Information Literacy and Research-Intensive Graduate Students: Enhancing the Role of Research Librarians

Abstract

This article investigates how psychology graduate students find information for coursework and research, who teaches them how to find it, and whether differences emerge over the course of their graduate careers. Findings indicate that these graduate students are comfortable using campus libraries, prefer electronic resources, ask supervisors when they need assistance locating information, and have some interest in furthering their information literacy knowledge. Finally, the master's students use different information management skills than do the PhD students, as evidenced by the use of bibliographic management software. Suggestions for furthering the role of research librarians focus on being more proactive, rather than expecting students to come to librarians for assistance. KEYWORDS information literacy, graduate students, research librarianInformation literacy is an integral component of the quest for knowledge. It includes developing a critical disposition and practical use of information technology and resources, whether in a print or electronic format. The American Library Association equates information literacy with the ability to access information effectively and efficiently, to evaluate information critically and comprehensively, and to use information accurately and creatively (ALA 1998). Thus, it has always been a critical component of life as an academic researcher. In this article, the author focuses on the information literacy skills of research-intensive graduate students, and the role of research librarians in cultivating it. M. R. HarringtonCurrently, the trend in Canada, including the province of Ontario, 1 is an ever-increasing graduate student enrollment in professional and research programs. Given this trend, it is essential that graduate students are proficient in finding, organizing, and storing information, not only for completion of their degree requirements, but also to succeed in securing future employment and research grants when competing with the increasing pool of qualified applicants. Librarians and library services can support this success by ensuring graduate students are information literate.Although there is a substantial amount of research addressing information literacy and undergraduate students (Liu 2005; Lampert 2005), it is lacking for graduate students. For successful thesis work, supplemental research projects, and the eventual attainment of a faculty position, there is a need for graduate students to be comprehensive and up to date in searching the current state of the literature (Barry 1997). The development of sophisticated information literacy skills can aid them in this process. Thus, it is important that research-intensive students gain information literacy skills as they progress through their graduate career so that they can optimally access the library resources that they require for their work. Recently, a needs assessment was conducted for graduate students in the Faculties of Engineering, Health Science, Medicine and Dentistry, and Science at the Unive...

Croatian university students' use and perception of electronic resources

“…In contrast to research showing that students prefer printed sources, a number of studies, especially those published in the past few years, indicate that students are more inclined to use electronic resources (Agboola, 2010;Harrington, 2009;Holaday, Selvig, Purkiss, & Hortsch, 2013;Ji et al, 2014;Pandita, 2012;Ranganadham & Babu, 2012;Thanuskodi, 2011;Uçak, 2007). The students emphasize ease of use, search, and access to information (Arya & Talukdar, 2010;Beard, Dale, & Hutchins, 2007;Kandpal et al, 2013;Ranganadham & Babu, 2012;Sudhier & Seethalekshmi, 2011;Uçak, 2007), recency of information (Pandita, 2012;Porumbeanu, 2009;Shelburne, 2009;Sudhier & Seethalekshmi, 2011;Sujatha & Mudhol, 2008;Uçak, 2007), availability of resources (Shelburne, 2009), access to a wide range of information (Beard et al, 2007;Pandita, 2012;Porumbeanu, 2009;Ranganadham & Babu, 2012), saving time (Ranganadham & Babu, 2012;Shelburne, 2009;Sujatha & Mudhol, 2008), and reducing costs (Hernon et al, 2007;Ji et al, 2014).…”

“…However, for the effective use of electronic resources it is not enough to have a powerful computer and fast Internet access; it is also necessary to have specific knowledge and skills. Several studies show that students lack such competencies (Agboola, 2010;Boumarafi, 2010;Kahouei, Babamohamadi, Panahi, & Zadeh, 2013;Manda, 2005;Nemati Anaraki & Babalhavaeji, 2013;Yu-Mei & Artero, 2005), and that, despite the existing knowledge and skills, they need additional training (Baro & Fyneman, 2009;Harrington, 2009;Judd & Kennedy, 2011). Language barriers may also prevent students from using electronic resources (Shuling, 2007;Wu & Chen, 2012).…”

Bibliographic Management Tool Adoption and Use A Qualitative Research Study Using the UTAUT Model

“…Marni Harrington found the master's students responding to her survey were more likely than the PhD participants to use bibliographic management tools, and less than half of the survey respondents used a bibliographic management tool at all. 8 Interviews with fifteen Australian researchers determined that just over half used EndNote or a similar tool. 9 While some groups may use these tools more than others, this snapshot of bibliographic management tool use demonstrates that there is a significant opportunity for growth in the adoption and use of these tools regardless of disciplinary area or academic status.…”

Wrangling the Literature: Quietly Contributing to HDR Completions

“…As mentioned above, the delivery of library services to research students is not new (Barrett 2005;Cooke et al 2011;Frank et al 2001;Gratch and York 1991;Harrington 2009;Harris 2011;Lee 2004;Moncrieff, Macauley, and Epps 2007;Robertson 2003;Nimon 2002). Yet contrary to the trend of disintermediation (do-it-yourself), the provision of candidate-specific training has increased (Green and Macauley 2007;Jastram and Zawistoski 2008;Korobili, Malliari, and Zapounidou 2011), as has the research on the topic.…”