Online Information Literacy Instruction Research Articles

Teaching information literacy in online psychology courses: Effects on student performance and self-reported confidence

Using the Framework for Information Literacy published by the Association of College & Research Libraries, we developed an online intervention to increase information literacy. Specifically, we hypothesized that undergraduate students in an information literacy intervention group would increase in information literacy performance and confidence compared to a control group which did not receive asynchronous online information literacy instruction. We used a non-equivalent groups pretest-posttest design and measured students’ ( N = 101) information literacy performance and self-reported confidence before and after asynchronous information literacy instruction. We compared the intervention with a non-intervention control condition using two existing undergraduate psychology courses offered online across two semesters. Partially confirming our hypotheses, we found that providing asynchronous information literacy instruction not only increased students’ information literacy performance but also helped students to evaluate their own information literacy skills more accurately. In contrast, our intervention did not selectively increase confidence in information literacy as both information literacy intervention and control groups similarly increased in information literacy confidence over time. Nevertheless, these findings show that we managed to develop an online, theory-based intervention to increase information literacy. This intervention has the potential to build the foundations for students to engage in scientific conversations by elevating their understanding of how scientific information is produced and how science affects their daily lives.

Creating library tutorials to provide flexibility and customized learning in asynchronous settings

Online tutorials that provide flexible and up-to-date information on library resources and research concepts are a vital service in academic libraries. At the University of North Carolina Greensboro, librarians created a platform providing multiple options for creation and delivery of virtual and interactive tutorials. At this University, the tutorials are useful to train patrons on a variety of research concepts. When the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact courses, this already established workflow and set of library research modules was able to assist librarians with the increasing demand for asynchronous online information literacy instruction.

Book Review: Motivating Students on a Time Budget: Pedagogical Frames and Lesson Plans for In-Person and Online Information Literacy Instruction

Information literacy is one of the most important aspects of librarianship. If students do not understand how to find and successfully use library resources, of what use and purpose is a library? In the past (and mostly to this day), live instructional classes were the norm for introducing students to library resources, but for convenience and reach of a wider audience, more and more information literacy sessions are being held online. However, these sessions only last an hour or two. With such a short time frame, how can instructional librarians make an impact on their audience? Editors Sarah Steiner and Miriam Rigby, an instruction librarian at Western Carolina University and a social sciences librarian at the University of Oregon respectively, have created a one-volume library instruction book with enough information on this topic to cover multiple volumes. Throughout its nineteen chapters, Motivating Students on a Time Budget explores diverse tools to foster motivation and learning for library instruction students, for both in-person and online library instruction.

Review of Motivating students on a time budget: Pedagogical frames and lesson plans for in-person and online information literacy instruction

Review of Steiner, S. & Rigby, M. (Eds.). (2019). Motivating Students on a Time Budget: Pedagogical Frame and Lesson Plans for In-Person and Online Information Literacy Instruction. Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries. 315 pp. This is a series of essays that discusses the theoretical framework of student motivation. In addition to discussing theory, the book demonstrates how this theoretical framework used in conjunction with pedagogical tools can create a class that is engaging for the students through detailed lesson plans and exercises used by the authors. This book is an excellent resource for both novice instructors that are looking to learn about instructional design and experienced instructors who are interested in revamping their classes.

Online information literacy instruction in Mexican university libraries: The librarians' point of view

Online information literacy instruction is becoming increasingly popular among university libraries, although the level of its development varies from institution to institution. In this study, we seek to ascertain implementation levels for online information literacy instruction among university libraries in Mexico, as well as librarians' experiences, opinions, and attitudes with regard to this instruction modality. To this end, we analyzed data collected between November 2015 and January 2016 through a survey that was sent to 559 libraries at Mexican public universities and completed by 189 librarians. The results show a limited development of information literacy instruction in general and in online instruction in particular, despite the recognition of its importance and usefulness. The main barriers to implementation that were identified were a lack of technological resources and of personnel qualified to undertake these tasks. The main challenges that the libraries that do provide online instruction have had to face are related to a lack of institutional support, a lack of cooperation on the part of faculty members, students' motivation, and librarians' expertise.

