Information literacy, creativity and work performance

an article by Ming-Shian Wu (Aletheia University, Taiwan) published in  Information Development Volume 35 Issue 5 (November 2019)

Abstract

In the digital age, information literacy, defined as the ability to effectively identify information needs, access needed information, and evaluate and use information, is a crucial skill set for both individuals and organizations.

Therefore, understanding the relationships between information literacy, creativity, and work performance could not only help enterprises recognize the importance of information literacy and its influence on the workplace, but also provide educators with guidance for planning related training programs. This empirical study explores the relationships between self-efficacy in information literacy, creativity and work performance.

The findings show that:

1. self-efficacy in defining information needs, self-efficacy in evaluating information and self-efficacy in using information can significantly positively affect creativity;
2. creativity can significantly positively affect work performance; and, 
3. creativity mediates the association between self-efficacy in information literacy and work performance.

Implications based on the findings are also discussed.

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A Reminder That 'Fake News' Is An Information Literacy Problem - Not A Technology Problem

an article by Kalev Leetasru for Forbes [with grateful thanks to Stephen Abrams]



Beneath the spread of all “fake news,” misinformation, disinformation, digital falsehoods and foreign influence lies society’s failure to teach its citizenry information literacy: how to think critically about the deluge of information that confronts them in our modern digital age. Instead, society has prioritized speed over accuracy, sharing over reading, commenting over understanding. Children are taught to regurgitate what others tell them and to rely on digital assistants to curate the world rather than learn to navigate the informational landscape on their own. Schools no longer teach source triangulation, conflict arbitration, separating fact from opinion, citation chaining, conducting research or even the basic concept of verification and validation. In short, we’ve stopped teaching society how to think about information, leaving our citizenry adrift in the digital wilderness increasingly saturated with falsehoods without so much as a compass or map to help them find their way to safety. The solution is to teach the world's citizenry the basics of information literacy.

It is the accepted truth of Silicon Valley that every problem has a technological solution.

Most importantly, in the eyes of the Valley, every problem can be solved exclusively through technology without requiring society to do anything on its own. A few algorithmic tweaks, a few extra lines of code and all the world’s problems can be simply coded out of existence.

Sadly for the Valley’s technological determinists, this is far from the truth.

Unfortunately, this mindset has survived to drive today’s “fake news” efforts.

Continue reading

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The cognitive authority of user-generated health information in an online forum for girls and young women

an article by Noora Hirvonen, Alisa Tirroniemi and Terttu Kortelainen (University of Oulu, Finland) published in Journal of Documentation Volume 75 Issue 1 (2019)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of one particular online discussion forum as a potentially authoritative health information source for its users. The concept of cognitive authority is used as a starting point for understanding information evaluation in this context. The focus is placed on the types of information users seek for from this forum, the ways they assess the credibility of information obtained, and their views on the impact of this information.

Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data were collected with a questionnaire survey from the users of a Finnish online forum for girls and young women (n=290). The data were analyzed qualitatively with content analytic techniques and quantitatively by using descriptive analysis.

Findings
The forum was found to offer girls and young women the possibility to receive health information from peers. It was viewed as an appropriate source for experiential rather than factual health information and used to find information on sexuality, bodily functions and diets, for example. Author-related cues, argumentation and tone, veracity and verification were recognized as means to evaluate information credibility. Credibility evaluation was found to be linked with conceptions of the forum and the type of information sought. A share of the respondents recognized the information obtained to have influence on their thinking or behavior.

Originality/value
Based on the findings, it can be argued that the members of the online forum – individually or collectively – can act as cognitive authorities for other users. The findings cannot be generalized beyond this online forum, to Finnish girls or young women, or even the users of the online forum. However, they provide insights into the ways young people evaluate user-generated information in a particular online setting and domain of knowledge and as such contribute to research on cognitive authority, credibility evaluation and information literacy.

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Lifehacker: How to Teach Your Kids to Spot Fake News

a post by Leigh Anderson for the Offspring blog [with grateful thanks to ResearchBuzz Firehose]


Image: www.vpnsrus.com via Flickr

How to teach kids to spot fake news?

First: Teach everyone to spot fake news.

When I was a child, my parents had access to only a few news sources: our local paper, the big-city dailies (for us, the Washington Post and the New York Times) and the nightly news. Kids today have … the entire internet, with every crackpot theory and faked moon landing right at their fingertips. Even the distinction between “media” and “journalism” has blurred to the point that many adults don’t know if anyone can be trusted at all.

