MountainRise

Jean D. Hines
School of Family and Consumer Sciences
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

Mary E. Swinker
Human Development & Environmental Studies
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA

Diane K. Frey, Ph.D.
School of Family and Consumer Sciences
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

Kelly M. Broughton
Reference Coordinator
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

Abstract

A significant trend in higher education is the focus on information literacy and the inclusion of the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) into the curriculum. This study reports a teaching and learning strategy for integrating information literacy into merchandising instruction. Merchandising faculty and an academic librarian collaborated to develop problem-based assignments to integrate information literacy into two courses. Students learned computer retrieval systems, advanced search strategies using electronic research databases, and how to evaluate sources. Since integrating information literacy standards, the students are selecting more appropriate sources to complete their assignments and expressing less frustration in finding required information.

Often when students who lack information literacy skills are given complex research assignments, they complain of not finding information on the Internet about the topic, or they report unrelated information because it was among the top references provided by the search engine. Students also express frustration because, although they know how to use a computer, they are ineffective in finding credible or relevant information from sources such as government agencies, professional organizations, research journals, or periodicals.

As the amount of available information grows and the avenues to access it expand, students continue to struggle with the search process. Teaching and guiding students through the process of finding, managing, evaluating, and analyzing information is a challenge for librarians and educators alike.

Librarians began to address these concerns by developing the Information Literacy Standards for Higher Education (American Library Association, 1989; Association of College & Research Libraries, 2000) and courses that focus on information literacy skills. Faculty in academic disciplines in many institutions are being encouraged or even required to include information literacy in their programs with some already incorporating it in course objectives and learning outcomes.

While several researchers have reported a positive relationship between information literacy and learning (Carey, 1998; Chung, 2003; Garland, 1995; Stripling, 1995; Todd, 1997), the best delivery method for teaching information literacy skills is currently being debated. This study proposes teaching strategies for the inclusion of information literacy into merchandising programs by working collaboratively with librarians on discipline-specific projects.

Information literacy is a set of skills used by individuals to "recognize when information is needed and the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information" (Association of College & Research Libraries, 2000, p.2). Information literacy includes topics such as information technology, critical thinking, synthesis in writing, and disciplinary knowledge. "Ultimately, information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people prepared for lifelong learning, having the skills to find the information needed for any task or decision at hand" (American Library Association, 1989).

On January 18, 2000 the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Board of Directors, adopted five standards developed by the ACRL Standards Committee on Information Literacy. The standards state that an information literate student:

The ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards are perceived as a landmark in higher education for articulating information literacy (Arp & Woodard, 2000). Despite an increasing recognition of the importance of information literacy, there is little concrete discussion in how to implement it into academic disciplines (Cunningham & Lanning, 2002; Grafstein, 2002). One of the most debated issues is the effectiveness of teaching information literacy as a stand-alone information literacy course (Johnston, B. & Webber, S., 2003; Shapiro& Hughes, 1996). According to Grafstein (2002), many studies have emphasized the teaching of generic skills related to the general process of retrieving and evaluating information, as opposed to the skills required for acquiring knowledge or doing research in a specific subject area (p.197).

While this can offer a convenient and concentrated way to systematically reach students, many librarians and educators believe that separating information literacy from the subject content of students' majors lessens the impact. It makes it more difficult for them to make the connection between information literacy outcomes and what they may view as the skills they will need in the "real world" (Bruce, 1997). To this end many colleges and universities are encouraging academic librarians and faculty members to collaborate to achieve specific information literacy learning outcomes in courses or programs. In these cases the librarians may assist the faculty in developing assignments, teach modules related to information literacy within the department's courses, or team-teach with departmental faculty (Black, Crest, & Volland, 2001; Booth & Fabian, 2002; Bruce, 1997; Cunningham & Lanning, 2002; Grafstein, 2002).

