The information literacy of college students: gender influences on information source selection - Heather Dalal
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The information literacy of college students: gender influences on information source selection - Heather Dalal
- 1. The Information Literacy of College Students: Gender Influences on Information Source Selection Librarians’ Information Literacy Annual Conference Arthur Taylor, Associate Professor, Information Systems and Supply Chain Management, College of Business Administration Heather Dalal, Assistant Professor-Librarian, Moore Library University College Dublin Library 21-23 March 2016
- 2. Previous Research: Students’ Evaluative Behaviors Students are familiar with However in practice Source: http://academictimgunn.tumblr.com/ Authority Accuracy Credibility Reliability Objectivity Validity Timeliness Bias/Point of View Source:pixabay
- 3. Previous Research: Demographic Differences Source: UI8.net Males are more likely to - use newspapers & magazines - use free & nontraditional sources Females are more likely to • - use books & journals - use licensed library sources
- 4. Previous Research: Demographic Differences Source: UI8.net Males are more likely to - be more confident in their ability to search - not ask for help Females are more likely to - be anxious at the start of research - evaluate their skills lower
- 5. Our questions * Do students understand evaluative criteria? * Do they apply the criteria? * Do demographics influence their evaluation knowledge & habits? Source: pixabay
- 7. Results We used in group percentages and chi- squared analysis of variance on tabular results. Many results were statistically significant - strengthening our evidence of gender bias in this sample.
- 8. Images Source: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2012/gender-divide-reaching-male-vs-female-millennials.html When a search engine returns a list of pages, I select a page from the list based on the following criteria: site is understandable 77% of females 64% of males qualifications of the author are good 62% of females 42% of males quality of the writing on the site is good 68% of females 48% of males
- 9. How often have you used research tools beyond Google for research papers in the last year? Images Source: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2012/gender-divide-reaching-male-vs-female-millennials.html never 2% of Females 11% males almost always 30 % of females 20 % of males
- 10. Females in our sample Source: UI8.net * more discerning in evaluating * used a number of criteria in evaluating * more likely to use sources beyond Google or Ask.com * more likely to use library databases
- 11. Males in our sample Source: UI8.net *more confident they could determine - the author of a site - the qualifications of the author * more likely to believe search engine results were accurate, credible, & objective •
- 12. Discussion Source: UI8.net Did some male students not feel the need evaluate because pages returned by a search engine are objective, credible, and accurate? Are females more careful searchers? Are females are socialized in a way to make more effort in their schoolwork?
- 13. Library anxiety This research confirms & extends gender specific findings related to library anxiety (Blundell & Lambert, 2014). Males more comfortable using the library. Females perceive librarians are not helpful. http://library.movlic.com/CheckItOut/ 10/EasingLibraryAnxiety
- 14. Implications for IL Instruction: understanding our students To teach better: understand your users’ needs and beliefs offer a gender-aware approach to information literacy instruction Source: http://friendsofebonie.com/
- 15. Implications for teaching females Encourage to take intellectual risks. Increase self- efficacy. Reassure that they are capable.
- 16. Implications for teaching males Stress the limitations of commercial search engines. Stress the need for careful evaluation. Focus on the meaning of these criteria. Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/05/the-confidence-gap/359815/
- 17. Association for College and Research Libraries. (2000). Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Chicago: American Library Association. Blundell, S., & Lambert, F. (2014). Information anxiety from the undergraduate student perspective: a pilot study of second-semester freshmen. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 55(4), 261. Burdick, T. A. (1996). Success and Diversity in Information Seeking: Gender and the Information Search Styles Model. School Library Media Quarterly, 25(1), 19–26. Fields, A. M. (2001). Women’s epistemological development: Implications for undergraduate information literacy instruction. Research Strategies, 18(3), 227–238. Hargittai, E., & Shafer, S. (2006). Differences in actual and perceived online skills: the role of gender*. Social Science Quarterly, 87(2), 432–448. References
- 18. Lim, S., & Kwon, N. (2010). Gender differences in information behavior concerning Wikipedia, an unorthodox information source? Library & Information Science Research, 32(3), 212–220. Metzger, M. J., Flanagin, A. J., & Zwarun, L. (2003). College student Web use, perceptions of information credibility, and verification behavior. Computers & Education, 41(3), 271–290. Kay, K. and Shipman, C. “The Confidence Gap,” The Atlantic Monthly 313, no. 4 (2014): 56–66. Steinerová, J., & Susol, J. (2007). Users’ information behaviour-a gender perspective. Information Research, 12(3), 13. Taylor, Arthur & Heather A. Dalal. (2016). Gender and Information Literacy: Evaluation of Gender Differences in a Student Survey of Information Sources. College & Research Libraries. Forthcoming. Taylor, Arthur & Heather A. Dalal. (2014). Information Literacy Standards and the World Wide Web: Results from a Student Survey on Evaluation of Internet Information Sources. Information Research. 19(4).
