Information literacy (IL), the ability to recognize when information is needed and be able to find, evaluate, and effectively use this information, is frequently taught to college students. The aim of this doctoral research is to study the development of IL in undergraduates over their first three years, including their knowledge, skills, and attitudes – called knowing, doing, and feeling in this project – and the relationships among the three. Mixed methods are employed to better understand the totality of students’ IL development, with qualitative methods added to enhance the quantitative methods during the second half of the project. Longitudinal and cross-sectional data are collected and analyzed in the quantitative study. A suite of four tools is developed to measure students’ IL knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These tools are psychometrically evaluated for reliability and validity, and freely available for IL researchers and practitioners. A multiple-choice test to measure IL knowledge focuses on the three core, source-based facets of IL: finding, evaluating, and using information. Two authentic assignments are employed to assess two IL skills: the evaluation and use of information sources. IL attitudes are defined in this research in terms of interest, namely students’ interest in being or becoming an information literate person, and an interest questionnaire was developed to measure phases and aspects of this interest. The questionnaire is domain-tailorable and can be used to measure other interests as well, making it a valuable contribution also in the discipline of psychology. Aside from contributing valuable tools for measuring various aspects of IL, this exploratory research fills several gaps in the IL literature, contributing to the IL research field and to its field of practice in several ways. First, the research addresses the dimensionality of the IL construct, whether IL is one homogeneous construct or comprised of several interrelated constructs. Second, the project follows the development of IL in students over a full cycle of bachelor studies, a longer period of time than most other IL studies. Third, the research addresses relationships among students’ IL knowledge, skills, and attitudes over time. Fourth, the research introduces the measurement of interest – an important motivator for learning – into the field of IL. Fifth, the research answers questions regarding the accuracy of students’ estimated scores on the IL-knowledge test and factors that affect their self-awareness. Sixth, the research explores student learning through the lens of transformative learning theory to determine whether transformative learning occurs in students as a result of becoming information literate. Seventh, the project demonstrates the value of a mixed-methods methodology in the field of IL.
How information literate are students in higher education, and how accurate is their metacognition related to that ability? Are students’ perceived needs to learn more and their level of interest in becoming information literate related to their pursuit of information literacy (IL) skill development? First-year undergraduates, master’s, and PhD students (N = 760) took an objective IL test and estimated their scores both before and after the test. IL ability, as well as students’ estimation of their IL ability, increased with higher education experience and IL test experience, though also varied notably within groups. Low-performers tended to overestimate their abilities, while high-performers tended to underestimate them—both evidence of the Dunning-Kruger effect. Furthermore, gender comparisons revealed that men tended to estimate higher, and more accurate, scores than women. Finally, PhD students reported greater interest in becoming information literate than undergraduates. Although undergraduates felt a greater need to learn more, PhD students were more inclined to pursue IL growth. For both groups, interest in becoming information literate correlated far more with their likelihood to invest effort into developing IL competencies than their perceived need to know more. What implications might these findings have for how we conceptualize the teaching of IL?
Understanding the development of information literacy in higher education: Knowing, doing, and feeling
Information literacy (IL), the ability to recognize when information is needed and be able to find, evaluate, and effectively use this information, is frequently taught to college students. The aim of this doctoral research is to study the development of IL in undergraduates over their first three years, including their knowledge, skills, and attitudes – called knowing, doing, and feeling in this project – and the relationships among the three. Mixed methods are employed to better understand the totality of students’ IL development, with qualitative methods added to enhance the quantitative methods during the second half of the project. Longitudinal and cross-sectional data are collected and analyzed in the quantitative study. A suite of four tools is developed to measure students’ IL knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These tools are psychometrically evaluated for reliability and validity, and freely available for IL researchers and practitioners. A multiple-choice test to measure IL knowledge focuses on the three core, source-based facets of IL: finding, evaluating, and using information. Two authentic assignments are employed to assess two IL skills: the evaluation and use of information sources. IL attitudes are defined in this research in terms of interest, namely students’ interest in being or becoming an information literate person, and an interest questionnaire was developed to measure phases and aspects of this interest. The questionnaire is domain-tailorable and can be used to measure other interests as well, making it a valuable contribution also in the discipline of psychology. Aside from contributing valuable tools for measuring various aspects of IL, this exploratory research fills several gaps in the IL literature, contributing to the IL research field and to its field of practice in several ways. First, the research addresses the dimensionality of the IL construct, whether IL is one homogeneous construct or comprised of several interrelated constructs. Second, the project follows the development of IL in students over a full cycle of bachelor studies, a longer period of time than most other IL studies. Third, the research addresses relationships among students’ IL knowledge, skills, and attitudes over time. Fourth, the research introduces the measurement of interest – an important motivator for learning – into the field of IL. Fifth, the research answers questions regarding the accuracy of students’ estimated scores on the IL-knowledge test and factors that affect their self-awareness. Sixth, the research explores student learning through the lens of transformative learning theory to determine whether transformative learning occurs in students as a result of becoming information literate. Seventh, the project demonstrates the value of a mixed-methods methodology in the field of IL.
Is information literacy ability, and metacognition of that ability, related to interest, gender, or education level? A cross-sectional study of higher education students
How information literate are students in higher education, and how accurate is their metacognition related to that ability? Are students’ perceived needs to learn more and their level of interest in becoming information literate related to their pursuit of information literacy (IL) skill development? First-year undergraduates, master’s, and PhD students (N = 760) took an objective IL test and estimated their scores both before and after the test. IL ability, as well as students’ estimation of their IL ability, increased with higher education experience and IL test experience, though also varied notably within groups. Low-performers tended to overestimate their abilities, while high-performers tended to underestimate them—both evidence of the Dunning-Kruger effect. Furthermore, gender comparisons revealed that men tended to estimate higher, and more accurate, scores than women. Finally, PhD students reported greater interest in becoming information literate than undergraduates. Although undergraduates felt a greater need to learn more, PhD students were more inclined to pursue IL growth. For both groups, interest in becoming information literate correlated far more with their likelihood to invest effort into developing IL competencies than their perceived need to know more. What implications might these findings have for how we conceptualize the teaching of IL?
TROILS: Tromsø Information Literacy Suite
Becoming a researcher
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