A Study of the Information Literacy Needs of Social Work Graduate Students at a mid-sized Canadian university

Abstract

This study consists of an analysis of the information literacy (IL) needs and levels of 44 social work graduate students at a mid-sized Canadian university using the Technology Acceptance Model. Students completed a quantitative questionnaire that included supplementary open-ended questions. Results showed that students who received a library tour and/or in-class library instruction were more knowledgeable and confident about library resources and services. The study clearly demonstrates that information literacy sessions should be essential components of graduate education. A comprehensive literature review of information literacy studies focusing on social work students is also provided, along with the current graduate social work modified Beile Test of Information Literacy for Education (B-TILED) assessment tool (Beile O’Neil, 2005). The authors recommend that information literacy surveys in Canada include the relevant required elements for the Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP) and program learning outcomes. Given the lack of a Canadian national document for information literacy standards, such surveys should also reflect the components of ACRL’s new Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. This study can serve as a model for replication at other universities, particularly those that are part of the Ontario Council of University Libraries and that have graduate social work programs.

Academic Library Instruction, Evidence-Based Practice, and Social Workers: An Exploratory Survey

“…As is common in library instruction, it is challenging to effectively teach mechanical skills, such as searching, and important concepts, such as quality and authority, in the short one-shot most librarians have with students. Integration and scaffolding of information literacy throughout the social work program curriculum would be the most effective, as others have argued (Bingham, Wirjapranata, and Chinnery 2016;Magliaro and Munro 2018).…”

“…A more recent article by Magliaro and Munro (2018) provides a thorough and useful literature review on the subject of library instruction for social work students, with summaries of eight articles, including some cited here. Based on their analysis of the literature, Magliaro and Munro (2018, 7) conclude that the "need for integrating information literacy into social work curricula and for collaboration between faculty and librarians, librarians, and students, and librarians, and social work practitioners so that social workers can be effective researchers and practitioners."…”

The Effect of Information Literacy Training on Graduate Students’ Ability to Use Library Resources

“…Participants' information literacy skills were assessed using an online survey that was developed from the Beile Test of Information Literacy for Education (B-TILED), 42 a survey instrument that was developed by Beile O'Neil and is used to assess information literacy skills. 43 The B-TILED survey has been applied by Robertson and Felicilda-Reynaldo, 44 Magliaro and Munro, 45 and Soltani and Nikou 46 in their information literacy studies. While the original B-TILED instrument was used for undergraduate students, Magliaro (2011), 47 Magliaro and Munro, 48 and Soltani and Nikou 49 have used a modified version in assessing the information literacy skills of graduate students, demonstrating the success and applicability of the B-TILED for a graduate student population.…”

Fostering Information Literacy

“…There is a small but growing body of research concerning information literacy instruction specific to social work education (Bingham et al, 2016;Doney, 2018;Magliaro & Munro, 2018;Pendell & Kimball, 2020). At the heart of these inquiries exists a growing consensus around three recurrent themes: in aggregate, incoming social work students lack the information literacy skills required for graduate level education; the provision of ILI in schools of social work is primarily reliant on individual relationships between librarians and social work instructors; and formal social work education would benefit from a broad inclusion of ILI at critical junctures in the curricula designed and implemented in collaboration with information literacy specialists (librarians) on the local level.…”

“…There is growing consensus among those engaged in research concerning ILI in social work settings (Doney, 2018;Johnson et al, 2011;Magliaro & Munro, 2018) that it is optimally effective when embedded within the social work curriculum. Particularly for social work education, which frequently stresses the importance of evidence-based practice, Bingham et al (2016) argue that, …rather than relegating EBP concepts and practices to research courses, they should be integrated throughout the entire [social work] curriculum both in coursework and field work.…”