What Do Undergraduate Students Know about Scholarly Communication?: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Amid movements that recognize undergraduate students as knowledge creators, transformative work is being done at the intersection of information literacy and scholarly communication. Absent from the literature so far is research related to students' perception and understanding of scholarly communication. This paper reports a mixed methods study at two major research universities in the United States, where undergraduate student researchers were surveyed and interviewed about their scholarly communication practices and perceptions. This work informs development of programming at the intersection of scholarly communication and information literacy in general, and for those involved with undergraduate research experiences in particular. The SettingThis research study was conducted over three terms beginning in summer 2014 at Purdue University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Both are public landgrant institutions, founded in 1869 and 1867, respectively.

Library Publishers as Educators: Crafting Curriculum for Undergraduate Research Journals

“…In 2008, Kuh et al's seminal report on high-impact practices (HIPs) was published by the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U). The report named 10 HIPs that are "especially effective in increasing student engagement and retention" (as cited in Fraser Riehle & Hensley, 2017;p. 146).…”

“…423). Fraser Riehle and Hensley (2017) summarize UR as a trend by stating that "undergraduate students are actively participating in the scholarly communication process as content creators. They construct research posters, create digital projects, write articles for undergraduate research and disciplinary journals, and much more" (p. 149).…”

The Intersection of Information and Science Literacy

“…Less than half of STEM students are moderately knowledgeable of the peer review process, open access, and the impact of scientific publishing (Riehle & Hensley, 2017). Yet most students report it is important that they understand the process of scholarly communication (Riehle & Hensley, 2017).…”

“…Yet most students report it is important that they understand the process of scholarly communication (Riehle & Hensley, 2017). This suggests that many science students may not understand that journal publications represent years of research, discussion, and conference presentations.…”

“…Performing research alone would not guarantee this knowledge, especially if the students haven't presented at a conference or published their data. This learning could be intentionally supported by information literacy through the help of librarians and faculty (Riehle & Hensley, 2017). This instruction would support scientific information literacy by simultaneously teaching how research and scholarship intersect, enhancing science literacy.…”