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Article
Publication date: 27 February 2018

Karlene Patricia Robinson, Karlene Saundria Nelson and Jessica Claire Lewis

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative merits of thesis consultation with a librarian prior to graduate submission and to explore whether thesis consultation has a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative merits of thesis consultation with a librarian prior to graduate submission and to explore whether thesis consultation has a significant impact on the quality of the theses submitted by postgraduate students.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a quantitative case study approach. The total number of thesis scrutiny reports written by librarians between 2009 and 2014 has been reviewed for errors found in theses. Errors have been classified as referencing errors and formatting errors. These have been compiled in a spreadsheet and analyzed using the SPSS statistical package.

Findings

This paper highlights that thesis consultation has had a positive impact on the quality of the theses students submitted for examination at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. Thesis consultation with a strong focus on referencing clearly assisted students learning and applying different citation styles. There was a decrease in the number of referencing errors over time. Not much difference was seen in terms of formatting errors. Further tests showed that there was a statistically significant positive relationship between thesis consultation and the number of referencing errors made by graduate students.

Practical implications

This study may have implications for the engagement of academic libraries with their graduate communities. With thesis consultation, a librarian may scrutinize the same thesis more than once. Although this may increase the workload of librarians, thesis consultation/scrutiny will have a positive impact on the quality of research produced by graduate students.

Originality/value

This study shows that students benefited from thesis consultation and there was a significant reduction in citation errors. In reviewing the literature, it has been noted that research done in the area of thesis consultation was very limited; hence, this study significantly contributes to the body of knowledge that presently exists.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 46 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 February 2022

Karlene Saundria Nelson and Yolanda V. Tugwell

This study investigated how students of the Faculties of Humanities and Education and Social Sciences at a Caribbean University sought information during the COVID-19 pandemic…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated how students of the Faculties of Humanities and Education and Social Sciences at a Caribbean University sought information during the COVID-19 pandemic, identified challenges they experienced in seeking information for academic tasks and how satisfied they were with the Library's provision of electronic resources and services during this period.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative survey design was adopted for this study. Data were collected using an online questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.

Findings

This study revealed that undergraduates relied upon lecture notes to complete assignments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Undergraduate students have developed a definite information-seeking pattern, which did not change during the pandemic. They tend to use information channels that require the least effort. Postgraduate students used a variety of Library information channels but primarily used electronic journals. On the whole, students experienced challenges while seeking information via the channels provided by the Library. Students were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the Library's provision of electronic resources and services.

Research limitations/implications

The study used non-probability sampling and only included students from two faculties at one university. As a result, the findings may not be generalized to the entire student population or all Caribbean universities.

Practical implications

The results of this study can be used to identify the difficulties students are having in accessing information from the Library and gauge service delivery.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the scholarship from the Caribbean written to show whether students' information-seeking behaviour changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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