Strategies for integrating information literacy and academic literacy: Helping undergraduate students make the most of scholarly articles

Abstract

Purpose

The article aims to describe challenges undergraduate students face in using scholarly articles and a workshop on reading designed to address those challenges. It seeks to present a study of senior public relations students' use, attitudes and confidence levels in using scholarly material.

Design/methodology/approach

Fourth‐year students who had participated in a reading workshop in their third year were surveyed before and after a workshop. The survey included qualitative questions on how students used scholarly articles, challenges they faced and strategies for using scholarly articles. A knowledge survey section assessed students' confidence levels in answering questions about a specific article. This section was re‐administered after the workshop.

Findings

Students use articles when they are required by assignments and/or to add authority to arguments. Students find jargon, length and mathematical aspects of articles challenging. They use a variety of strategies including summarizing, highlighting, and discussing articles with others. Some of these strategies correlated with higher knowledge survey scores.

Research limitations/implications

This was a relatively small study done on senior students in one course, but may be generalizable to students in other disciplines.

Practical implications

The study provides information on students' use of scholarly articles, and seems to indicate that instruction in techniques for reading has a beneficial effect on student attitudes and confidence levels.

Originality/value

The article provides direction for practice and research in information literacy instruction, expanding it beyond locating scholarly materials to interpreting and using them.

Citation

MacMillan, M. and MacKenzie, A. (2012), "Strategies for integrating information literacy and academic literacy: Helping undergraduate students make the most of scholarly articles", Library Management, Vol. 33 No. 8/9, pp. 525-535. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435121211279885