- 19. Thank you. Questions? Suggestions? Arthur Taylor & Heather Dalal Rider University
Editor's Notes
- Metzger, Flanagin, & Zwarun, 2003 (books and journals/newspapers magazines) Lim & Kwon, 2010; Steinerová & Susol, 2007 (licensed sources/ use free & Nontraditional)
- - take a safe approach to research Burdick, 1996; Hargittai & Shafer, 2006; Li & Kirkup, 2007 - express uneasiness & anxiety at the start of their research process Fallows, 2005; Steinerová & Susol, 2007 - send more time investigating and formulating topics Burdick, 1996 evaluate their skills lower than males Burdick, 1996 be more confident in their ability to search for information on the Internet Burdick, 1996; Hargittai & Shafer, 2006; Li & Kirkup, 2007 - focus on gathering info Burdick 1996 - complete their research faster Burdick 1996 - not ask for help Burdick 1996 - be confident in their search Fallows, 2005; Steinerová & Susol, 2007
- The survey questions were based on the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education published in 2000. Questions were based primarily on Standard 3 which addresses how an information literate student performs critical evaluation of information sources. Several survey questions were used to gather background information about the subject including their college major and gender. The remaining questions asked subjects about their use of information sources and their evaluation of the reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias of Internet information sources. Most questions were specifically about Internet information sources though a few questions asked about the use of library databases. Association for College and Research Libraries, “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.” Questions 1-8 demographic Questions 9-27 mapped to ACRL IL Standards. The survey was delivered in an online, Web-based format and results were stored anonymously in a database for later analysis (see Figure 1). There were two groups of survey subjects: one group included students whose instructors had agreed to participate in the survey, the other group was recruited through an email campaign targeted to students in the School of Education and the School of Business. Delivered online prior to IL instruction - 348 Participants Includes question such as Why do you select a page? How often to research beyond Google? How many sources is enough for paper? How do you determine the authority, credibility, objectivity, etc? Is it possible to determine these? Do searchers consider it possible to determine these criteria for documents being evaluated? How do searchers attempt to evaluate these criteria when evaluating information sources?
- Survey based on the ACRL IL Standards reviewed by Library Faculty piloted by library student employees. delivered online prior to research instruction & via email campaign to increase participants (total: 386) The survey questions were based on the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education published in 2000. Questions were based primarily on Standard 3 which addresses how an information literate student performs critical evaluation of information sources. Several survey questions were used to gather background information about the subject including their college major and gender. The remaining questions asked subjects about their use of information sources and their evaluation of the reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias of Internet information sources. Most questions were specifically about Internet information sources though a few questions asked about the use of library databases. Association for College and Research Libraries, “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.” Questions 1-8 demographic Questions 9-27 mapped to ACRL IL Standards. The survey was delivered in an online, Web-based format and results were stored anonymously in a database for later analysis (see Figure 1). There were two groups of survey subjects: one group included students whose instructors had agreed to participate in the survey, the other group was recruited through an email campaign targeted to students in the School of Education and the School of Business. Delivered online prior to IL instruction - 348 Participants Includes question such as Why do you select a page? How often to research beyond Google? How many sources is enough for paper? How do you determine the authority, credibility, objectivity, etc? Is it possible to determine these? Do searchers consider it possible to determine these criteria for documents being evaluated? How do searchers attempt to evaluate these criteria when evaluating information sources? The survey questions were developed by the authors and then reviewed by library faculty. A pilot survey was performed using student workers in the library as subjects. Based on feedback from library faculty and the results of the pilot survey, the questions were refined to produce the final survey instrument.
- Since there were more female survey respondents than male survey respondents there is bias in the sample towards female responses for this reason examining raw counts of survey responses would not be useful. Instead, in-group percentages (percentages of responses to a question within a group of respondents of a gender) were used. Chi-square analysis of variance was used to examine correlation between gender and survey responses. This result is reported where the test demonstrated a statistically significant correlation. This analysis involved running the test on the raw survey counts.
- Infrequently - less than 25 per cent of the time. 23 % F 23 % M Sometimes - about 50 per cent of the time. 25 % F 24 % M Usually - about 75 per cent of the time. 19% F 22% M
- More discerning in evaluating used a number of criteria in evaluating more likely to use critical evaluation criteria more likely to evaluate the currency more likely to evaluate quality of the writing on the site More likely to use sources beyond Google or Ask.com more likely to use library databases. More likely to try to find enough quality sources More likely to evaluate the quality of the site using the URL More willing to check with someone with knowledge about quality
- More confident they could determine * the author of a site * the qualifications of the author More likely to believe * search engine results were accurate and credible * an Internet source was objective More likely to be confused about the criteria of source currency Less concerned with the number of sources in a paper more likely to ignore the objectiveness of the site.
- Blundell, S., & Lambert, F. (2014). Information anxiety from the undergraduate student perspective: a pilot study of second-semester freshmen. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 55(4), 261.
- Burdick Anne M. Fields, “Women’s Epistemological Development: Implications for Undergraduate Information Literacy Instruction,” Research Strategies 18, no. 3 (2001): 227–38. Ibid. Fields, “Self-Efficacy and the First-Year,” 545. Shelly Blundell and Frank Lambert, “Information Anxiety from the Undergraduate Student Perspective; A Pilot Study of Second-semester Freshmen,” Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 55, no 4 (2014): 261-73.