Each year, Oakland library faculty provide information literacy instruction for Rhetoric 160, a first-year writing course, through a combination of WebCT-based online tutorials and in-class teaching. For this study, twelve sections of RHT 160 during the winter 2005 term were selected to compare three instructional methods: online instruction only, live instruction, and the current "hybrid" combination of live instruction and online tutorials. The sections were assigned to one of the instructional methods and, to assess student learning, all students (n=224) completed identical pre-and post-tests. Results of the study, including differences in student performance in relation to pedagogy, are discussed.
Many business students rely heavily on the Web for research, in part because of their unfamiliarity with the breadth of their library's business resources (online and in print). This study sought to determine whether library instruction could impact undergraduate business students' atti tudes and use of three information formats: print materials, library data bases, and Web resources. Over the course of a semester, pre-/ postinstruction questionnaires were collected from ninety students en rolled in a business capstone course. Results indicate that after library instruction, students held more favorable attitudes toward print resources and used them in their research more than they had initially expected. n today's fast-paced world, the students to the full array of research tools desire for expediency has at their disposal. Past research has dem prompted undergraduate stuonstrated that library instruction can in dents to place a premium on fluence students' general attitudes toward information that can be found quickly and easily. To this end, many students limit their research to electronic resources, choosing format over substance and con venience over accuracy. In particular, re liance on the World Wide Web as a pri mary-and often sole-research tool has impacted the quality and rigor of student projects and reduced students' familiar ity with more traditional print resources and bibliographic databases in their university's library collection. Given this trend, more than ever it is imperative that librarians, in collaboration with academic faculty, take a central role in introducing the library and its resources; more work must be done, however, to measure the impact of library instruction on students' perceptions of specific information for mats. Equally important, librarians must fully examine how library instruction impacts students' use of these resources.The current study was designed to measure business students' initial percep tions and use of three information for mats: the Web, online bibliographic and full-text databases, and print reference resources. Further, the authors wanted to explore the impact of library instruction on students' attitudes about and use of
Full-text periodical databases have changed how students access research materials. Many librarians fear that students favor the convenience of full-text databases over more valuable information found in print periodical literature. To what extent is this true? A study was undertaken at Oakland University to determine how well students mastered the retrieval process for print and full-text articles, and to gather their opinions on the value of both formats. A pre-/post-test instrument was administered to students before and after instruction to measure their knowledge of the library and its databases. A final test, including questions designed to measure student attitudes about the article retrieval process, was administered upon completion of a term paper. Results indicate that many students valued the convenience of full-text articles over the article's relevance, but they also found the overall research process to be difficult. The research students conducted also impacted on their test results. Other findings are discussed.
In June 1998 Oakland University's library migrated to a new online catalog. In order to determine user acceptance of the new OPAC, students receiving library instruction were asked to complete an open-ended questionnaire eliciting comments on their likes, dislikes and online catalog preference. From the data collected, a second questionnaire was designed and distributed that focused on specific features of the new catalog identified in the first survey. Results indicated that users overwhelmingly preferred the new OPAC and found it easy to use; however, they experienced some difficulty using special features like truncation. The most popular feature of the new catalog was its remote access capability. Secondgeneration OPACs possess features ± such as electronic reserves capabilities and hypertext links ± that are beginning to simplify the search process; but they have not yet developed into the intuitive, comprehensive systems that can empower users to seek information in new ways.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.