To incorporate information literacy into this merchandising curriculum, collaboration among faculty members and librarians was established. Information literacy was integrated into two courses, an introductory merchandising course and an advanced course on global sourcing. The faculty members provided the context for learning, structured problem-solving assignments to encourage information seeking, and monitored students' progress. The academic librarians provided the framework for seeking, selecting, and evaluating appropriate resources for the assignment.

Introductory Course. In the introductory course, a career exploration report was assigned where students were required to investigate two careers in merchandising and one company where they could work in one of the two careers. They had to gather both general information about the careers and specific information about the career in the identified organization. The information search focused on the first competency standard developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL): "The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed" (Association of College & Research Libraries, 2000, p. 8). The emphasis was on increasing awareness of the scope and breadth of business and trade sources available to solve problems by using retrieval systems, learning the strategies for searching information sources, and using multiple sources in many locations and formats to complete the assignment.

Students spent one class period in the library computer lab with the librarian. The librarian created an interactive class web page identifying both print sources and links to web sites appropriate for the assignment (see a portion of the website in Figure 1). The web page listed reference books on careers, occupational outlooks, and private and public companies. Active web site links to sources for the apparel industry, business and finance reports, search engines, and citation formats were provided. The librarian also introduced them to the library web page, explained the process for searching the library catalog, and instructed them on constructing a simple search using appropriate keywords.

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CAREER & OCCUPATION REFERENCE BOOKS

Chronicle Guidance Briefs CD-ROM Ask at the Reference Desk
Describes the occupation and the skills and education needed. It also discusses earnings potentials and lists resources for further information.

Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance REF HF 5382 .E52
A 4-volume guide by occupation. It includes job descriptions and outlooks.

Professional Careers Sourcebook REF HF 5382.5 .U5 P76
Listed by job categories, this book gives sources such as books, chapters, periodicals, associations, and Web sites for further career study.

Occupational Outlook Handbook REF DESK L 2.3/4
This handbook produced by the U.S. Department of Labor, includes descriptions of the occupation, working conditions, training & qualifications, outlook and earnings.

COMPANY INFORMATION IN REFERENCE BOOKS

Hoover's Handbooks REF HG 4057 .A286213 (Annual)
These handbooks on American public companies, private companies, world companies and emerging companies provide an excellent 1 - 2 page summary of a company's history, financials, outlook, brands & subsidiaries, and key competitors.

Directory of Corporate Affiliations REF HG 4057 .A219
Eight volume set includes public, private and international companies. The layout gives a nice presentation of a corporate family and it has a brand name index.

RESEARCH DATABASES FOR INDUSTRY AND TRADE INFORMATION

Business and Industry
Contains the full text of articles from titles such as WWD, Textile World, and Daily News Record.

Business Source Premier
Contains the full text of articles from Apparel Magazine, Bobbin, and others.
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Figure 1: Abbreviated Web Page Designed for the Career Exploration Report.

Global Sourcing Course. In the upper level course, the search for information was more advanced. The information literacy focus was on the second, third, and fourth ACRL competency standards: "The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently," "The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system," and "The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose" (Association of College & Research Libraries, 2000, pp. 9, 12). Instruction in information literacy skills was structured to be more complex than in the previous course and involved students constructing and implementing advanced search strategies and evaluating the sources for validity of the information. These skills were essential as teams investigated textile and apparel production in developing countries, to determine where production of private label merchandise for their fictitious company could take place. As part of the assignment, students completed an annotated bibliography that was due prior to the final report.

To ensure their success in advanced search strategies, the students again received instruction from the librarian in the library computer lab. Instruction included analyzing print sources, using research databases, refining searches, and critically evaluating print and electronic sources.

Each team was given a reference book that related to the sourcing project such as, the Encyclopedia of Global Industries, International Trade Statistics Yearbook, and Guide to the World's Major Emerging Economies. Team members used a form similar to the one in Figure 2 to evaluate their print source. Emphasis was on how valuable the information was to the assignment. Each group shared with the rest of the class a summary of their findings.

Reference Book: International Trade Statistics Yearbook

How do you use this book or how is it arranged?

