preparation for research-based writing projects. For example, we have taught upper
division students from other majors who have never made use of the campus library
during their college experience. Through a study on incorporating Information Literacy
education conducted under the auspices of the College of Arts and Sciences at our
university, an interdisciplinary research team found that some departments place a
premium on encouraging Information Literacy skills others did not. This was reflected in
the departmental Academic Learning Compacts, where each department articulates the
objectives for student accomplishment over the course of study in the major.
Finally, this study strongly indicates that we should be careful in interpreting
findings concerning information literacy. Measurement matters. The assessment tools
we utilize to capture student learning are sensitive and can produce different results. In
this study, the pre- and post-test measures were significantly related to our student
demographic data, while the paper measure was not. One of the strengths of the
approach utilized here is the quasi-experimental design. Measuring student information
literacy at different intervals over the course of the semester captures the character and
evolution of student learning. Future work should further make use of quasi-
experimental design to more fully understand the dynamics at work in student
development of information literacy.
Convention