Information Literacy Danielle Drasser and Holly Heller-Ross, Plattsburgh State University of New York.

Introductions  Danielle Drasser: Graduate Assistant (Internet Research and Data Organization)  Holly Heller-Ross: Associate Librarian (Research Design and Syllabus Reviewer)  Dr. Robert Karp: Director of Institutional Research (Research Consultant and Statistical Analyst)

Overview  Quick overview of what this is all about SUNY Trustees approved a new General Education Requirements, including Information Management Competencies CHE/MSA and other accrediting bodies also include information literacy outcomes

Information Management  “These competencies should be infused throughout the General Education program”  perform the basic operations of personal computer use;  understand and use basic research techniques;  locate, evaluate and synthesize information from a variety of sources

Research Questions Are these competencies already present in SUNY courses? To what extent and in what manner are they present?  How frequently?  In which Disciplines?  In upper/lower levels?

Why is this Important?  Students should be aware of competencies they are developing  Faculty deserve credit for work we are already doing  Librarians need to know where to concentrate information management integration efforts

Research Methodology  Searched campus websites for syllabi twelve (12) from each campus  Selected two (2) subjects in each discipline Selected two (2) courses in each subject: one (1) lower level and one (1) upper level.  Excluded library and computer courses

Close up Example

Methodology continued  Reviewed each syllabus for the three information management competencies Explicitly stated (use adobe photoshop for final assignment or use three journal articles in your research paper) Implied (list of web sites students expected to access for course materials)

Close up Example  “Protein Structure Project. Each student will select a protein to study using the program RasMol. Using RasMol and the primary literature on the protein, the students will write a 5-page paper describing the molecule in detail. An appendix of at least 3-5 RasMol images of the protein will be handed in with the paper. This project is due in class on Friday, November 10. A web page with necessary links will be available for student use( -project.htm).”  Dr. T. Lee, SUNY Fredonia, used with permission.

Caveats  Non-random sample  Subject variation in disciplines and campuses  Limits of generalizing within disciplines (physics may not be representative of biology)  University centers and some university colleges

Data Analysis  Coded data into an Excel spreadsheet  Descriptive statistics using SPSS  Frequency distributions  Cross tabulations

Findings  81% of courses required one or more competencies (116 of 144)  8% required all three  56% required basic computer use  32% required basic research techniques  39% required location/evaluation/synthesis of information sources

Use at your own Campus  This research approach could be used to assess your own courses for Information Management competencies  Could be used to establish a developmental sequence of competency inclusion within a major  Group Practice!

Further Research  Expand to include SUNY two year colleges  Change research design to a stratified proportionate random sample of courses  Focus on General Education courses

Thank You!!!!!