Information literacy of university freshmen, and differences in ict use, internet confidence and motivation
pp. 254-263
in: Serap Kurbanolu, Joumana Boustany, Esther Grassian, Diane Mizrachi, Loriene Roy (eds), Information literacy in everyday life, Berlin, Springer, 2019Abstrakt
The study explored the differences in information literacy (IL) and related characteristics of freshmen majoring in chemical education. 126 students were divided into two groups, based on the results of an IL test: the IL stronger and the IL weaker group. Students also took surveys on ICT use, Internet confidence and motivation. Results showed a 20% mean difference in the overall IL score, with the IL weaker group being significantly less successful in over half of the IL test items, and having the biggest knowledge gap in information searching and ethics issues, when compared to the IL stronger group. The biggest cognitive divide occurred on the level of understanding. The groups did not differ much in overall ICT use, but the IL stronger group was significantly more confident when using the Internet. The motivation levels were similar, except for the controlled external motivation, in which the IL weaker group scored higher.