Information Access Skills Research Articles

Strength in Flexibility: Using a Flexible Programmatic Instruction Rubric to Promote Librarian Autonomy and Assess IL Skills

abstract: Librarians at a Midwestern, midsized state university studied the application of their flexible programmatic information literacy rubric to one-shot first-year writing library instruction. Ten librarians taught 23 sessions of first-year writing on information access skills and assessed each class using the flexible programmatic information literacy rubric. The results emphasize how a flexible rubric can both assess student learning and provide librarian instructors with autonomy to use methods and lessons that feel authentic to them.

Does Internet use connect smallholder farmers to a healthy diet? Evidence from rural China.

Undernutrition and micronutrient malnutrition remain problems of significant magnitude among small-scale subsistence farmers, posing a serious threat to their health and well-being. Developing a healthy diet can effectively reduce this threat. Fortunately, the Internet can speed up the process. Based on survey data from 5,114 farm households in nine provinces in China, this study quantitatively assesses the impact of Internet use on the dietary quality of smallholder farmers using OLS regression models and PSM models. (1) Internet use can significantly contribute to dietary diversity and dietary rationality among smallholder farmers, thus optimizing their dietary structure. (2) Internet use significantly increased the average consumption amounts of milk and its products (2.9 g), fruits (21.5 g), eggs (7.5 g), and vegetables (27.1 g), while also decreasing the intake of salts (1.5 g) and oil (3.8 g). (3) The pull of internet use to improve diet quality is more significant for smallholder households with lower levels of education, older heads of households, and higher household incomes. (4) A possible mechanism is that Internet use increases household income and information access skills of rural residents, thus improving their dietary quality. In summary, governments should further promote Internet penetration in rural areas for health purposes.

Evaluating the Information Access Skills of Students of a College of Education in Ghana

Evaluating the Information Access Skills of Students of a College of Education in Ghana

Information Access Skills in Mothers as Containment of Internet Negative Impact

<p>Media and Information Literacy (MIL) skills was<em> </em>one of the skills that must be possessed by netizens. These skills become important in the effort of coping with the negative impact of the internet. The high penetration of the internet is not followed by the high skill of MIL. Therefore, the writers are interested to know the skills of information and media literacy (access skills) in mothers. This study uses descriptive quantitative method by using questionnaires as means of data collection. The result of the study shows that mothers tend to have moderate-level information access skills. The skills are reflected in the skills of mothers at moderate level in understanding the role of information, seeking sources of information, accessing information effectively and efficiently, and storing information.</p>

Evidence-based instruction integration: a syllabus analysis project

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper was to establish a replicable method of gathering and analyzing data using course syllabi to enable instruction librarians to strategically embed information literacy instruction within a disciplinary curriculum. Design/methodology/approach – A set of syllabi from the School of Business was evaluated for information literacy learning outcomes and library use requirements using a set of rubric-based content analysis questions. The questions were normed prior to coding to ensure reliability, and interrater reliability was established using two measures: the per cent agreement method and Krippendorff’s alpha. Findings – The results revealed strategic opportunities for scalable, curriculum-integrated instruction in the School of Business: a group of 28 courses that could be targeted for in-depth instruction, and eight courses whose outcomes could be met through more tailored instruction focused on information access skills. Originality/value – The reported research study provides a method for evaluating holistic information literacy outcomes in course syllabi, an improvement on prior syllabus analysis projects. Additionally, the reliability of the data means that the study design may be replicated in a variety of institutional contexts.

