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Information Literacy: Assessing Assignments

This guide is designed to assist students and faculty with understanding and engaging with information literacy.

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There are resources on assessing information literacy assignments in the the bibliography for this guide. Click here or on the Additional Resources tab above.

Assessing Student Research

The Information Literacy Checklist

The IL checklist provides proposed standards faculty can use to create an assessment tool of their own for their individual research assignment. You may use all or some of the following standards when evaluating student research. In evaluating student research, it is helpful to have a standard tool that allows the faculty member to compare students to the standard to determine their level of success in completing the research project. Below are some suggested standards faculty can use to evaluate student research-based assignments. 

Suggested Standards for Evaluating Student Research

  • The student used resources beyond book and journal materials (e.g. World Wide Web resources, technical reports, personal interviews), if appropriate.
  • The research question chosen for the paper was succinct and clear.
  • The materials referenced in the body of the paper were accurately cited. 
  • The topic chosen was sufficiently narrow to allow the student to research it thoroughly. 
  • The bibliography demonstrated that the student had chosen those resources most pertinent to the research question rather than listing everything available on the topic. 
  • The bibliography included a variety of resources (e.g. scholarly journals, popular journals, and newspaper sources). 
  • The materials used in the bibliography were both historical and current (if relevant) and presented in a standard style format. They included a sufficient number of primary sources (when appropriate) and included a sufficient number of secondary sources. 
  • The student's paper demonstrated that the student: 
    • could distinguish between fact and fiction.
    • could differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information.
    • identified the author's purpose and point of view accurately.
    • identified unsubstantiated statements.
    • identified inconsistencies, errors, and omissions.
    • identified bias, stereotyping, or incorrect assumptions.
    • could compare and contrast different points of view properly.
    • included his/her original ideas.
  • The student understood and used consistently a uniform system of documentation (citation format).

**Used with Permission from University of Maryland University College Library (http://www.umuc.edu/library/)

The Credo InfoLit Pre & Post Test are also tools that you can use to assess information literacy. Both the Pre & Post-tests are available on the Information Literacy Tutorial in Canvas as well as quizzes to go with each of the modules.

Student Learning Outcomes

These SLOs were created to go with the course "Beyond Google: Foundations of Information Literacy & Research"

By the time students graduate, they will be able to:

  1. State/Identify what is needed (Research as Inquiry)
    • Form questions for research of an appropriate scope, based on information gaps or by reexamining existing information
    • Select research methodology(ies) based on need, circumstance, and type of inquiry
    • Evaluate information from a variety of perspectives in order to shape their own knowledge base
    • Demonstrate persistence, adaptability, and reflection as components of inquiry
    • Organize information systematically in order to reflect on inquiry
  2. Choose/Select resources (Information Creation as a Process)
    • Distinguish between format and method of access, understanding that these are separate entities
    • Articulate the capabilities and constraints of various processes of information creation
    • Select a source that best meets an information need based on the audience, [and] context, and purpose of various formats
  3. Search available resources (Searching as Strategic Exploration)
    • Design and refine search strategies as necessary, based on search results
    • Identify and understand how information systems (i.e., collections of information) are organized in order to access relevant information
    • Reflect on the search process for the purpose of refining searches, persisting in the face of challenges, and knowing when there is enough information to complete the information task
  4. Evaluate materials within the resources (Authority is Constructed and Contextual)
    • Identify markers of authority recognized by disciplines, professions, and other communities of knowledge and practice
    • Identify authoritative information sources based on the information need
    • Debate the ways privilege influences perception of authority
    • Acknowledge that they themselves may be seen as a developing authority in particular contexts and recognize the responsibilities this entails
  5. Synthesize the materials to solve a problem or create a product (Scholarship as Conversation)
    • Contribute to the scholarly conversation by becoming a creator or critic
    • Identify the contributions that particular information sources make within an ongoing conversation
    • Describe the way that systems privilege some perspectives and present barriers to others
  6. Cite sources used (Information has Value)
    • Identify publication practices for how information is accessed and valued
    • Recognize that intellectual property is a legal concept that is socially constructed according to different professions or communities
    • Give credit to the original ideas of others through attribution and/or formal conventions
    • Manage personal and academic information online with an understanding of the commodification of that information