Which means that parental responsibilities now include giving your kids the tools to assess whether a given story is real – backed up by solid reporting – or biased, or totally and completely fake. Or Russian propaganda. To this end, educators are developing curricula to encourage “media literacy” in the face of an onslaught of, well, media bullshit and a president who’s actively trying to discredit responsible journalism. To get an idea of how parents can help their kids separate fact from fiction, I spoke to two people who are deep in the media-literacy trenches.

Continue reading

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Fake news and fact checking: Getting the facts straight may not be enough to change minds

a column by Oscar Barrera, Sergei Guriev, Emeric Henry and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal

‘Fake news’ has become a key ingredient of Western political discourse. This column uses an experiment conducted during the 2017 French presidential election campaign to show that ‘alternative facts’ are highly persuasive. Voters exposed to a narrative based on misleading numbers shifted towards the populist’s agenda, and fact checking did nothing to undo these effects. In fact, exposing voters only to official facts on a highly sensitive subject, such as the European refugee crisis, can backfire by increasing support for the extreme right.

Continue reading

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Wikipedia editing and information literacy: a case study

an article by Lydia Dawe and Ainslie Robinson (University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, Australia) published in Information and Learning Science Volume 118 Issue 1/2 (2017)

Abstract

Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the success of a Wikipedia editing assessment designed to improve the information literacy skills of a cohort of first-year undergraduate health sciences students.

Design/methodology/approach
In this action research case study (known hereafter as “the project” to differentiate this action research from the students’ own research), students researched, wrote and published Wikipedia articles on Australia-centric health topics. Students were given a pre- and post-test to assess levels of self-confidence in finding, evaluating and referencing information. Student work was also analysed in terms of article length and quantity and the type of information sources used.

Findings
Tests revealed that students’ self-confidence in their information literacy skills improved overall. Analysis of student work revealed that students wrote longer articles and incorporated more references than expected. References used were of appropriate quality relevant to the article despite minimal instructions.

Originality/value
There are few studies that investigate information literacy development through Wikipedia editing in Australian universities. This study shows that Wikipedia editing is an effective way to carry out student assessment prior to essay writing and an innovative platform to improve information literacy skills in undergraduate students.

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Gender and Information Literacy: Evaluation of Gender Differences in a Student Survey of Information Sources

an article by Arthur Taylor and Heather A. Dalal (Rider University, NJ, USA) published in College & Research Libraries Volume 78 Number 1 (January 2017)

Abstract

Information literacy studies have shown that college students use a variety of information sources to perform research and commonly choose Internet sources over traditional library sources.

Studies have also shown that students do not appear to understand the information quality issues concerning Internet information sources and may lack the information literacy skills to make good choices concerning the use of these sources. No studies currently provide clear guidance on how gender might influence the information literacy skills of students. Such guidance could help improve information literacy instruction.

This study used a survey of college-aged students to evaluate a subset of student information literacy skills in relation to Internet information sources. Analysis of the data collected provided strong indications of gender differences in information literacy skills.

Female respondents appeared to be more discerning than males in evaluating Internet sources. Males appeared to be more confident in the credibility and accuracy of the results returned by search engines. Evaluation of other survey responses strengthened our finding of gender differentiation in information literacy skills.

Full text (PDF and HTML)

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Phenomenography: A methodology for information literacy research

an article by Marc Forster (University of West London, UK) published in Journal of Librarianship and Information Science Volume 48 Number 4 (2016)

Abstract

The qualitative methodology phenomenography has been successfully used to determine the range of information literacy experiences of defined groups and professions. Phenomenographic method is believed to yield research findings which give a richer and more accurate picture of what information literacy means in practical terms.

The archetypal definitions of the limited but interrelated experiences of information literacy that a phenomenographic study provides have been used as a basis of evidence-based information literacy educational interventions (Andretta, 2007). What are the epistemological ideas behind phenomenography and what are the data collection and analysis procedures based on its philosophical underpinnings?

The key principles as described in the literature are discussed in this paper, beginning with the early work of Marton (1986). The use of phenomenography to research information literacy experience began with Christine Bruce’s (1997) seminal work. The value of the work of Bruce and her followers have been recently recognized by ACRL (2014).