Book review of Steiner, S. and Rigby, M. (eds.) 2019. Motivating students on a time budget: pedagogical frames and lesson plans for in-person and online information literacy instruction

Book review of Steiner, S. and Rigby, M. (eds.) 2019. Motivating students on a time budget: pedagogical frames and lesson plans for in-person and online information literacy instruction

Using Qualitative Data to Identify Student Learning Barriers and Alleviate Instructor Burnout in an Online Information Literacy Course

ABSTRACTFor-credit, online information literacy instruction is gaining momentum in academic libraries. It provides library outreach to a broader spectrum of students, and reinforces information literacy skills and concepts more than once. In this article, librarians from a small, private, rural, four-year university will provide an overview of their library's for-credit online research skills course for nontraditional students in the university's degree completion program. The article will identify student learning barriers, share factors that contribute to and prevent instructor burnout, and describe how data-informed decision making is used to make improvements to the curricular and course design.

Developing Online Information Literacy Instruction for the Undergraduate Art Student: A Collaborative Approach in the Context of the Framework for Information Literacy

AbstractPerceiving a lack of integrated information literacy curriculum at our colleges, the library directors of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) consortium resolved to create a series of online tutorials aimed at undergraduates in the fields of art and design. The collaborative project needed a partner to produce the tutorials and offer the finished project in an environment accessible to students. When approached about this partnership, Lynda.com, one of the Internet’s leading online learning companies, agreed to work with the AICAD libraries to create an online information literacy course. The course launched in July 2015, and the authors conducted an assessment of the course quality and use nearly one year later by surveying librarians and faculty. This article is a study of how that course was conceived and how it evolved from a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) into its current online tutorial version on Lynda.com.

Online and Face-to-Face Library Instruction: Assessing the Impact on Upper-Level Sociology Undergraduates

Online information literacy instruction: Can it impact learning as effectively as face-to-face instruction? Using a quasi-experimental design, this study examined that in relation to upper-level sociology students; it also considered whether library instruction affected participants’ perceptions of learning formats’ (i.e., online or face-to-face) effectiveness and the academic library's place in their research. Using a pretest/posttest design, no significant learning difference was found between the two instructional delivery formats. However, data suggested that instruction did impact online participants’ perceptions of the academic library as a place for research. Implications of this research and future directions for inquiry are discussed.

LibGuides and Web-Based Library Guides in Comparison: Is There a Pedagogical Advantage?

This study investigates whether the platform used to deliver a tutorial matters in online information literacy instruction and assesses the overall quality of an information literacy tutorial assignment given to an undergraduate survey class. The study asks whether there is any pedagogical advantage between information literacy tutorials created in the LibGuides library guide creation software and tutorials created as Web pages. This research question is relevant to current studies of online information literacy tutorials, particularly given the increasingly dominant but under-researched position of LibGuides in the academic library world for delivering guides and tutorials. Two separate groups of students completed LibGuides and Web page versions of the same information literacy tutorial assignment in a university undergraduate communication course. Survey results of these 89 students indicated that both the LibGuides and Web page platforms deliver online instruction content effectively and achieve learning objectives almost equally well. Results also indicated content areas within the assignment that could be strengthened.

Web 2.0 and Information Literacy Instruction: Aligning Technology with ACRL Standards

The purpose of this article is to report on how Web 2.0 tools in an online information literacy instruction course aligned with ACRL's Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. A qualitative case study was undertaken on an online graduate course related to information literacy instruction. Data collected included: course activities, assignments, emails, online discussions, and surveys. The educational theory of constructivism and its adherence to reflection, active learning, and social interaction was used to find patterns in the data. Activity theory provided a framework for data analysis and interpretation related to the patterns of activities that took place while students used each Web 2.0 tool. Web 2.0 was found to enhance all five information literacy standards. These standards related to collaboration, information organization, creativity, discussion, and technology education.