Using multiagent self-organization techniques for seeking information in virtual social communities

This paper proposes an approach which aims at improving information access skills, services in large networks. It proposes a self-organized multiagent analysis of the problem allowing to reduce the number of messages transmitted for a skill search. The MWAC Multi-Wireless-Agent Communication model is extended to take some specificities of social networks into account, like the information held by the social network members and their connections with the others.The network of agents may represent a social network. Each agent holds information about members agents and is linked with other agents which represent its neighborhood. Each member builds a local network representation according to its needs. A global view of a social network is not dynamically available and furthermore not desirable. Our approach is thus based on a decentralized interrogation of the network and on organizational structures detection.With this method, a search does not need to flood all the network with the query because it uses the self-organized structure that emerges so, it can avoid a saturation in the network and it reduces the amount of transmitted messages. In order to show the interest of the approach, our proposition is validated by several simulations. The applications of this work are related to skill searching in a virtual social network.

Using Large-Scale Assessments to Evaluate Effectiveness of School Library Programs in California

The authors are the joint recipients of the Phi Delta Kappa Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award for 2006. Theirs is the first such winner to be summarized in the Kappan, but it won't be the last. A brief summary of each year's winning study will appear in one of the late spring issues. ********** THE increased emphasis on accountability is causing educators to focus on what students have learned, rather than on what has been taught, and this has created a need for quantitative measures of the effectiveness of educational programs. Our study evaluated school library programs by comparing student achievement at schools that have libraries with achievement at schools that do not have libraries. According to the American Library Association (ALA), a school library is active, technology-rich learning environment with an array of information resources that combine effective learning and teaching strategies and activities with information access skills. (1) In addition, the ALA specifies that, for a school to be classified as having a school library, it must employ a credentialed library media teacher. We adopted these definitions for our study. We asked several research questions: Is there a difference in student achievement, as measured by standardized assessments in English/language arts and mathematics, between schools with similar demographics that either do or do not have a library program? Do criterion-referenced and norm-referenced testing instruments yield similar results? If a significant relationship exists between library programs and achievement, what factors within the programs may affect this relationship? We examined data from 4,022 California schools, including 2,589 elementary schools, 893 middle schools, and 540 high schools. To determine which of the schools had libraries, we used the California School Library Surveys for 2000-01 and 2001-02, developed and administered by the California Department of Education (CDE) with the California School Library Association, and the CDE School Library Database, which recorded the results of each school's survey. For our achievement data, we used each school's aggregate scores on the California Standards Tests (CSTs) in English/language arts and mathematics and on the California Achievement Test, 6th Edition Survey (CAT-6) in reading, language, and mathematics. The CSTs are criterion-referenced tests designed to measure student performance against the state's standards, and the CAT-6 is a nationally norm-referenced test designed to compare student achievement with that of a nationwide student population. RESEARCH METHODS While previous studies examined demographic factors independently to make comparisons among schools, research indicates that student achievement at schools with multiple challenges is actually lower than if the impact of each challenge were calculated independently. (2) To address the complexity of the schools' overall circumstances (socioeconomic status, English fluency, ethnicity, school staffing, year-round programs, and teacher credentialing), we used the California School Characteristics Index (SCI), which was developed by the CDE Policy, Evaluation, and Research Division, to compare similarly challenged schools with one another. Because the schools involved in our study differ from one another in student and staff demographics, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) allowed us to adjust mean performance levels to estimate how schools would have performed if they all possessed the same demographics. For this ANCOVA, the presence of a school library program was the non-linear independent variable, and the SCI, adjusted for school and student demographics, was the linear covariate. …

Impact of librarians in first‐year medical and dental student problem‐based learning (PBL) groups: a controlled study

Librarians at the University of Alberta have been involved with teaching undergraduate medical and dental education for several years. After 1 year of increased librarian involvement at the problem-based learning (PBL), small-group level, informal feedback from faculty and students suggested that librarians' participation in PBL groups was beneficial. There was, however, no real evidence to support this claim or justify the high demand on librarians' time. The study aimed to determine whether having a librarian present in the small-group, problem-based learning modules for first-year medical and dental students results in an improved understanding of evidence-based medicine concepts, the nature of medical literature, and information access skills. One hundred and sixty-four first-year medical and dental students participated in the study. There were a total of 18 PBL groups, each with approximately nine students and one faculty tutor. Six librarians participated and were assigned randomly to the six intervention groups. Students were given pre- and post-tests at the outset and upon completion of the 6-week course. Post-test scores showed that there was a small positive librarian impact, but final exam scores showed no impact. There was also no difference in attitudes or comfort levels between students who had a librarian in their group and those who did not. Impact was not sufficient to warrant continued participation of librarians in PBL. In future instruction, librarians at the John W. Scott Health Sciences Library will continue to teach at the larger group level.