Full text (PDF)

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Indicators of adult information literacy

an article by Ralph Catts (Researcher, Allimar Ltd) published in Journal of Information Literacy Volume 6 Number 2 (2012)

Abstract

Information literacy, defined as the capacity to locate, evaluate and use information to create new knowledge, is a core adult life skill and an extension of the notion of functional literacy.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has identified information literacy as an essential capacity for participation in the knowledge economy and has included this construct as a strategic priority in the Information for All Programme (IFAP).

To support this initiative UNESCO has commissioned research to consider whether a household survey could be used to identify the extent to which people in member states are information literate in all aspects of their life, including work and lifelong learning, and in relation to their personal well-being, and in their participation in civil society.

United Nations agencies use surveys to provide indications of the extent to which various agreed objectives are being achieved. These include international surveys of education and of health and well-being.

This paper reports on an investigation aimed at determining whether indicators of information literacy could be identified by secondary analysis of existing data collected in other household surveys. It was concluded that information literacy has unique elements that are not encompassed in the surveys that were examined.

Full text (PDF 16pp)

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The new information environments in schools – a British perspective

an article by Andrew K. Shenton (Independent consultant) published in IFLA Journal Volume 38 Number 3 (October 2012)

Abstract

The nature of the learning resource areas found in Britain’s schools has changed dramatically in the last decade and a half.

Traditional libraries, based around a centralised collection of books, are becoming increasingly uncommon and have been replaced in many institutions by more computer-oriented ‘study centres’.

These quite different environments have provoked controversy in several quarters and pose a range of challenges to those who manage them. Although some of the emergent issues are far from new and, indeed, have been debated in library circles for decades, others are more particular to study centres.

This paper explores in some detail a dozen matters, highlighting dilemmas and, on occasion, possible solutions.

The questions posed are fundamental and diverse, relating to such varied aspects as the physical environment itself, the virtual world to which the study centre offers access, the role of traditional materials, the functions of staff responsible for the facility and the purposes for which the area should be used.

Full text (PDF of whole journal - this article starts at page 228)

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Feel the fear

via The Obvious? by Euan [Semple]

It is so important not to forget how unfamiliar the web and social tools are to most people.

Working, as I do, mostly with managers in their forties and fifties I would say that 90% are unsure of themselves online. Yes they are on Facebook and Linkedin, and some of them have Twitter accounts, but their use of these tools is predominantly passive. They are consuming rather than creating stories
.
This is why when you suggest seriously that not only do they begin writing down what they think in these tools, but do so in the context of work, there is that familiar look of unease bordering on outright fear.

“Why would anyone be interested in what I have to say?”, “What on earth would I write about?” “Won't people find me boring” – all this from people who, face to face, are fascinating and have really interesting stories to tell about challenging jobs in exciting businesses.

Forget paying eye watering sums of money for enterprise platforms – this is where the real work is.

The comments on Euan’s post are worth reading.

Hazel’s comment:
I think that careers and employment advisers would do well to remember this as well. Not all of their clients, and I include many of the younger ones as well, are sufficiently knowledgeable about the online world to be able to help themselves.
Are we?

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Business information literacy teaching at different academic levels: ...

An exploration of skills and implications for instructional design

an article by Mariela Gunn and Cynthia E. Miree (Oakland University, USA) published in Journal of Information Literacy Volume 6 Issue 1 (June 2012)

Abstract

This study investigates the difference among students’ discipline-specific information literacy (IL) skills by studying first-year and final-year undergraduate business students.

An online IL tutorial was designed and delivered to both student groups with a two-fold goal.

First, the researchers wanted to compare students’ IL skills to test the faculty’s assumptions that business students who are about to graduate have already acquired the requisite IL despite the lack of mandatory business-specific IL sessions. The findings suggest that first-year and final-year business students are not significantly different in their performance and that both groups received a significant positive impact as a result of taking the same IL tutorial online.

Second, the study analyses how well the online IL tutorial, with its focus on combining instructional videos with active learning exercises, performs in delivering content related to different elements of IL, as defined by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL 2010). The findings indicate that the online IL tutorial is more effective for some skills than for others, suggesting that it will be beneficial to explore different instructional designs in collaboration with the departmental faculty to improve the current IL tutorial in these areas.

This study adds to research on the effectiveness of online tutorials and raises questions related to their design. The findings can inform librarians’ decisions on how to design online learning targeting students from different academic levels.

