Marshall University Information Literacy Survey

This survey was designed to evaluate information literacy skills at Marshall University. It is based on current research surrounding universities and information seeking behavior. This survey includes authentic tasks related to effective searching, narrowing topics, and citing sources, and it aims to measure comprehension of these types of topics. Your answers will help to shape future information literacy instruction at Marshall University.

Please answer every question below. If you do not know the answer, do not guess. Simply check “I am not sure”. All the information you provide is confidential.

Question Title

1. Please indicate your current academic level

Freshman

Sophomore

Junior

Senior

Graduate Student

Doctoral Student

Faculty

Staff

Other (please specify)

Question Title

2. Which category below includes your age?

17 or younger

18-20

21-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60 or older

Question Title

3. What is your major?

Anthropology

Communication Studies

Criminal Justice

Economics

English

French

Geography

German

History

Humanities

International Affairs

Japanese

Latin

Political Science

Psychology

Sociology

Spanish

Other (please specify)

Question Title

4. In your opinion, which of the following statements best describes the purpose of the library?

A building that houses books, magazines, journals, and computers, all of which are made available to students and faculty

A building that houses books, magazines, journals, computers, and librarians who can help students and faculty find academic resources

A partner in research that provides academic resources, support in the use of scholarly text, and instruction related to information retrieval and citations

A partner in research that provides academic resources, support in the use of scholarly text, and instruction related to any course that the campus provides

I am not sure

Question Title

5. Your professor suggests an article that is unavailable at your library. Your first instinct is to:

Look for the article on the web

Ask a librarian for help in locating a copy

Ask your professor to make a copy of the article for you

Access the article through interlibrary loan

I am not sure

Question Title

6. After describing your term paper topic to your professor, she recommends an article by Bruce Pourciau in the most recent publication of the American Journal of Physics. What would be your first step in trying to access the electronic version of this article?

Conduct a Google search

Search the library website

Search the library catalog

Go directly to the American Journal of Physics website

I am not sure

Question Title

7. Based on the descriptions below, which resource would be the most appropriate reference for a paper on modern environmental issues?

A nonprofit organization’s environmental blog, which is updated daily

Rachel Carson’s classic book, Silent Spring, which helped launch the environmental movement

A peer-reviewed journal, titled Environment, Development and Sustainability, which is released once every two months

World Wildlife Fund Chairmain Russell E. Train’s book titled Politics, Pollution, and Pandas: An Environmental Memoir

I am not sure

Question Title

8. How does a scholarly journal differ from a popular magazine?

A scholarly journal contains only text

Scholarly journals contain original research with a focus on a particular discipline

Sources are cited when the journal can afford to pay the extra fees for additional pages

Scholarly journals only publish articles from individuals with some experience in their field

I am not sure

Question Title

9. You are researching Communism, but you would like to receive fewer results related to Vladimir Lenin. You can refine your search by entering the following into the search box

Communism < Lenin

Communism > Lenin

Communism NOT Lenin

Communism AND Lenin

I am not sure

Question Title

10. You are taking an introductory course on American History. For your term paper, you would like to write about the American Civil War, but your professor believes this topic is too broad. Which of the following is an example of properly narrowing this topic?

Comparing and contrasting the American Civil War with World War II

Discussing the battles that took place during the American Civil War

Discussing the American Civil War weapons that were used by General Robert E. Lee

Discussing the role of women during the Civil War

I am not sure

Question Title

11. While doing research online, you find a statistic that you would like to include in your paper. Do you have to cite the source of the statistic in your paper?

No. Only print resources need to be cited

No. Only direct quotations need to be cited

Yes. When it comes to references, include as much information as possible

Yes. When it comes to references, include information based on style guides

I am not sure

Thank you for completing this important survey.

For questions or comments in regards to this survey, please contact Christine Lewis at lewis47@marshall.edu or Shiva Darbandi at shiva.darbandi@credoreference.com.

100% of survey complete.