Digital Learning - Teaching Information Literacy through LibGuides: Information Seeking
Behavior

UT Arlington Instruction Librarians use LibGuides to provide asynchronous instruction, so we examined the platform to see how we meet student expectations. We also studied two models of information seeking behaviours of students:

 Project Information Literacy (PIL)

·         Students find themselves adept at finding and evaluating information

·         Students report difficulties getting started with and determining scope of assignment

·         PIL defines four research contexts:

o Big Picture Context – wrap head around assignment

o Language Context – meaning of words, search terms

o Situational Context – expectations

o Information Gathering Context – finding and accessing sources

·         Students are most likely to approach librarians for help in Language Context

 Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process (ISP)

·         Adds affective component to the research process

·         Six stages – in each stage, students are faced with different emotions

o Initiation – uncertainty

o Selection – optimism

o Exploration – confusion, frustration

o Formulation – clarity

o Collection – confidence

o Presentation – satisfaction or disappointment

o Assessment – sense of accomplishment

·         Zone of intervention by librarians: when students are experiencing anxiety and frustration, help by a professional can help them progress on.

We concluded that how we currently structure our LibGuides does not mimic above models -> Usability Study.