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Article
Publication date: 15 August 2019

Anne R. Diekema, Caitlin Gerrity and Paula Mitchell

Ideally, information literacy instruction is sequenced throughout students’ academic careers, reinforcing and building on earlier instruction. The purpose of this exploratory…

Abstract

Purpose

Ideally, information literacy instruction is sequenced throughout students’ academic careers, reinforcing and building on earlier instruction. The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify structural problems that potentially impact student learning. This research surveyed school librarians and academic instruction librarians along the K-20 pipeline to capture information about their instruction programs, their pedagogical approaches and their perceptions on student information literacy skills at points of transition.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a 58-item survey instrument to capture the perceptions on elements of information literacy instruction from school librarians and academic instruction librarians in the state of Utah. The exploratory survey generated 255 eligible responses.

Findings

The study identifies several areas where the information literacy pipeline has challenges: staffing, scheduling, curriculum integration, teacher collaboration and student assessment. Suggestions for improvement include providing educational support for paraprofessionals, facilitating cross-institutional collaboration and creating a scope and sequence document that spans the entire educational spectrum paired with specifically teaching for transfer.

Research limitations/implications

The study was limited to surveying the perceptions of library employees who teach students information literacy as part of a school or university. Study findings imply that better support for information literacy learners requires increased collaboration across the pipeline.

Originality/value

Information literacy education is often siloed – in the way it is taught, studied and discussed. This research is unique in that it explores the information literacy pipeline as a whole, as each level of instruction is related to the next and studying a single section might obscure larger issues.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 47 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 July 2022

Shreyesh Doppalapudi, Tingyan Wang and Robin Qiu

Clinical notes typically contain medical jargons and specialized words and phrases that are complicated and technical to most people, which is one of the most challenging…

1062

Abstract

Purpose

Clinical notes typically contain medical jargons and specialized words and phrases that are complicated and technical to most people, which is one of the most challenging obstacles in health information dissemination to consumers by healthcare providers. The authors aim to investigate how to leverage machine learning techniques to transform clinical notes of interest into understandable expressions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors propose a natural language processing pipeline that is capable of extracting relevant information from long unstructured clinical notes and simplifying lexicons by replacing medical jargons and technical terms. Particularly, the authors develop an unsupervised keywords matching method to extract relevant information from clinical notes. To automatically evaluate completeness of the extracted information, the authors perform a multi-label classification task on the relevant texts. To simplify lexicons in the relevant text, the authors identify complex words using a sequence labeler and leverage transformer models to generate candidate words for substitution. The authors validate the proposed pipeline using 58,167 discharge summaries from critical care services.

Findings

The results show that the proposed pipeline can identify relevant information with high completeness and simplify complex expressions in clinical notes so that the converted notes have a high level of readability but a low degree of meaning change.

Social implications

The proposed pipeline can help healthcare consumers well understand their medical information and therefore strengthen communications between healthcare providers and consumers for better care.

Originality/value

An innovative pipeline approach is developed to address the health literacy problem confronted by healthcare providers and consumers in the ongoing digital transformation process in the healthcare industry.

Article
Publication date: 31 August 2021

Tessa Withorn, Jillian Eslami, Hannah Lee, Maggie Clarke, Carolyn Caffrey, Cristina Springfield, Dana Ospina, Anthony Andora, Amalia Castañeda, Alexandra Mitchell, Joanna Messer Kimmitt, Wendolyn Vermeer and Aric Haas

This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of…

5385

Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2020.

Findings

The paper provides a brief description of all 440 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

Originality/value

The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested in a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 49 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 October 2023

Reijo Savolainen

To elaborate the picture of credibility assessment by examining how participants of online discussion evaluate the informational credibility of conspiracy theories.

Abstract

Purpose

To elaborate the picture of credibility assessment by examining how participants of online discussion evaluate the informational credibility of conspiracy theories.

Design/methodology/approach

Descriptive quantitative analysis and qualitative content analysis of 2,663 posts submitted to seven Reddit threads discussing a conspiracy operation, that is, the damage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022. It was examined how the participants of online discussion assess the credibility of information constitutive of conspiracy theories speculating about (1) suspected actors responsible for the damage, (2) their motives and (3) the ways in which the damage was made. The credibility assessments focussed on diverse sources offering information about the above three factors.

Findings

The participants assessed the credibility of information by drawing on four main criteria: plausibility of arguments, honesty in argumentation, similarity to one's beliefs and provision of evidence. Most assessments were negative and indicated doubt about the informational believability of conspiracy theories about the damage. Of the information sources referred to in the discussion, the posts submitted by fellow participants, television programmes and statements provided by governmental organizations were judged most critically, due to implausible argumentation and advocacy of biased views.

Research limitations/implications

As the study focuses on a sample of posts dealing with conspiracy theories about a particular event, the findings cannot be generalized to concern the informational credibility conspiracy narratives.

