How Master of Library Studies Students Learn to Search for Information: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) students represent a population for whom literature searching is a core practice and a learning outcome for an entry-level course on information searching. How LIS students learn to find information, though, is not completely clear. Many studies have explored undergraduate searching behavior, but few recent studies have investigated the search behaviors of MLIS students. The purpose of this Scholarship of Teaching and Learning study was to explore the following research questions: (1) How do MLIS students describe learning to search?; (2) What works in helping MLIS students see themselves as better searchers of information?; and (3) What works in helping MLIS students become better searchers of information? Participants articulated that course sequence was important in their development of searching skills, that demonstrable skills and engagement with research improved their view of themselves as searchers, and that course structure, content, and active learning were important factors in their improvement.