The Shocking Truth About Student Research Skills (…And How It’s Spreading Across the

Country!)

Sarah Burns Feyl, Assistant University LibrarianDoug Heimbigner, Instructional Services LibrarianJennifer Rosenstein, First Year Outreach Services

Librarian

What is Project Information Literacy?

O National study about college students and their research habitsO Started in 2008: six studies since thenO Methods: surveys, interviews, focus

groups, content analysisO Participants: over 11,000 students at

50+ U.S. institutionsO You can see the list of institutions at

the website: http://projectinfolit.org

Pace Library Experience Survey

O Conducted in UNV 101 beginning in 2000

O Paper survey, we tried online and our response rate dropped significantly

O The survey has evolved over timeO i.e. removed the question asking if

they use social networking toolsO We receive surveys from about 1/3 to

1/2 of the first year students

Findings:O “What one word sums up how you

feel at the moment you receive a course-related research assignment?”

O Angst, tired, dread, fear, anxious, annoyed, stressed, disgusted, intrigued, excited, confused, and overwhelmed

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf

Findings: OWhat did PIL students report as

the most difficult step of the course-related research process? O Getting started (84%)O Defining a topic (66%)O Narrowing it down (62%)O Filtering through irrelevant results (61%)

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_Fall2010_Survey_FullReport1.pdf

Findings: Getting Started

OPOLLOWhen do students begin

working on a research assignment?O2 to 3 days before it is

due

Findings: Getting Started

O Related: A large majority of students reported spending three hours on research and another two hours on writing—one or two days before a 5-7 page course-related research paper was due.

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf

Findings: ContextO When beginning a research

assignment, PIL students indicate the need for “big picture” context, a summary of the topic, background information, overview of vocabulary

O Where do students get this “big picture” context?

O POLLO Wikipedia

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_Fall2009_finalv_YR1_12_2009v2.pdf

Findings: WikipediaO Wikipedia gave students a workaround

for obtaining the big picture and language contexts they frequently lacked for course-related research

O In nearly three-quarters of the student discussions—8 out of 11 sessions—there was a strong consensus among students that their research process began with Wikipedia

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf

Findings: Beginning the AssignmentO Where do students actually begin their

course-related research assignments?O POLLO In PIL, almost all of the respondents

turned to course readings firstO In the PLES, over 50% of

respondents start with an “Internet search”

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_Fall2009_finalv_YR1_12_2009v2.pdf

Findings: Use of the Library

O What percentage of students use Library research databases to search for articles?

O POLLO PIL: 80% (college students)O PLES: 58% (used in high school)

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf

Findings: Use of the Library

O What percentage of students use the Library’s Catalog to search for books?

O POLLO PIL: 78% (college students)O PLES: 62% (used in high school)

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf

Findings: DatabasesO What is the top reason PIL students report

using scholarly research databases?O POLL

O they are a source of credible information (78%)

O to meet instructorsʼ expectations (74%)O to succeed on the assignment (62%)O it saved them a visit the library (43%)

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf

Findings: Librarians O What percentage of students used a

librarian for help with a course-related research assignment?

O POLLO PIL: 20%O PLES: only 52% of first year

students indicated they had a research session with their high school librarian

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf

Findings: Evaluating Information

O What is the top factor considered by PIL students when evaluating web content?O Whether the content was up-to-date

(77%)O Author’s credentials (73%)O Site URL or domain (i.e. .edu

or .gov) (71%)O If a bibliography exists on the site

(54%)

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_Fall2010_Survey_FullReport1.pdf

Findings: Evaluating Information

O How do Pace students evaluate web content?O Comparing to other information

sources (15%)O Does it have citations/sources

listed (13%)O Domain (.edu , .gov ) (13%)

Findings: FinishingO Students were perplexed with completing

the research process with almost half finding it difficult to decide whether they had done a “good job” (46%).

O “the first stages of research for course work initiate a process few students thoroughly understand and grasp with much confidence. Few students we interviewed considered themselves wholly competent at completing research for one course research assignment to the next.”

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_Fall2010_Survey_FullReport1.pdf

What can we do to help students?

Findings: Role of Instructors

O Almost two-thirds of the sample (63%) found in-class discussions about how to conduct research useful

O The actual writing and editing of papers is another way that students see instructors helping them complete course-related research assignments. A majority of the respondents (71%) considered instructorsʼ review of paper drafts helpful

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf

Findings: Role of Instructors

OOver three-fourths of the students (76%) surveyed considered written guidelines about course-related assignments, especially which sources to use, as one of the most helpful materials an instructor can provide

http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_Handout_Study_finalvJuly_2010.pdf

Thank you!

OSarah Burns Feyl Osburnsfeyl@pace.edu

ODoug HeimbignerOdheimbigner@pace.edu

O Jennifer RosensteinO jrosenstein@pace.edu