Biology and Nursing Students' Perceptions of a Web-based Information Literacy Tutorial

Abstract

This study examined the perceptions of two groups of students to obtain different perspectives on the online information literacy tutorial, CORE (Comprehensive Online Research Education, to plan for its update. The CORE tutorial includes seven modules: "Planning Your Project," "Topic Exploration," "Types of Information," "Search Tools," "Search Strategies," "Evaluating Sources," and "Copyright, Plagiarism, and Citing Sources." First-year students in biology and nursing courses responded to a survey after completing the CORE modules. Students indicated that they liked learning through an online tutorial. However, they thought that the tutorial could be improved with shorter modules and the addition of video and audio content. Few students reported learning important information from the "Copyright, Plagiarism, and Citing Sources," "Evaluating Resources," and "Types of Information" modules. They suggested topics for additional tutorials: how to use library databases and Microsoft Excel; how to evaluate the quality of information, how to cite references, and how to find statistics.

Who Teaches Information Literacy Competencies? Report of a Study of Faculty

“…Purdue Libraries information literacy program and an information literacy tutorial first developed in 1997 have a substantial reputation (Seamans 2012, p. 243;Sullivan 2004, p. 82-83;S. Weiner, et al 2012).…”

Biology Student Perceptions of Information Literacy Instruction in the Context of an Essential Skills Workshop Series

“…For eleven out of thirteen questions (Q3a-f,i; Q4a-d), a modest but statistically significant negative trend in average student responses is evident in correlation to the transition of STEM Gateway workshops from an in-person to asynchronous online video format. Prior studies have produced similar findings, where students indicated lower levels of satisfaction from online versus in-person instruction (Summers et al 2005;Shaffer 2011;O'Clair and Gillard 2018), yet additional studies have conversely found that students express high satisfaction with online learning (Nichols et al 2003;Weiner et al 2012;Gamtso and Halpin 2018). Many variables exist that may have influenced student perceptions of the online EASE workshops, such as personal preferences and individual student learning styles (Aragon et al 2002;Bowles-Terry et al 2010), but our existing data are not sufficient to fully validate causation.…”

“…Barkley (2018) explores best practices for online tutorials and discusses the development of online IL tutorials for a freshman biology course. Following a seven-module IL tutorial and subsequent survey, Weiner et al (2012) analyzed introductory biology and nursing course student perceptions.. A majority of the students expressed an interest in shorter tutorials plus the addition of video and audio content for greater engagement. The authors concluded that, for maximum impact, students should complete tutorials when the information is immediately relevant to course assignments.…”

Maintaining Quality While Expanding Our Reach: Using Online Information Literacy Tutorials in the Sciences and Health Sciences

“…However, the Standards were recently replaced with the more flexible Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (the "Framework") (ACRL, 2016). A good amount of research has been done to evaluate online ILI in the sciences and health sciences (Li, 2011;Schimming, 2008;Tierney & Stefanie, 2013;Weiner, Pelaez, Chang, & Weiner, 2012), but (due to the very recent rescinding of the Standards) none of this research examines online ILI based on the newly adopted Framework. Greer et al emphasize how well-suited an online format is to providing Framework-based instruction, due to the fact that it can "allow for more exploration and feedback than what may be possible in a more traditional face-to-face instructional setting" (2016, p. 296).…”

“…Schimming (2008) examined medical students' reactions to online and in-person learning, and found that online students were more satisfied with the instruction, possibly because they were able to control the pacing of the lessons. Other studies have also used postsurveys to determine that students experience high levels of satisfaction with online learning (Nichols et al, 2003;Weiner et al, 2012). However, there are also numerous examples of studies that found lower levels of student satisfaction with online versus in-person instruction (Shaffer, 2011;Summers, Waigandt, & Whittaker, 2005).…”