Information literacy skills of engineering students

Abstract

Information literacy is one of the critical digital-age literacies for higher education. Students need to be information literate to cope with the challenges in further studies and future profession. Assessment of students’ information skills is important to determine how information literate they are. This study describes the results of an information skills assessment and has identified the skills that need improvement. It has also identified the type and format of resources students most frequently use in course assignments. The respondents in the study were diploma-level engineering students who had undergone at least three semesters at a Malaysian college. Data were collected using a survey instrument adapted from Mittermeyer and triangulated using a citation analysis of student bibliographies in an essay assignment. The results of this study show that the respondents seriously lacked the necessary knowledge and skills to evaluate internet information, to identify the most efficient search strategy, to use scholarly resources, and to use information ethically. Most scholarly resources used were books in print format, while most non-scholarly resources referred to were in electronic format. This study implies the importance of information literacy assessment as the first step in improving students’ information skills. It also indicates the need to encourage students to use more scholarly electronic resources in their coursework. It is suggested that a larger sample of students be used in order to be more representative of the engineering student population. An intervention program should also be introduced to improve students’ information literacy skills.