My presentation from EBSI-SIS Symposium at McGill University (March 2009)

1. Analysis of Japanese undergraduate students’
information behaviour during academic tasks in a
Canadian university
School of Information Studies
Ph.D. Student Yusuke ISHIMURA

2. Agenda
2
• Why international students?
• Aims of the research
• Methodology
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

3. International Student Population
Trends in Canada
3
80,000 20,000
70,000 18,000
16,000
60,000 China
14,000 United States
50,000
Population
Population
12,000 France
40,000 10,000 India
Korea, South
30,000 8,000
Japan
6,000 Iran
20,000
4,000 Hong Kong
10,000 Mexico
2,000
Pakistan
0 0
1995 1998 2001 2004 1995 1998 2001 2004
Year Year
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

4. Why Recruit International
Students?
4
• To promote campus internationalisation
• To obtain financial contributions to universities and
local community
• To recruit candidates for immigration and to
buildconnections to other countries
• To stabiliseenrollment levels
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

5. Information Literacy
5
Information literate individuals recognise information needs
and are able to find, evaluate, and use information effectively
to solve a particular problem or make a decision (American
Library Association, 1989).
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

6. Information Explosion
6
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

7. Why Is Information Literacy
Important?
7
Finding
topics
Locating
Writing
information
Academic
tasks
Using Evaluating
information information
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

8. Barriers to Information Access and
Use in North America
8
• Language
• Listening
Culture Language • Reading
in
general • Writing
Culture • Speaking
in
academe • Culture in academe
• Faculty’s expectations
• Teaching style
• Intellectual honesty
• Library systems
Barriers to information
access and use • Culture in general
• Culture shock
• Communication system
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

9. Struggles. . .
9
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

10. Limitations of Previous Studies
10
• Dealing with “international students”
• Based on students’ self-assessment
• Empirical versus librarians’ anecdotes
• Methodology selection
• Reassemble previous recommendations
• Students DO demonstrate various strategies to
overcome their barriers
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

11. Is This True?
11
Question:How do you usually “start” to locate wanted information?
From Liao, Y., Finn, M., & Lu, J. (2007).
Int’l students 1% 10% US students 2% 10%
2% 4%
8%
5%
29%
9%
49% 13%
17% 41%
Classmates/Faculty Reference resources Classmates/Faculty Reference resources
Textbooks/lecture Online catalogue Textbooks/lecture Online catalogue
E-resources Internet E-resources Internet
Others Others
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

12. Research Questions
12
This study is guided by a primary question with two secondary
questions:
 What are Japanese students’ information behaviours during
their research tasks?
 What factors (e.g., personality, education, and language) influence
information behaviour during the research task?
 To what extent do the behaviours demonstrate
information literacy?
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

13. Information Behaviour vs.
Information Literacy
13
Information behaviour Information literacy
(Wilson, 1999) (American Library Association, 1989)
Information needs Recognising information needs
Information seeking Finding information
Information use Evaluating and using information
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

14. Information Literacy Competency
Standards for Higher Education
14
• Created by Association of College
and Research Libraries Standard #1
(ACRL, 2000) Know
• Framework for assessing
Standard #5 Standard #2
individuals’ information literacy Ethical / Legal Access
skills
• 5 standards and 22 performance
indicators
Standard #4 Standard #3
• Includes ranges of outcomes Use Evaluate
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

15. Information Literacy Standard #2
15
Standard #2:
The information literate student accessesneeded information effectively
and efficiently.
• Outcomes:
• Selects efficient and effective approaches for accessing the information needed
from the investigative method or information retrieval system
• Identifies keywords, synonyms and related terms for the information needed
• Implements the search strategy in various information retrieval systems using
different user interfaces and search engines, with different command
languages, protocols, and search parameters
• Uses various search systems to retrieve information in a variety of formats
• Identifies gaps in the information retrieved and determines if the search
strategy should be revised

16. Research Framework
16
Students’ behaviour during academic tasks
Information behaviour model
(Process oriented)
Affects
Information Information Information
Context Personal
needs seeking use
Psychological
Social
Cultural
Corresponds with
Linguistic
Educational
Outcomes Outcomes Outcomes
Information literacy standards
(Outcome oriented)
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

17. Participants in My Study
17
• Japanese students as primary population
• Lessen diversity within population
• Language skills
• Foundation from previous study
• Students majoring in Humanities
• 3rd or 4th year students
• Likely to have writing assignments
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

18. Methodology
18
 Paper trail (journal and search log)
 Recording of their research process
 Reflection on their behaviour
 Search strategy and results
 Flowchart
 Process and decision making points
 Interviews
 Deep understanding of the behaviour and skills
 Final product
 Analysis of integration and use of information
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

19. Significance of the Study
19
• Providing foundation for understanding international
(Japanese) students’ research skills as needed for academic
success
• Contributing newknowledgeto the field of Library and
Information Science
• Providing opportunities for academic librarians
to better preparefor the emerging student population
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009

20. Selected Bibliography
20
American Library Association (1989). Presidential committee on information literacy: Final report. Retrieved December
18, 2007, from http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/whitepapers/presidential.cfm
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (2002). Making Canada more attractive to international students. Retrieved
March 29, 2008, from http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/reports/2002/foreignstu_e.pdf
Association of College and Research Libraries. (2000). Information literacy competency standards for higher education. Chicago:
Association of College and Research Libraries.
Eisenberg, M., Lowe, C. A., & Spitzer, K. L. (2004). Information literacy: Essential skills for the information age (2nd ed.).
Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Ishimura, Y. (2007). Information literacy in academic libraries: Assessment of Japanese students' needs for successful assignment
completion in two Halifax universities. Unpublished master's thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Kuhlthau, C. C. (1993). Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Kuhlthau, C. C. (1995). The process of learning from information. School Libraries Worldwide, 1(1), 1-12.
Liao, Y., Finn, M., & Lu, J. (2007). Information-seeking behavior of international graduate students vs. American graduate
students: A user study at Virginia Tech 2005. College & Research Libraries, 68(1), 5-25.
Statistics Canada (2007). University enrolments for international students, by institution, and by country of citizenship, annual
(number), 1995/1996 to 2004/2005. Retrieved December 10, 2007, from Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS).
Varga-Atkins, T., & Ashcroft, L. (2004). Information skills of undergraduate business students: A comparison of UK and
international students. Library Management, 25(1/2), 39-55.
Y. ISHIMURA EBSI-SIS Symposium 27 March, 2009