Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Conclusion
The main purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how students at
Istanbul University behave when seeking information for their course-related
research, and whether factors such as academic level and discipline influence this
behavior. An online user study was conducted to answer these questions. Although
there were some variations, the findings of the survey were generally consistent with
the current literature, and emphasize that information behavior tends to vary by
academic level.
There is an ongoing discussion in library and information science literature that
claims students lack information literacy skills and use public web resources rather than
university libraries. This study seems to support these claims, showing that students
strongly prefer quickly and easily accessible resources, whether they are the university
library's online resources, or general Internet sources. On the other hand, this study also
indicates that students need help to use the library's services and resources, as well as
finding and evaluating web resources. This finding clearly shows that students need
support when undertaking and understanding the nature of research.
It is of course unfair and unreasonable to expect this of university students who
were not taught information literacy at secondary school. Therefore, Istanbul
University's Central Library should provide library instruction throughout the term,
and raise awareness among students about the services and resources that are
available by working with the faculty libraries. Additionally, as mentioned in the
ACRL report (2000), incorporating information literacy across curricula, in all
programs and services, and throughout the administrative life of the university,
requires the collaborative efforts of faculty, librarians, and administrators. Through
collaborative efforts, faculty establishes the context for learning and inspires students
to explore the unknown, librarians evaluate resources and provide library services and
instruction, and administrators create opportunities for collaboration and provide
ongoing resources to sustain information literacy initiatives.
It is also critically important to develop a national strategy and/or framework in
collaboration with an authoritative body (such as the National Ministry of Education)
in order to provide principles, standards, and practices that can support information
literacy education in all education sectors.
The chief limitation of this study was its relatively small sample size. For this
reason, these findings cannot be generalized to the broader community based on this
research alone. Therefore, more in-depth research should be conducted using a more
diverse sample at different institutions in Turkey, including public and private
universities, in order to generalize these initial findings. However, the results of this
study may at least provide a solid foundation for promoting an information literacy
initiative at Istanbul University.
Acknowledgments.
The research reported in this paper was funded by the Research
Fund of Istanbul University (34890). I am thankful to the participating students who
willingly took part in this study. I am also grateful to the faculty, staff and librarians
of Istanbul University for cooperating me in the course of my study.
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