How the 'Undergraduate information and digital literacy' report will help you:
- Develop digital services that meet the changing needs of your undergraduate students
- Deliver impactful digital and information literacy support services to help students get the best out of their academic studies
- Implement practical recommendations regarding information and digital literacy to positively impact students’ academic success and future employability
- Use independent evidence about students’ needs and behaviours to engage academic colleagues in joined-up thinking around digital and information literacy strategy
- Understand how you can support students away from potential cheating and plagiaristic behaviours through knowledge and skills development
More about the undergraduate information and digital literacy project
This research project, completed July 2018, was based on extensive quantitative and qualitative insight with undergraduate students. 21 students took part in a qualitative online diary task over a period of five days and 10 in-depth interviews were then conducted. The data gathered from this qualitative stage of the study was then used to inform the design of the survey which a total of 2,002 respondents completed, with an additional boost of 100 Scottish respondents. The findings from the survey then informed the design of an additional online qualitative community, which 87 students took part in over a period of four days.
The full report captures new evidence about their information and digital literacy, skills, attitudes and behaviours and includes a review of the existing literature, an executive summary and practical recommendations.
Report contents include:
- How students approach finding and managing information for their studies, including their behaviours, journeys and tools?
- How students use digital technologies and information sources in their wider lives and how wider experiences of digital technology shape students’ expectations of what a library should be like
- To what extent students are developing their digital and information literacy skills at university and the role the library is playing in this development
- How confident students perceive themselves to be, and how able are they when finding, managing and using information online
- What students expect from their university library with regards to digital technology and information literacy
- How expectations compare to experience.
Project partners
This project was developed in partnership with a number of clients who helped to shape the research design through our collaborative University Futures model. With thanks to:
- Aston University
- University of Leicester
- UCL (University College London)
- University of York
- Brunel University
- University of Reading
- University of Glasgow
- University of Huddersfield
- University of Dundee
- University of Liverpool
- University of Aberdeen