Presented at CONUL conference, May 2018, Galway, Ireland

1. Embedding Digital Research Skills
in the
Undergraduate Curriculum
Dr Claire McGuinness & Dr Crystal Fulton
UCD iSCHOOL
information & communication studies

2. ● Our digital research skills e-
tutorial project
● Some preliminary findings of
student evaluations of e-tutorials
● The background & conceptual
origins of project & our rationale
for digital research skills training
for undergraduates
● Some best practice tips
● Our lessons learned & future
plans
What we will share with you today

5. Digital Research Skills E-Tutorials
Stage 1: Managing Your Research with Web-based Tools
Stage 1: Understanding Digital Research Ethics
Stage 2: The Academic Web
Stage 2: Foundational Social Media Analytics for Research
Stage 3: Digital Tools for Managing Research Data
Stage 3: Data Visualisation for Novice Researchers

6. Project Timeline
Feb 2017-present

7. What Did Our
Students Think?

8. Student Survey Respondents
➢ 64% female; 36% male
➢ Most aged 17-20 years (57%), though
21% aged 21-29 years, 21% were 30+
years
➢ 43% Stage 1; 21% Stage 2;
26% Stage 3; & 11% PG
➢ Students about twice as often taking
modules as programme choices, as
opposed to electives

9. UG Students & Digital Research Skills
 Majority self-assessed their
digital research skills as
Good to Excellent
 Student comments reveal
they want to learn more
 Students reported using a
range of digital research
skills for assessment

10. Students’ Experiences of E-Tutorials
The majority of respondents were positive...
 E-tutorials facilitated their understanding of topics
 E-tutorial content was clear and easy-to-navigate
 They enjoyed working on the e-tutorials
 Just over 70% found the badges motivated them to
master e-tutorial content
One area for improvement...
 Students gave mixed reports about technical issues
○ E.g., sound, browser choice

11. Student Views on Online v Traditional
Classroom Learning
“I stay more concentrated when I do online learning because I
know that the responsibility is 100% on me and it is the amount
of effort I put into remembering and learning the information
that afterwards will be paid back”
"The lectures were probably superior to the e-tutorials, because
we could interact with the professor and ask questions. They
function more as “homework” in a way, because they force you to
go over what you learned and use put it to the test”
"It allows you to do it at your own pace which I found very
helpful”

12. Perceived Benefits of E-Tutorials
“The good thing that I liked was that I could repeat
it. I could repeat it like 5 times, so I actually do
remember”
"Well, I find that better than the classroom,
because you can’t keep asking the tutor to repeat
things in classroom, whereas you could replay
some of the stuff that didn’t go in the first time.
Rather than asking in class. I wouldn’t do that in
class”

13. Students want E-Tutorials!

14.  Supports development of students’
Digital Literacy
 Aligns with national and international
policy on digital capacity and skills in
education
 Teaches specific research needs
created by Internet & social media -
primary and secondary research
 Targets undergraduates who struggle
with online research
A Critical Digital Literacy
Learning Resource“Building digital capacity is about much more than developing
a capacity for online course provision and the use of digital
tools. It is about developing new ways of dealing with
information, working and learning in a digital environment,
using time and information differently, and developing new
versatility when it comes to interaction in learning
environments”(National Forum for Enhancement of T&L in Higher Education, 2015)

15. Creating E-Tutorials: Best Practice
➢ Carry out user needs
assessment
➢ Consider overall learning
experience - blended learning
➢ Write clear learning outcomes
first
➢ Comply with relevant
development standards
➢ Collaborative content
creation and design
➢ Active learning strategies
➢ Clear navigation controls
➢ Relevant content
➢ Avoid “decoration”
➢ Easy access to support & help
for students
➢ Full voice-over scripts
➢ Short videos
➢ Strategic use of images
➢ Include an assessment
component (e.g., quiz)
➢ Technical considerations

16. Future Plans

17. Contact:
School of Information & Communication Studies
University College Dublin
Belfield, Dublin 4
Email: Claire.McGuinness@ucd.ie or Crystal.Fulton@ucd.ie
With thanks to our
funders:
UCD Teaching & Learning
CoSSL Research Funding