Impact of Information Literacy Classes and Research Consultations on Student Research Success

As Liaison Librarian for School of Health Sciences, Human Services, and Nursing (HS2N), one of my roles is to support students and facilitate their research. I do so in several ways including teaching information literacy classes, and by offering research consultations where I meet individually or in groups (for group projects) with students.

Information literacy classes requested by faculty are conducted in person or online via Zoom. Length of classes is determined by faculty, though I recommend the timeframe be based on number and types of resources covered in the session. Each faculty instructor provides their assignment and suggested resources.

In these sessions, I introduce students to subject-specific resources within the Library’s collection. These range from books to databases to websites. In class we discuss how to most effectively and efficiently access and search within these resources. Many novice searchers, and even those with a little experience under their belts, believe their previous experiences with the internet have given them all necessary search skills.

Most are shocked to learn that techniques used to search the web for shopping or obtaining information on locations or events are not that effective in finding resources to answer research questions. Many are also surprised to learn that internet search engines – yes, even Google! – are not the best place to find scholarly research. Instead, their focus and the sources they highlight are webpages that are less reputable. Search engines often make it difficult to limit what types of resources are retrieved. However, in sessions we explore ways to limit which domains are retrieved (.com – commercial sites; .gov – government sites; .org – nonprofit sites).

In our information literacy classes, I introduce students to resources available through the Library. Many are available through Library-provided subscriptions. Others may be U.S. government-funded databases. These include PubMed – the interface to MEDLINE, National Library of Medicine’s bibliographic database, and ERIC, Education Resources Information Center, sponsored by Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of U.S. Department of Education.

We also explore Google Scholar, Google’s interface to search for scholarly literature. Scholar does limit types of resources retrieved – generally to books, scholarly articles, and government reports. Sometimes it can provide full text access from open access journals and academic repositories such as CUNY’s Academic Works. Google Scholar also allows linkage to Lehman’s Library. This means it will provide access to journals found in our Library’s databases.

I provide videos that explain how databases are programmed, and what information students must provide to obtain journal articles or books. It’s heartening to see how students learn search strategies. By using keywords, they can better describe a topic or question. When they realize keywords are more effective than whole sentences or questions, they can connect those keywords to their research topics. This makes a huge difference in quality of resources they can find.

After classes, I often receive comments and e-mails from students letting me know the sessions were helpful in relieving their anxiety. They also highlight how these sessions have demystified the research process and helped them find relevant resources for their papers. Some have come back after receiving their graded assignments and attributed my sessions as a key factor in their success!

Rowe, Leuzinger, Hargis, and Harker (2021) conducted a four-year study with students in an English Composition course to determine what relationship, if any, there was between library instruction and student success. The institution they studied was a large state-supported doctoral-granting university – very similar to Lehman. Variables such as grades, pass/fail for the course, and re-enrollment were studied. They were able to identify and segregate students who attended or did not attend library instruction classes and track these variables. They concluded that attending and participating in a library instruction session, while not solely responsible, was a key factor in students receiving a higher GPA that semester. The students had a statistically significant increase in pass rate for the course and also higher rates of continuance at the institution.

While I won’t go so far as conclude this is true at Lehman, research certainly suggests that instruction – and I’ll add, research consultations – significantly contribute to student research success.

So, faculty, I encourage you to reach out to your Liaison Librarians to request information literacy instruction for your classes to increase students’ opportunity for success.

Robin Wright

References

Rowe, J., Leuzinger, J., Hargis, C., & Harker, K. R. (2021). The impact of library instruction on undergraduate student success: A four-year study. College & Research Libraries, 82(1), 7–18. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.82.1.7