1. Building and Strengthening Upper Level
Research Skills with Captivate Tutorials
Mark Vargas, Library Director
Anne Buchanan, Assistant Librarian
Saint Xavier University Library

2. Purpose of the Session
Provide overview of the research skills of SXU students
Review common research problems
Use of tutorials as assignments to raise information-literacy

3. Research Skill = Information Literacy
The ability to find, evaluate, and use information
It is NOT computer literacy
It is NOT media dependent

4. If students were research (information) literate they could…
Understand the scholarly, peer-reviewed process
Find and use resources appropriate for their classroom assignments
Conduct all their academic research without using Google or Wikipedia

5. What is the Current State of Information Literacy?

6. Librarians’ Perspective
Librarians were aware of problems
No chance for a library research course
Limited role in general education classes

7. Observations from the Library
Limited awareness of the scholarly, peer-review process
Perceived research skills exceed actual capabilities
Students, at all levels, have difficulties finding
books
journals, whether in print or online
the appropriate database to use

8. ICT
ETS offered Information and Communication Technology exam beginning in 2005
Library funded the exam the first two years
Now called I-Skills, and supported by SXU

9. What the ICT does
Compares results from SXU students with those of peer nationwide
Is not a computer-skills test

10. Seven ICT Proficiencies
Define: The ability to use ICT tools to identify and appropriately represent an information need.
Access: The ability to collect and/or retrieve information.
Manage: The ability to apply an existing organizational or classification scheme.
Integrate: The ability to interpret and represent information.
Evaluate: The ability to determine the degree to which information satisfies the needs of the task in ICT environments.
Create: The ability to generate information by adapting, applying, designing or inventing information in ICT environments.
Communicate: The ability to communicate information properly in its context of use for ICT environments.

11. ICT Results
SXU students performed well below the national average in three categories; just met average in the other categories
Gave the Library quantitative data to make this a major issue

12. Common Instructional Problems

13. Major Environmental Changes
We learned in an age of limited information
Students have access to levels of information beyond anything we could dream of in graduate school
Library now has information resources impossible to obtain just a few years ago

14. Common Problems…
Library assignments often don’t have a clear learning objective
Students don’t know why the assignment is made
Assignments don’t match the research skills of the students
Assignments are often too esoteric or too complex, especially for freshmen and sophomores

15. Use of Captivate Tutorials to Improve Information Literacy

16. Tutorial Purposes Built-in assessment
Standardize instruction on scholarly, peer-review process
Instruction as homework rather than in-class
Reduce duplicate instruction; reach more students

17. Tutorial Interactivity
Must engage students
Students choose info options
Students must input data, make choices, take quizzes
Must be completed by average student in about minutes

18. Examples of Tutorials Scholarly, peer review sources
Research v. review, abstracts, keywords
Finding primary research materials
Specialized nursing research
Evaluating statistical data
SWOT analyses

19. Testing Process
Initial tutorials tested on fellow librarians and staff
Drafts tested by complete classes
Continual tweaking based on feedback

20. Feedback Students Faculty #1 question: why didn’t I get this sooner?
Very helpful in understanding research concepts
Faculty
Very useful as homework assignments
Less class time needed for library instruction

21. What’s Next?
Library is implementing Worldcat Local service, integrating all research into one interface
Tutorials to emphasize evaluating and understanding data, not finding it
Expand faculty requiring the tutorials