An Exploratory Study of Taiwanese Consumers' Experiences of Using Health-Related Websites

It is manifest that the rapid growth of Internet use and improvement of information technology have changed our lifestyles. In recent years, Internet use in Taiwan has increased dramatically, from 3 million users in 1998 to approximately 8.6 million by the end of 2002. The statistics imply that not only health care professionals but also laypersons rely on the Internet for health information. The purpose of this study was to explore Taiwan consumers' preferences and information needs, and the problems they encountered when getting information from medical websites. Using simple random sampling and systematic random sampling, a survey was conducted in Taipei from August 26, 2002 to October 30, 2002. Using simple random sampling and systematic random sampling, 28 boroughs (Li) were selected; the total sample number was 1043. Over one-quarter (26.8 %) of the respondents reported having never accessed the Internet, while 763 (73.2%) reported having accessed the Internet. Of the Internet users, only 396 (51.9%) had accessed health-related websites, and 367 (48.1%) reported having never accessed health-related websites. The most popular topics were disease information (46.5%), followed by diet consultation (34.8%), medical news (28.5%), and cosmetology (28.5%). The results of the survey show that a large percentage of people in Taiwan have never made good use of health information available on the websites. The reasons for not using the websites included a lack of time or Internet access skills, no motivation, dissatisfaction with the information, unreliable information be provided, and inability to locate the information needed. The author recommends to enhance health information access skills, understand the needs and preferences of consumers, promote the quality of medical websites, and improve the functions of medical websites.

Internet Resources for Dentistry: Computer, Internet, Reference, and Sites for Enhancing Personal Productivity of the Dental Professional

At the onset of the new millennium the Internet has become the new standard means of distributing information. In the last two to three years there has been an explosion of e-commerce with hundreds of new web sites being created every minute. For most corporate entities, a web site is as essential as the phone book listing used to be. Twenty years ago technologist directed how computer-based systems were utilized. Now it is the end users of personal computers that have gained expertise and drive the functionality of software applications. The computer, initially invented for mathematical functions, has transitioned from this role to an integrated communications device that provides the portal to the digital world. The Web needs to be used by healthcare professionals, not only for professional activities, but also for instant access to information and services "just when they need it." This will facilitate the longitudinal use of information as society continues to gain better information access skills. With the demand for current "just in time" information and the standards established by Internet protocols, reference sources of information may be maintained in dynamic fashion. News services have been available through the Internet for several years, but now reference materials such as online journals and digital textbooks have become available and have the potential to change the traditional publishing industry. The pace of change should make us consider Will Rogers' advice, "It isn't good enough to be moving in the right direction. If you are not moving fast enough, you can still get run over!" The intent of this article is to complement previous articles on Internet Resources published in this journal, by presenting information about web sites that present information on computer and Internet technologies, reference materials, news information, and information that lets us improve personal productivity. Neither the author, nor the Journal endorses any of the sites or products listed, but include these references and links as a matter of convenience for its readers.

University faculty and information literacy: Who teaches the students?

This descriptive study reports on a 1995 survey at the University of Wyoming, in which faculty and academic professionals were asked how they acquire information, and how they require or encourage students to access and use information. The findings describe the characteristics and roles of faculty who use technology for information access, which resources they use, which sources they promote to students, and who has the responsibility for developing students' information access skills. Recommendations for further investigation are made, as are suggestions for ways that librarians and faculty can collaborate to improve students' skills in finding information.