RESEARCH AS AN INQUIRY  

The purpose of higher education is to produce confident, independent, autonomous individuals who are able to actively participate in society through continuous development and lifelong learning. The Information Literacy module was developed to promote independent thinking and the student’s ability to interpret knowledge and make final judgments. As I work through this module I am discovering that its content and assessment methods have been adapted to encourage my participation and involvement as a student.

The previous lecture was based on the “research as an inquiry” frame

``Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.'' (Zora Neale Hurston)

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1982) defines research as ``careful search or inquiry after or for or into; endeavour to discover new or collate old facts etc. by scientific study of a subject''. In other words, research is a systematic process of collecting, analysing and interpreting information (data) in order to increase our understanding of the phenomenon about which we are interested or concerned (Leedy & Ormro 2005:2). From another perspective, research is the method used to add to knowledge in a field of discipline. We need to understand how to carry out research and what qualifies as good research both in the workplace and in our studies.

A teaching scenario for the Frame “Research as Inquiry.”

Conduct a research and submit a research report on : how the internet has affected the information behavior of post-graduate students at the University of the Western Cape

1.      What is the use of electronic resources compared to print sources?

2.      Where do postgraduate students access the electronic resources?

3.      Which online resources do postgraduate make use of?


Activities
-Students must identify the key concepts to find the relevant information on the topic, use the library catalogue and use sources that are in different formats.

-Write a background and an introduction to justify why is it necessary to conduct this research.
-Literature review to ascertain what are the findings of  other researchers who conducted the same report.
-Conduct interviews with post-graduate students.
-Use the library statistics to check the usage of the online resources.
-Present and analyse the data that you have gathered.
-Conclude and make recommendations for future.

Learning outcomes

Students must be able to:

Ø  Explain how research can contribute to the growth of knowledge in the field of information science

Ø  Analyse a range of research paradigms in order to gauge their appropriateness to the field of library and information science

Ø  Conduct and present a literature review using a variety of information sources

Ø  Evaluate and decide on the appropriate research methods to solve different research problems

Ø  Apply the principles and theories of conducting research projects

Ø  Use statistical tools to organise ,summarise and interpret data
Ø  Write and present a research report

How the activity relates to knowledge practice or disposition

Part of what students will learn in this activity is how to carry out research.

This entails the identification of a research problem, selection of a methodology to investigate it, analysis of the data and the writing of a research report. The second thing that they will learn, which is equally important, is how to evaluate research and what the criteria of good research are. Most articles and books that students read as part of their studies or for work purposes are based on research, and they need to be able to evaluate whether or not that research meets the criteria of good research. Students will make decisions based on other people's research and conclusions. If they are not able to evaluate the research for themselves, then it is very easy to make flawed and faulty decisions.

Scholarship as a conversation

1. Topic: Facebook as a learning tool or distraction.
2. Learning outcomes:
-Students must understand that no problem stands alone
-understand that they can also take part in the conversation, they belong to the disciplinary community and their views also count.
-Understand information as a commodity.

3. 1. Activity: Find two articles that are:

• for Facebook as a learning tool and 
• against Facebook as a learning tool, that is where Facebook is seen as a distraction

Divide yourselves into two groups  one group must support the Facebook as a learning and the other group must argue that Facebook is a distraction. The information from the journal articles must be used to support the arguments of both groups, power point presentation in class.

3.2 Comment on three professional blogs where Facebook is used as a learning tool.

2.3 Use the APA style to cite all the sources that you have consulted for the exercise.

4. 1. Students will learn that there has been a debate about Facebook

2. Be able to participate in the discussion

3. Be able to acknowledge information sources 

Threshold concepts

A very interesting  phrase, I assumed that the Information Literacy module will be about information retrieval and off course the ethical use of information. To my surprise this course is more that, i am learning new vocabulary and i am able to evaluate my way of thinking. 

I  may have grasped the threshold  concept in librarianship which is information but the role of the librarian is changing now, librarians have to participate actively in the educational process rather than gathering and disseminating information to the users. This course is equipping me with teaching skills that are needed when conducting training and workshops to users.

The image below defines the threshold concept in a simple and understandable manner.

  
 



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