Originality/value

The study pioneers by providing an in-depth analysis of the nature of credibility assessments by focussing on information constitutive of conspiracy theories.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 18 July 2013

Jennifer D. Ward and Thomas S. Duke

This chapter describes a collaborative teaching and action research project undertaken by an academic librarian and education professor at the University of Alaska Southeast. The…

Abstract

This chapter describes a collaborative teaching and action research project undertaken by an academic librarian and education professor at the University of Alaska Southeast. The authors collaborated to develop and teach a series of three distance-delivered (i.e., e-learning) graduate-level courses designed to strengthen the information literacy and research skills of in-service teachers of grades P-12 enrolled in the M.Ed. in Special Education degree program at our university. Many of the teachers enrolled in this program lived and worked in one of the more than 200 geographically isolated, sparsely populated, and predominately Alaska Native communities that are scattered across Alaska’s vast terrain. We interviewed some of our graduate students after they completed their programs of study to evaluate the effectiveness of our instruction and to better understand the information literacy experiences and needs of teachers in rural Alaska. We discuss the theoretical context of our teaching and research, the instruction and research we conducted, and what we learned.

Details

Developing People’s Information Capabilities: Fostering Information Literacy in Educational, Workplace and Community Contexts
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-766-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2016

Latisha Reynolds, Samantha McClellan, Susan Finley, George Martinez and Rosalinda Hernandez Linares

This paper aims to highlight recent resources on information literacy (IL) and library instruction, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of…

4467

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight recent resources on information literacy (IL) and library instruction, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and IL published in 2015.

Findings

This paper provides information about each source, describes the characteristics of current scholarship and highlights sources that contain either unique or significant scholarly contributions.

Originality/value

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and IL.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 44 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 August 2019

Nicole A. Beatty and Ernesto Hernandez

The purpose of this paper is to examine the theoretical concept of socially responsible pedagogy because it applies to teaching information literacy.

1029

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the theoretical concept of socially responsible pedagogy because it applies to teaching information literacy.

Design/methodology/approach

At Weber State University, two librarians use a socially responsible pedagogical approach, combining critical information literacy and visual literacy to teach an undergraduate information literacy course.

Findings

Initial results suggest that the course design and the authors’ approach to socially responsible pedagogy are largely successful based on students’ application of course material to a signature assignment in the course.

Research limitations/implications

Data are limited because this approach was only used for two semesters. The authors are aware that a socially responsible information literacy classroom needs quality assessment to help make instructional decisions, evaluate teaching strategies and assist with ongoing student learning. Additional semesters of using this instructional approach will allow for reflection and critical inquiry into the theories and teaching strategies that currently inform instruction. Early implications of using this method of instructional design reflect students’ deep understanding of the importance of information literacy because they explore social justice topics.

Practical implications

The practical implications of this research reveal a theoretical framework for teaching critical information literacy, called socially responsible pedagogy. The theory looks at teaching based on the “spirit” of the course, which is the promotion of equality. It also looks at “the art” of designing an information literacy course, incorporating socially responsible pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching and critical information literacy. This study also looks at “the science” of assessment and offers suggestions on how one might go about assessing a socially responsible information literacy class. Moreover, the authors examine how visual literacy helps teach information literacy concepts in the course as students put together a signature assignment that meets both information literacy course objectives and general education outcomes.

Social implications

This general review of the theoretical concept of socially responsible pedagogy is limited to two semesters of information literacy instruction. In researching these topics, students situate themselves within a diverse worldview and work to promote awareness and advocacy through group presentations.

Originality/value

While librarians are exploring critical librarianship and social justice, many are not using socially responsible pedagogy combined with other social theories and images to help students work through the research process and develop information literacy skills.

Article
Publication date: 11 October 2020

Tessa Withorn, Joanna Messer Kimmitt, Carolyn Caffrey, Anthony Andora, Cristina Springfield, Dana Ospina, Maggie Clarke, George Martinez, Amalia Castañeda, Aric Haas and Wendolyn Vermeer

This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography…

8479

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2019.

Findings

The paper provides a brief description of all 370 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

Originality/value

The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 48 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 November 2013

Anna Marie Johnson, Claudene Sproles and Robert Detmering

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

8977

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Design/methodology/approach

Introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.

Findings

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

Originality/value

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 41 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 October 2018

David Brennan and M. Elizabeth Davidson

While the important role of information literacy instruction as a central service in academic libraries is well observed in scholarly literature, there has been little examination…

Abstract

While the important role of information literacy instruction as a central service in academic libraries is well observed in scholarly literature, there has been little examination of the impact of the rapid increase of instructional duties on practicing librarians, whose traditional instruction duties have expanded or whose positions have not traditionally required leading a classroom. The study in this chapter explores librarians’ perceptions of the impact that increased instruction tasks have had on their day-to-day and long-term goals, perceptions of the support they receive in performing their instructional duties, and what types of instruction training they have received throughout their career. The ways in which the addition of instruction duties for librarians have been perceived by the librarians themselves as they strive to increase support for instructional services without impacting the library’s ability to continue to perform traditional public and technical services functions is discussed as a marker of the future needs of the field and the necessity of recognizing professional strain.

Details

Challenging the “Jacks of All Trades but Masters of None” Librarian Syndrome
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-903-4

Keywords

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