Full text (PDF 18pp)

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A Faceted Taxonomy for Rating Student Bibliographies in an Online Information Literacy Game

an article by Chris Leeder, Karen Markey and Elizabeth Yakel (University of Michigan) published in College & Research Libraries Volume 73 Number 2 (March 2012)

Abstract

This study measured the quality of student bibliographies through creation of a faceted taxonomy flexible and fine-grained enough to encompass the variety of online sources cited by today’s students. The taxonomy was developed via interviews with faculty, iterative refinement of categories and scoring, and testing on example student bibliographies. It was then applied to evaluate the final bibliographies created in BiblioBouts, an online social game created to teach undergraduates information literacy skills. The scores of players and nonplayers were compared and showed a positive impact from the game. Findings of the evaluations of these student bibliographies are discussed.

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Student Learning and Workplace IL: A Case Study

an article by Barbara D’Angelo published in Library Trends Volume 60 Number 3 (Winter 2012)

Abstract

This article reports on a case study that analysed portfolios composed by technical communication undergraduate majors at a research university in the United States.

Results showed that students, who are also practicing professionals in their field, exhibited information literacy (IL) outcomes more typical of the workplace than academia. The categories of research engaged in by students to complete course work included academic, applied, and experiential. These categories grounded the students’ research in rhetorical and contextually situated practices.

They indicate that it may be important to broaden the way that information literacy is articulated, taught, and learned to bridge the gap between academia and the workplace.

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Developing a collaborative faculty-librarian information literacy assessment project

an article by Jackie Belanger and Rebecca Bliquez, (Campus Library, University of Washington Bothell and Cascadia Community College, USA) and Sharleen Mondal, (Department of English, Ashland University, Ohio) published in Library Review Volume 61 Issue 2 (2012)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of developing an information literacy assessment project, and to discuss key findings from the project.
Design/methodology/approach
A variety of assessment tools were used to gather information about student learning and information literacy instruction: pre- and post-surveys, student feedback surveys, faculty feedback to librarians, librarian self-reflection, library worksheets, student research journals, and citation analysis of students’ final research paper bibliographies.
Findings
It was found that the authors’ initial suite of assessment tools did not provide the information wanted about students’ research processes, so the authors’ “assessment toolkit” was modified. It was found that more meaningful information could be gathered about students’ research processes when the authors worked closely with faculty to embed information literacy assessments into course assignments. From the authors’ analysis of student work, it was discovered that, for many students, library instruction was most valuable in helping them refine and explore research topics.
Originality/value
This paper will be useful to librarians and faculty seeking to implement an information literacy assessment project. The authors provide ideas for ways for faculty and librarians to collaborate on information literacy assessment, as well as on assignment and course design.

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The influences of information literacy, internet addiction and parenting styles on internet risks

an article by Louis Leung and Paul S.N. Lee (Chinese University of Hong Kong) published in New Media & Society Volume 14 Number 1 (February 2012)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how demographics, addiction symptoms, information literacy, parenting styles and internet activities can predict ‘internet risks’.

Data were gathered from a probability sample of 718 adolescents and teenagers, aged 9–19 in Hong Kong, using face-to-face interviews. Results show that adolescents who are often targets of harassment tend to be older boys with a high family income. They are targets probably because they spend a lot of time on social networking sites (SNSs) and prefer the online setting. Adolescents who encounter a lot of unwelcome solicitation of personal or private information online tend to be older girls.

In information literacy, they are generally very competent with publishing tools but are not structurally literate, especially in understanding how information is socially situated and produced. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

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The complete information literacy? Unforgetting creation and organization of information

an article by Isto Huvila (Uppsala University, Sweden) published in Journal of Librarianship and Information Science Volume 43 Number 4 (December 2011)

Abstract

Even though the concept of information literacy typically embraces an idea of a complete participation in an information community, its definitions have tended to underline the phases of seeking, searching and evaluation instead of creating information. Shortcomings of information creation can, however, explain many of the difficulties of finding information.

This article develops the notion of information literacy with a specific focus on integrating creation and organization of information as central aspects of being information literate and discusses the implications of developing information creation processes from the point of view of information professionals and users. Finally, suggestions are made for how information creation might be improved in practice.

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Information literacy in United Kingdom schools

an article by David Streatfield, Sue Shaper, Sharon Markless and Simon Rae-Scott published in JIL: Journal of Information Literacy Volume 5 Number 2 (2011)

Abstract

This paper reviews the evolution of information skills and information literacy (IL) work and associated research in UK schools over the past thirty years as reflected in the literature. A brief report is then offered of a recent small study of library-based IL work in primary schools in England, using structured focus groups of teachers and library assistants and telephone interviews with Heads.

