Closing the Gap: Collaborating with Research Librarians to Improve Information Literacy in the Political Science Classroom

The Embedded Librarian Model in Traditional vs. Online Political Science Courses

“…Indeed, previous research suggests that applying this model in political science courses has yielded generally positive results. For example, Shannon and Shannon (2016) find that embedding a librarian in an introductory international relations course was associated with higher overall numbers of sources cited, source quality, and the overall quality of student research papers; similarly, Devine, Gauder, and Pautz (2021) report that embedding a librarian was associated with significant improvements in scores on an information literacy assessment across multiple political science courses, while Harkness, Rusk, and Rubio (2021) African States Since Independence: Order, Development, and Democracy), academic journal articles, and various media sources focusing on current events. As a writingintensive course, the main assignment for the class is a 3,000-4,000 word research paper requiring students to propose and test a theory relevant to African politics, following the principles of the scientific method and incorporating credible information sources; the assignment is scaffolded to include a proposal, literature review, draft, and final paper.…”

Community College STEM Faculty and the ACRL Framework: A Pilot Study

“…Regardless of the debate on whether the Framework can be implemented at the associate level (i.e., community college level), the literature on this topic has stressed the value of collaboration between librarians and faculty on the interpretation and implementation of IL skills based on the Framework (Click et al, 2021;Dawes, 2019;Devine et al, 2021;Waity & Crowe, 2019). Studies have also placed an emphasis on the importance of faculty's roles in integrating the Framework (Barr et al, 2020;Dawes, 2019;Russo, 2017).…”