The search for the Skunk Ape:

This paper examines the impact of an online information literacy tutorial on source selection, evaluation, and use in essays written by English Composition students. More than 250 students participated in this research, and the essays written by a sample of 60 students are examined. Citation analysis is used first to determine the average number of citations per paper, frequency of source/format type, currency and authority of sources, frequency and length of in-text citations, and frequency of correctly formatted in-text and end-of text documentation. Textual analysis is used second to determine which essays have more frequent, correctly-formatted intext citations, more paraphrases and summaries of their sources, fewer long quotes, and more source variety, among others. The results of this analysis suggest that online information literacy instruction may increase the number of sources that students locate and use. The textual analysis in this study also highlighted some deficiencies in students’ citation practices, such as discrepancies between in-text citations and sources listed in bibliographies, and these problems were present despite information literacy instruction. These results point out areas of instruction, such as integrating sources into writing, to be improved upon in future versions of the online tutorial. The findings offered here should help information literacy professionals planning to develop online tutorials hone the content of the programmes.

Graduate Student Library Research Skills: Is Online Instruction Effective?

Graduate students are a significant segment in online instruction programs, yet little is known about how well they learn the necessary library research skills in this increasingly popular mode of distance learning. This pre- and posttest study and citation analysis examined learning and confidence among students in graduate education programs, comparing students studying online tutorials, delivered via a course management system, with students receiving hands-on classroom instruction. Results support online information literacy instruction as equivalent in terms of learning. Student feedback, however, showed a statistically significant difference between groups in student satisfaction, with the face-to-face group being more satisfied.

Using WebCT, Wiki Spaces, and ePortfolios for Teaching and Building Information Literacy Skills

ABSTRACT Librarians, as service providers, are always looking for innovative ways of using technology for designing and improving information systems that allow teaching and building of information literacy skills. Online learning and teaching tools offer teacher librarians undreamed of opportunities to enhance face-to-face information literacy instruction. This paper describes the librarian's research, discoveries, and experience with using WebCT Campus Edition and Vista, ePortfolios, and Wikis to deliver online information literacy instruction as part of fully-online, Web-enhanced, or hybrid courses. Models of librarian/faculty partnership and collaboration are also illustrated.

온라인 정보문해 과목의 교육 효과 및 만족도 평가에 관한 연구

본 연구는 성균관대학교에서 교양과목으로 실시하고 있는 온라인 정보문해 2학점 과목의 교육 효과 및 만족도를 평가하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 쌍방향 온라인 튜토리얼 방식으로 정보문해 교수 학습안을 구안하였으며, 2006년 1학기 정보문해 과목의 수강생 284명 중 9개 계열 251명의 정보문해 교육 사전 사후 테스트 결과와 246명의 학기말 강의 평가결과를 분석하였다. 연구결과 5개의 일반적인 정보문해 능력이 모두 향상됨으로써 온라인 정보문해 과목의 교육 효과가 높은 것으로 나타났으나 계열에 따라 교육 효과에 차이가 있었다. 그리고 온라인 정보문해 과목의 교육 내용과 구성에 대해 비교적 높은 만족도를 나타내었다. 따라서 정규 교양과목으로서 온라인 정보문해 교육은 대학생에게 일반적인 정보문해를 가르치기 위한 매우 효과적인 방법임이 밝혀졌다. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of online information literacy instruction as liberal arts course offered at Sungkyunkwan university. For this purpose, Curriculum was designed in the way of interactive online tutorials. And the results of pre-and post-tests and the term-end student course evaluation data were analyzed. The results were as follows. Five basic information literacy competencies were improved through Online course. And the effect of Online instruction did show the statistical significance. but had a difference by department. Also, There appeared to be a relatively high level of Students' satisfaction with the curriculum. Therefore, this study revealed that online information literacy instruction as liberal arts course is a highly effective method for teaching information literacy to undergraduate students.

Designing and Building Online Information Literacy Instruction

Designing and Building Online Information Literacy Instruction

Usability testing of an online information literacy tutorial

Purpose – Usability testing can play a valuable role in improving the effectiveness of online information literacy instruction, while forming a core component in a wider assessment plan. This article aims to discuss the usability testing of an online information literacy tutorial for freshman undergraduates at Wilfrid Laurier University Library.Design/methodology/approach – Two librarians, working to fulfill an important mandate of the Library's Information Literacy Task Force, defined goals, created and implemented a modest, though effective, approach to usability assessment.Findings – The testing provided detailed information on the ease of use of the tutorial, as well as users’ satisfaction levels with content and design. These findings informed subsequent revisions and enhancements to the online tutorial.Originality/value – Student evaluation questionnaires distributed subsequent to the tutorial overhaul indicate the success of usability testing in the development of a more effective learning tool.