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Figure 2. Form used to analyze print sources.

The librarian introduced students to appropriate electronic research databases for the project and instructed them in how to access them. Students had an opportunity to search one of several database available through the university library. Each group of two students was assigned a database such as the Business Source Premier, which indexes nearly 3,000 full text scholarly journals, to search for information. Using the form in Figure 3, they searched for information about their developing country. They recorded the keywords used and the limits they set on the search as well as the results. The librarian instructed the students in the importance of changing or adding keywords, using Boolean operators, and setting limits on searches to try to focus results to relevant sources. Some student groups shared their search strategies with the librarian who then projected them for the benefit of the entire class to see. This allowed the class to see a variety of databases and appropriate ways to limit and focus the number of hits for a search. This teaching strategy was designed to develop the information literacy skills included in the second and fourth ACRL Information Literacy Standard.

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Figure 3. Form used to record the results of the database search

Students used a web page evaluation form to critically analyze the credibility of information retrieved from the World Wide Web. They used search engines to find information about out-sourcing in developing countries. They selected one of the web sites (hits) from their search and used the form to evaluate its validity (see Figure 4). This lesson was designed to develop the information literacy skills included in the third ACRL Information Literacy Standard.

Answer the following questions about your web page. Answer NA if the information is not available.

Who is the author? What are his or her credentials?

If there is an organization affiliated with the site or its author, what is its purpose or intent?

If there is advertising on the page, does it influence the material's contents? Is the advertising clearly separate from the resource contents?

When was the site last updated? Is the currency of this information important for your research?

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Figure 4. Form used to evaluate a web site.

After the library session, there were opportunities for the students to continue the information literacy learning process on an individual or team basis. Librarians were available to answer students' questions by email, through online chat sessions, or by scheduling an hour appointment specific to their project. This extended the information literacy learning process through the completion of the project and further reinforced the concepts learned.

Adding the information literacy component to the merchandising curriculum has been effective. Since its inclusion, the students are using a variety of information types and formats to complete their assignments, expressing less frustration in finding required information, and selecting more appropriate sources than in previous years when instruction was not provided.

A comparative analysis of the annotated bibliographies and reference lists submitted by the students for the global sourcing assignment before inclusion of the information literacy component to those after its inclusion show a substantial difference in the type and amount of information retrieved and used in the assignment. Before the inclusion, the mean number of sources cited in the final written report was four and the mean number of sources searched was eight (the minimum number required in the assignment). Most of the sources used at that time (54%) resulted from using Internet search engines.

After inclusion of the component the mean number of sources cited in the final written report was eight and the mean number of sources searched was15. Over 75% of the sources used by students were from articles retrieved from research databases, government documents, or trade-related print sources available in the campus library.

Another important qualitative change that has occurred with the addition of the information literacy component is that students no longer have problems finding credible and relevant information for their reports. Prior to the inclusion, over 60% of the teams would complain about not being able to find information, especially related to the textile and apparel industry in their regions. The majority of the earlier reports we mainly focused on the region in general with very little or no information on the textile and apparel industries, especially from reliable resources. The type of information has shifted dramatically, with the majority of the report now on textile and apparel production and trade.

Information literacy has been added as one of the learning outcomes in the merchandising program. Inclusion of Information literacy skills is imperative since students will be entering a profession based on change and innovation. The rapid expansion of information and multiple ways to access electronic sources poses new challenges for students and professionals. They need the ability to effectively access, manage, focus, and evaluate information.

Over the three years the faculty and librarians have collaborated, the faculty members have recognized the need to integrate information literacy with the computer literacy (information technology) and writing skills competencies already in place. Not only are students expected to be resourceful in finding information, but they must also have technological skills needed to search, write, and produce various academic projects. After a successful information search, communication skills are necessary to articulate ideas in appropriate written form. Skills in computer literacy and English composition are important components of successfully integrating information literacy into a merchandising curriculum. The three skills complement each other and impact the content and presentation of projects.

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