Assessing Information Literacy of Graduate Students in Electronic Environment (Case Study: Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz) Fa

Soheili, Faramarz; Khasseh, Ali Akbar; Askari, Hojatallah

doi:10.22055/slis.2022.39921.1871

Assessing Information Literacy of Graduate Students in Electronic Environment (Case Study: Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz) Fa

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Faramarz soheili ¹

Ali Akbar Khasseh ¹

Hojatallah Askari ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Knowledge and Information Science, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

² Department of Knowledge and Information Science, Payame Noor University, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22055/slis.2022.39921.1871

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Information literacy skills in the electronic environment are one of the essential skills. Without these skills, students cannot be sufficiently successful in their scientific and research affairs. Therefore, graduate students do not access electronic information sources due to their weaknesses in information search. The aim of this study was to assess the information literacy of graduate students in electronic environment in Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.
Methodology: This research is an applied study in terms of its purpose, and in terms of method, it is mixed research. The simultaneous mixed method is used to examine a variable quantitatively and qualitatively at the same time, and at the end of the work, the results of the quantitative and qualitative parts are combined and will answer the research questions. In the qualitative part of the research, the case study method has been used. Thematic analysis is a method to recognize, analyze and report patterns in qualitative data. In this section, the participants included 3 faculty members of Knowledge and Information Science and 5 library managers who participated in the research in the form of focus groups. The focus group method is one of the most common methods of data collection in qualitative research, which is used to collect information and investigate the problem. In this research, a focus group was used to identify the challenges of conducting appropriate searches in electronic collections by graduate students. Quantitative part of the research was a descriptive-survey study. The statistical population in a small part includes 4443 graduate students of Shahid Chamran University, of which 354 people have been selected by the stratified sampling method. The data collection tool in this section was using a standard questionnaire (B-TILED) designed by Beile (2005). By localizing this questionnaire, this version contains 32 questions with a five-point Likert scale (from very little to very much). This questionnaire consists of demographic sections, knowledge of library services, search strategy, knowledge of using electronic resources, evaluation of information literacy, citation, ethical considerations and copyright. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire. The results of Cronbach's alpha coefficient showed that the questionnaire and its components have acceptable reliability (0.94).
Findings: The results show that the graduate students of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz have a relatively good information literacy in the electronic environment. The significance level obtained in the section of knowledge status of library services is 0.001, which is less than the significance level of 0.05. In fact, this part of the results shows that the average value of the knowledge of library services among graduate students of Shahid Chamran University is less than the standard number and the knowledge of library services in the electronic environment is not at an optimal level. Also, the significance value for the elements of search strategy, knowledge of electronic resources, ethical considerations and copyright is 0.001, which is less than the significance level of 0.05. This part of the results shows that the graduate students of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz have a desirable situation in the electronic environment in terms of search strategy ability, knowledge of electronic resources, ethical considerations and copyright. A significant value for citation status equal to 0.202 has been obtained and this value is higher than the significance level of 0.05. This means that the difference between the standard number and the average obtained is not significant and it is not possible to judge whether the citation situation is desirable or undesirable among students. This numerical difference between the standard number and the obtained average can be affected by chance or the introduction of disturbing variables. The results of the data analysis indicated that there is no significant difference in the information literacy status of graduate students of Shahid Chamran University in the electronic environment according to gender. The analysis conducted on the information literacy status of graduate students of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in the electronic environment according to the educational level shows that there is a significant difference between the two groups. So that doctoral graduate students have a better situation than master's students regarding information literacy in the electronic environment. Qualitative data analysis led to the identification of 40 basic themes and 4 organizational themes related to challenges (including information, skills, organization, software and hardware challenges) and thematic analysis led to the identification of 27 basic themes and 3 organizational themes. These organizing themes include knowledge enhancement, skills enhancement, and systems updating mechanisms for better search by graduate students when properly searching electronic collections.
Discussion: Although the information literacy situation of graduate students of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in the electronic environment is favorable, but the challenges identified in this study affect the information literacy of students in the electronic environment. To overcome these challenges, libraries can enhance students' information literacy through knowledge and skills development.

Keywords

Information Literacy

Information Behavior

Search Strategy

Electronic Environment

University Libraries

Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

Subjects

Information Behavior

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