Information Literacy research

We would like to invite Level 5 students to participate in a semi structured interview to discuss your experiences of searching for, evaluating and referencing information sources since you started your course at UWL.

3 February 2023

The Library would like to better understand some of the challenges facing students in finding useful material to read so we can adapt our classes and support to better assist students.

As a thank you for taking part, we will provide you with a £10 gift voucher. You will also be contributing to the development of information literacy at UWL and benefiting future students' education through your responses.

Hands on a table to show two women giving an interview with a man

How do I volunteer?

To volunteer to be interviewed, please email library@uwl.ac.uk.

What will happen at the interview?

If you are chosen to take part in the research, you will be invited to a 20 minute interview with a fellow student who is helping the Library to conduct this research. You will be asked some questions about your experiences of searching for, evaluating and referencing information sources since you started your course at UWL.

The interview will be recorded and the research team within the Library will then summarise your responses and use these, alongside other students taking part, to analyse the experiences of students.

If I volunteer, will I get interviewed?

We are aiming to interview students from a range of different subject areas. If we have already received enough volunteers from your subject area, we will add your name to a waiting list in case we need more volunteers. We are aiming to interview around 30 to 50 students across UWL.

A student in a blue and white jumper writes in a notepad in front of a computer

What is the aim of the research?

The purpose of this study is to better understand the needs of UWL students in finding, evaluating and referencing information sources. This will include information sources students are using to develop their knowledge in their subject area as well as using within assignments. The library typically runs classes on this topic within modules at level 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 as well as optional workshops and 1-2-1 appointments/drop ins. Information sources include sources made available via the physical and digital library as well as other digital sources.

Following this research, the Library will make changes to their Information Literacy classes and the support offered to students. They will also aim to publish these findings in a relevant publication so that other librarians can benefit from this research. The summary document from your interview will be made available to offer researchers via a creative commons licence to help them in their research. No information will be attributed to you in any way.

Will my taking part in this study be kept confidential?

All data which is collected about you during the research will be kept strictly confidential to the research team. Your contributions will be allocated to a unique code name so no information will be attributed to you in any way.

Further information and contact details

For general information about this research, please email library@uwl.ac.uk.

The library team look forward to hearing from you!