Measuring or trying to information literacy: or Naught for your comfort

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Measuring (or trying to) information literacy or
Naught for your comfort

• John Crawford
• Glasgow Caledonian University

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• Some surveys of academics use (or non-use) of
  electronic journals, databases or subject
  gateways have made academics sound like naughty
  children who are wilfully refusing to use these
  nice electronic goodies. Rather than trying to
  measure academics level of information literacy
  against some generic standard, it makes more
  sense for librarians to engage with the language
  and social discourse of the discipline
• Webber et al, LIR, 29 (93) 2005

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Pedagogical models Objectivism/transmittal mode

• Objectivism views the world as an ordered
  structure of entities which exists and has
  meaning quite apart from the observer or
  participant. Brophy 2001
• ..transmittal mode of learning based on the
  assumption that students are empty containers
  receiving knowledge transmitted by their tutor.
  Andretta 2005

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Pedagogical models Constructivism

• Knowledge is a state of understanding and can
  only exist in the mind of the individual
  learner as such, knowledge must be constructed
  or reconstructed by each new learner through
  the process of trying to make sense of new
  information in terms of what that individual
  already knows. Bruce 1997

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Practical pedagogy ?

• Learners place their own interpretation on
  learning events based on previous experience (BNE
  FT/PT focus group 2005)
• Much user education is based on objectivism a
  correct way to use the catalogue, DDC, EIS etc.
  Brophy 2006
• A right and wrong sort of way to do it e.g.
  Gateways?

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Practical issues

• Metasearching the trend to the presentation of
  services which hide complexities from the end
  user and aggregate together heterogeneous
  resources (JISC Information Environment)
• The reality of students lives
• Acquisition of information is a way of life

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Specialist Practice Nurses focus group, GCU Nov.
2001

• We have no time to play around or even to take
  a broad educational view. It has to be relevant
  to assignments. We just want to get through the
  course and get out of here.

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A brief history of EIS usage evaluation 1

• A counting culture the Equinox Project 1999
• Munster Email and Internet services most used
  by students and these mainly for private
  purposes. Obst 1995
• Justeis Project Internet, OPACs and email most
  used. Use of ejournals, web databases and JISC
  mediated services low. Armstrong 2001

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A brief history of EIS usage evaluation 2

• Jubilee Project 1999-2004 Initially little
  change in patterns of usage over time
• 5th and final annual report (2004) Student
  usage of EIS had increased from 40 to 80 in 5
  years. Ease of access improved but lack of
  evaluation of information students receive
  electronically

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A brief history of EIS usage evaluation 3

• the inability to see the complex truths beyond
  the figures need to take into account the flow
  of electronic information, information literacy
  skills and their measurement, and satisfaction
  and experience measures. Town 2004

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Usage of Electronic Information Services at GCU
(EIS)

• Preliminary focus groups November 2001 March
  2002
• Surveys - Spring 2002 and Oct 2002 Feb 2003
• Hierarchy of usage by subject
• Link between EIS usage and student progression
  and retention
• Link between EIS usage and an innovative learning
  and teaching agenda
• Growth in off campus use home and work

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Webber et al 2005

• A large scale study of UK academics conceptions
  of information literacy across a range of
  disciplines
• Article focuses on English and Marketing
• English emphasis on the printed book as most
  important for their research. IL not career but
  citizenship orientated. Attachment to the
  physical library
• Marketing Emphasis on a variety of sources
  market reports, company websites etc.
  organisations and people. Preferred electronic
  access to the physical library with a strong
  emphasis on the real world and career
  development.

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Modes of knowledge

• Mode 1 Problems are set and solved in a context
  governed by the, largely academic interests, of a
  specific community. Disciplinary and
  characterised by homogeneity. Organisationally
  hierarchical and tends to preserve its form
• Mode 2 Work environment - Knowledge is carried
  out in the context of application and is
  transdisciplinary. Characterised by
  heterogeneity. Organisationally more
  heterarchical and transient. More socially
  accountable and includes a wider, more temporary
  and heterogeneous set of practitioners. Gibbons
  et al 1994.

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Questions

• Where have they come from?
• Where are they going to?

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Where have they come from?

• People come to IL from their own experience which
  may not be compatible with library models
• People use other people social networks,
  trusted colleagues
• Reliance on readily accessible, preference for
  one/few points of access
• The library may be respected rather than used

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Where are they going to?

• Lifelong learners shift from content to ability
  to learn
• Workers information to support decision making
  and career development
• Is it a competition issue?
• Problem based thinkers
• People with recreational information needs

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Specialist Practice Nurses focus group, GCU Nov.
2001

• We cannot trust Internet direction to
  companies e.g. drug companies which are
  unlikely to provide unbiased research evidence
  especially if they did not pay for it. Our
  research will be implemented in practice and can
  influence practice. We need best practice for the
  good of the patients and we get respect and
  clout

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Specialist Practice Nurses focus group, GCU Nov.
2001

• Yes we use electronic services to a very high
  degree. Every piece of work that we do needs
  backup evidence from research e.g. matching drugs
  to specific illnesses. Critical thinking and
  analysis is the key to our course. Traditional
  library research methods would not deliver at the
  level we now require. Electronic services are,
  without doubt, the best thing about the Library.

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Conclusions

• Usage varies with subject
• Tell them what they need to know, not what you
  think they should know
• Keep an open mind about the definition and
  experience of information literacy
• Try to contribute to the long term professional
  development of students
• Interest yourself in and try to influence the
  workplace

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Some references

• Crawford, John et al (2004) Use and awareness of
  electronic information services by students at
  Glasgow Caledonian University a longitudinal
  study, Journal of librarianship and information
  science, vol. 36, no.3, pp. 101-117
• Webber, Sheila et al (2005) A comparison of UK
  academics conceptions of information literacy in
  two disciplines English and Marketing, Library
  and information research 29. (93), 4- 15
• Crawford, John (2006) The use of electronic
  information services and information literacy,
  Journal of librarianship and information science,
  38, (1), pp. 33-44
• Crawford, John Irving, Christine (2006) Begin
  at school. Library Information Update, 5
  (1-2), pp. 38-39

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Contact details

• Dr. John Crawford,
• Library Research Officer,
• Glasgow Caledonian University,
• Room 302, (3rd floor)
• 6 Rose Street,
• Glasgow,
• G3 6RB
• Tel [phone]
• Email jcr_at_gcal. ac.uk