why should i care about information literacy?
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TRANSCRIPT
Why should I care about information literacy?
Improving researchers’ competency in information handling and data management
Moira Bent – University of NewcastleStéphane Goldstein – RIN
Simon Hodson – JISC
Structure of workshop
◘ “Information handling and data management” = “information literacy”
◘ How does this relate to researcher development?◘ Information Literacy and the RDF◘ The 7 Pillars model of information literacy◘ What’s happening in practice?
– National initiatives– Personal experiences, perceptions and needs– Case studies
◘ An information literate graduate or/ and an information literate university?
What does information literacy mean to you?
◘ Choose top 3 statements◘We’ll record your top choice
Are you male or female? (give one answer)
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1. Male2. Female
0of49
Are you:
Postgra
duate student/p
...
Research
supervi
sor/m
a...
Teaching su
pport sta
ff/t...
Librar
y staff
Policy st
aff O
ther
0% 0% 0%0%0%0%
1. Postgraduate student/postdoc
2. Research supervisor/manager
3. Teaching support staff/trainer
4. Library staff5. Policy staff6. Other
What does information literacy mean to you?
Being a lif
elong learn
er
How/when to
use th
e librar
y
Able to se
arch fo
r and find in
fo/...
Understanding l
egal a
nd ethical ..
.
Manag
ing and cu
rating resea
rch ...
Using i
nfo to dev
elop ideas
Understanding t
he way
in w
hich ...
Ability t
o judge
the quality
and ...
Inter
preting,
summari
sing
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1. Being a lifelong learner2. How/when to use the library3. Able to search for and find info/data4. Understanding legal and ethical
issues around information/data5. Managing and curating research data
effectively6. Using info to develop ideas7. Understanding the way in which
information/data are disseminated8. Ability to judge the quality and
authenticity of information/data sources
9. Interpreting, summarising
An IL definition
Information literacy can be thought of as:
“Individuals building an awareness of how they use, manage, synthesise and create information and research data, in an ethical manner, together with the information skills to do so effectively, as part of their learning and research life. Information literacy is central to learning and essentially involves developing skills and competencies and changing learning attitudes, habits and behaviours so that people understand how information and research data fit into their learning and research”.
An Information Literacy Landscape
Does it matter?◘ Information and data as both the raw material and the product of
research: knowing how to handle it is truly important!– Foundation of the scholarly record– The imperative to share– The tendency to protect
◘ Information and data deluge – need for discrimination ◘ Importance of meeting standards and institutional/funders’
requirements (esp. for data)
◘ Quality versus quantity– Google = the wisdom of the crowd– Wikipedia is a celebration of the amateur”
◘ Digital Darwinism– The survival of the loudest and most opinionated– An endless digital forest of mediocrity
[Keen, A : The cult of the amateur (2007)]
How important is IL in the context of researcher development?
Crucia
l
Very im
portant
Fairly
importa
nt
Not v
ery importa
nt
Not a
t all i
mportant
Not r
elevant a
t all
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1. Crucial2. Very important3. Fairly important4. Not very important5. Not at all important6. Not relevant at all
What might motivate you to support or become more involved
with IL development?
More
time
More
reso
urces
More
guidance
/ su
pport
More
demand from use
rs
More
reward
Better underst
anding of ..
.
Don’t w
ant to beco
me ...
