there are relationships between information seeking and IL, this article begins to bridge this gap by focusing on the information-seeking behavior of the group in an attempt to identify IL needs. It does this through a literature review, particularly drawing on two pieces of human information behavior research, one a new study focused specifically on the group in question. It also examines existing definitions of IL in order to gauge how relevant they appear to be. The reasons for studying this group include that all stages of a person's lifespan deserve to be studied and that the population size of this group increases dramatically in the developed world. Although information needs and sources used are fewer in the fourth age, they are still important to the people involved, thus making IL a relevant concept. The researchers draw implications for IL from the particularities of the information context where disability and frailty impede purposeful information seeking. The resulting emphasis on incidental information acquisition increases the role for social networks and communication, again with implications for IL. Information grounds, where people congregate for purposes other than information sharing, including artificially created ones, will also be important for information dissemination. The role of the Internet, including assistive technology for its use, is also relevant. The conclusion is that IL is crucial to the well-being of people in the fourth age but that existing definitions need to be adjusted to the specific informational context.

Understanding and practice of information literacy in Australian government libraries

Most research on information literacy has emerged from the academic sector and there is a lack of research undertaken in the workplace. To further expand on this area of study, a survey was undertaken to investigate librarians’ understanding of information literacy and the application of information literacy in government libraries in Australia. Of particular interest is that many government librarians either do not include ‘critical thinking’ skills in their definition of information literacy, or if they do include it, they do not believe that they should have the responsibility for teaching it. This most likely reflects the difference in client base, students compared with adult professionals. There was a high response for instruction for online library services (catalogue, journals, databases and library website). This indicates a recognised need for instruction and the development of courses and support materials in these services.

Learning to Put Out the Red Stuff: Becoming Information Literate through Discursive Practice

From recent doctoral research into information literacy and workplace learning, an understanding of information literacy as a complex constellation of experiences and relationships with a range of information modalities is emerging. It is constituted through the connections among people, artifacts, texts, and bodily experiences that draw a person into context and enable him or her to know the landscape. A three‐year qualitative study of firefighters in regional New South Wales, Australia, is described. It was framed by constructionist thinking about the nature and role of information literacy in learning about practice and profession and about the relationship between power and knowledge. The findings of the study support a new definition of information literacy that recognizes information literacy as a way of knowing, that is, as more than just the acquisition of skills and attributes. Becoming information literate in the workplace requires experience with social and physical modalities as well as with t...

DEFINING INFORMATION LITERACY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Considerable effort has been invested by practitioners in many parts of the world in defining information literacy. Much of this work has taken place in the academic environment. What is the relationship between information literacy as we define it in higher education and information literacy among non-academic populations? What forces will change how we think about the definition of information literacy in the future and how we will apply the definition in all environments? What is the future role of the International Federation of Library Associations in defining Information Literacy? Defining Information Literacy