The remainder of the paper reports on the IL aspects of the first major surveys of UK post-primary school libraries and what librarians do for more than twenty years. It draws on an activity survey of library staff in 1,044 schools in the UK, conducted through a combination of peer interviews with an e-survey, across a range of post-primary schools. A set of questions was asked about the preferred term used in the school for IL, the extent of learning support by library staff, and the distribution of IL efforts across student years. These replies were then compared with responses about management supervision and about librarian-generated planning to show that these are both influencing factors in IL work. Further questions were asked about the types of IL work undertaken by library staff – from supporting IL efforts of teachers to conducting lessons in the library or classroom and preparing guidance for students. Respondents then identified the phases of the IL cycle on which they concentrated their efforts and the main activities which they engaged in when collaborating with teachers. In presenting the results, comparisons are made between replies from professionally-qualified librarians and other categories of respondent.

Three models of IL intervention in schools are then presented, drawing upon activity descriptions contributed by survey respondents (including those interviewed). These are characterised as:
• Sporadic opportunism
• Systematic development
• Strategic orchestration

A brief comment is made on the limitations of the survey and some conclusions are offered, relating to the growing gap between ‘the best and the rest’, the implications of declining school library budgets at all levels, and the difference that a professionally-qualified school librarian can make to IL work in the school.

Full Text (PDF 22pp)

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Is There a Difference Between Critical Thinking and Information Literacy?

an article by John M Weiner published in JIL: Journal of Information Literacy Volume 5 Number 2 (2011)

Abstract

This paper investigates the similarities and differences between two important ideas in information processing and knowledge utilisation. Those ideas are [critical thinking] and [information literacy]. The two phrases are shown in brackets to indicate that the two words involved in each idea are not arbitrarily combined but have been coupled by authors to represent a single entity or a focus for development of concepts describing the characteristics involved. By exploring terms related to this couplet from the same sentence, the meaning of each of the central ideas can be expanded. The education, library science, and health science literature were used in this study, which analysed 8745 articles dealing with [critical thinking] and 8201 reports dealing with [information literacy] included in either ERIC or PubMed from 2000-2009.

The findings showed that combinations of terms (i.e. ideas) such as [information & literacy & related term] or [critical & thinking & related term], when organised based on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning (Bloom 1956), clarified the similarities and differences between the two central ideas. [Information literacy] was involved in all of the cognitive functions suggested by Bloom. This finding is consistent with the definitions of [information literacy] that relate it to lifelong learning and effective decision-making. In addition, the ideas describing [information literacy] were consistent with actions and perceptions that were more public and standardised than those associated with [critical thinking].

This suggests that [information literacy] and its associated procedures could significantly augment current instruction in [critical thinking] and indeed, the possibility has been explored by some authors in the current literature. A merging of the two ideas would involve [information literacy] providing tools and techniques in the processing and utilisation of knowledge and [critical thinking] supplying the particulars and interpretations associated with a specific discipline. This type of integration could lead to instructional programs similar in concept and application to those in research methodology where methods from statistics are integrated with the techniques and skills associated with a specific discipline. The development of a curriculum of this type would change functions and perceptions from private, individualised mentation, now associated with [critical thinking], to a more easily learned and practiced process suitable across the breadth of disciplines.

Full text (PDF 13pp) with some explanatory diagrams in colour. Worth printing.

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Re-framing information literacy: Problem-based learning as informed learning

an article by Anne R. Diekema and Wendy Holliday (Utah State University, Logan) and Heather Leary (University of Colorado, Boulder) published in Library & Information Science Research Volume 33 Issue 4 (October 2011)

Abstract

This study explores an online information literacy module that uses problem-based learning (PBL). The goal was to enable students to experience information literacy in a richer way, by moving away from a focus on locating information sources to one of information use in the construction of knowledge.

A content analysis of the research journals and reflection papers of students (N = 15) in a distance education school library media administration endorsement program suggests that PBL was an effective approach for some students, but not others. Some students were motivated by working on authentic problems, and at least half the students engaged deeply with information and discovered new questions and angles for research during the process.

These students applied more sophisticated evaluation strategies and were more metacognitive in their thinking, assessing their progress and shifting strategies as they progressed through the module.

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