0% 0% 0% 0%0%0%0%
1. More time2. More resources3. More guidance /
support4. More demand from
users5. More reward6. Better understanding of
its relevance7. Don’t want to become
more involved
So, who’s interested?◘ Vitae
– Development of the RDF◘ SCONUL
– Development of the 7 Pillars model of Information Literacy– Linkage between 7 Pillars and the RDF: the former provides an
information/data ‘lens’ to the RDF◘ RIN
– Facilitation for all those with an interest– Working group on information handling and data management
◘ JISC – Data management skills projects– Support project for the above
◘ CILIP – Information literacy group
◘ And others…
The 7 pillars of Information Literacy: a research lens that can be applied to the
RDF
IDEN
TIFY
ASSE
SSPL
ANG
ATH
EREV
ALU
ATE
MAN
AGE
PRES
ENT
The Information
Literate Researcher
The research process
Nov
ice
Ex
pert
The 7 pillars of Information LiteracyIDENTIFY
• A researcher is able to identify a need for information
ASSESS• A researcher can assess their current knowledge and identify gaps
PLAN• A researcher can construct strategies for locating information and data
GATHER• A researcher can locate and access the information and data they need
EVALUATE• A researcher can review the research process and compare and evaluate information and data
MANAGE• A researcher can organise information and data and apply the knowledge gained
PRESENT• A researcher can present the results of their research, synthesising new and old information and data to
create new knowledge and can disseminate it in a variety of ways
Stage 6: Manage A researcher can organise information and data and apply the knowledge gained The researcher understands: ◘ Their responsibility to act with professional integrity and to be honest in all aspects of
research, especially information handling and dissemination (e.g. copyright, plagiarism and IP issues)
◘ The role they play in helping others in information seeking and management◘ The need to keep systemic records, for example of:
– search strategies and resources searched– resources found – resources used – research data
◘ The importance of sharing research data ethically without breaching data protection and informed consent of individuals
◘ The need to archive research data ethically ◘ The importance of metadata
Stage 6: Manage
The researcher is able to: ◘ Use the information and data found to address the research question ◘ Use appropriate bibliographical software to manage information◘ Cite printed and electronic sources using suitable referencing styles◘ Create appropriately formatted bibliographies◘ Demonstrate awareness of issues relating to the rights of other
researchers and research participants, including ethics, data protection, copyright, plagiarism and IP issues
◘ Set standards of conduct for academic integrity◘ Identify data curation opportunities to ensure that research data is
ethically stored for re-use in other projects ◘ Use data management software to manage and curate research data
Researcher Development Framework
◘ RDF recognises the importance and place of information literacy
◘ Several competencies in the RDF are explicitly relevant, notably:– Information seeking– Information literacy and management– Synthesising– Evaluating– IPR/copyright– Attribution/co-authorship– Publication
Need for joined-up approach: RIN working group
◘ “A focal point for the discussion of issues relating to the effective development of information-handling training for researchers in HE… Advocating for and promoting the need for greater coordination and a more strategic approach across the UK with regard to the provision of such training for HE researchers.”
◘ Current membership includes Vitae, CILIP, SCONUL, RLUK, British Library, JISC, DCC, UKCGE, HEA as well as RIN
◘ More organisational membership welcome!
JISC and data management skills◘ Projects to promote research data management skills
in HEIs, through designing and piloting discipline-focused training units for postgraduate courses.
◘ Aim is “to encourage means by which skills and capacity for data management and curation in HEIs may be increased. It aims to promote the transition to embedded training in management of research data within the academic curriculum.”
◘ […] projects have recently been funded, covering a range of disciplines
Group work
Each group to consider one of four sub-domains from the RDF and identify any statements which have an information literacy element
1. Highlight key elements / priorities2. Discuss what you might do to develop the IL related
competencies in the sub-domains3. List what you might need (resources, support, etc) to
take forward any such initiatives.
Also note examples from your own organisation of any of these elements in practice
Some instances of good practice
◘ Newcastle◘ Glasgow Caledonian◘ Loughborough◘ Leicester
◘ Importance of documenting examples through such resources as Vitae database of practice – RIN working group taking the lead in this activity
Did you find this workshop useful?
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Very useful Fairly useful Interesting but n... Not very useful Not at all useful
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relevant4. Not very useful5. Not at all useful
I plan to apply what I’ve learned in my own institution
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Yes No
1. Yes2. No
Over to you!
Please use the post-it notes to leave comments on any aspect of the workshop
For example:What do you think about the activities of
RIN/SCONUL/JISC? Is the 7 pillars model helpful? Is information literacy / info and data handling important?
References
• RDF: www.vitae.ac.uk/rdf • 7 Pillars:
http://www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/information_literacy/sp/model.html
• RIN initiatives: www.rin.ac.uk/information-handling-training
• JISC data management skills projects: www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2010/03/410dataskills.aspx
Thank you for taking part!Moira Bent [email protected] 0191 222 7641
Stéphane [email protected] 020 7412 7303
Simon [email protected] 3006 6071
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Postgraduat... Research su... Teaching su... Library staff Policy staff Other