Assisting students to identify sources: an investigation

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 624-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Faix

Purpose – This study aims to look at three classes of first-year students enrolled in an Information Literacy course and examines the difficulties these students encountered when attempting to identify different types of information. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, 41 annotated bibliography assignments, in which students were required to state which type of source they had chosen and why were examined and trends in the misidentification of sources were analysed. Findings – Students in the study misidentified half of the sources they used, and struggled equally when identifying sources they located through library databases and the Internet. Trends in the misidentification of these sources were analysed, leading to recommendations for assisting students with learning how to identify sources. Research limitations and implications – Although the sample size of this study was small, further research into how students identify different types of information would help librarians develop further strategies for teaching source identification as a first step in the source evaluation process. Originality/value – Librarians and writing instructors often collaborate to help first-year college students learn how to evaluate the sources they use in research projects, but often overlook making sure these students can first correctly identify the different types of information they are evaluating.

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIA NANCY Q. CADOSALES

First year students take time to adjust to college life. A number of priorities are considered in order to survive in the tertiary level. One of which is complying with the academic requirements. The study described the study skills of the first year students in the College of Education, La Salle University, Ozamiz City, Philippines. The framework used in identifying the study skills of the first year students was adopted from Lucas and Corpuz (2007:4).These study skills were correlated to the students’ academic performance using Kendall’s Tau B, Chi-square, and Multiple Regression tests. There were 128 first year students who were taken as respondents of the study. The study reveals that the first year students have the skills in organizing and planning their work, preparing assignments or projects, and note-taking and reading. The students’ skills in organizing and planning one’s work; working with others and utilizing resources and feedback; note-taking and reading; and preparing an assignment/project correlate with their grades. The best predictor of students’ academic performance is note-taking and reading. First year college students need to develop the habit of studying their lessons, reading, and taking down notes to improve their academic performance.Keywords: Education, study skills, academic performance, descriptive design, Philippines


NASPA Journal ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua S. Smith ◽  
Ellen C Wertlieb

First-year college students’ expectations about "what college is like" do not always align with their actual experiences. This study examined 31 first-year students’ social and academic expectations and compared those expectations with students' experiences at the middle and end of their first year of college. Paired t tests revealed that students' academic and social expectations did not align with their first-year experiences. Academic and social expectations/experiences were not statistically significant predictors of first-year academic achievement. However, students with unrealistic high social or academic expectations had lower first-year grade point averages (GPAs) than students with average or below-average expectations. Recommendations for increasing high school and college collaboration to assist students with the transition to college are included.


Author(s):  
Krista M. Soria

This study explored differences between working-class and middle/upper-class first-year college students enrolled at large, public research universities. Results from administering the Student Experience in the Research University survey at 11 universities in 2010 (n = 23,331) suggest that working-class first-year students reported a less welcoming campus climate, lower academic engagement, higher academic disengagement, and fewer academic interactions with classmates compared with middle/upper-class students. Recommendations for first-year transition programs and new student orientation practitioners are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ceceilia Parnther ◽  
Daniel Collier

PurposeThe study aimed to explore how student recipients of a full-tuition scholarship envision, define and experience mentorship and the types of relationships they have and expect from mentors. The study adds to the growing body of literature on mentorship as supplemental support for college student success.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews of 20 first-year college students in the Mid-West United States were collected as a part of a more extensive mixed-methods study. The authors used a four-phase process to refine, derive meaning and develop themes. Kegan's orders of consciousness explain how students make meaning of mentorship.FindingsStudents described mentoring as a service that could provide specific transactional features. Ten participants were unable to acknowledge a mentoring relationship at all, despite describing mentoring experiences and opportunities. Students often align with Kegan's second order, which focuses on self and valuing transactional, short-term relationships. Adjusting approaches to explaining mentorship and the value of building relationships appear to be an opportunity for research and practice.Originality/valueThis study illustrates an apparent disconnect between the intent of mentorship and the experiences of mentees. The students' experiences add a valuable perspective that supports the need to further refine mentoring practices in meaningful ways to impact student success, persistence and retention.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 136-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frits Schreuder ◽  
Rene Schalk ◽  
Jeroen de Jong

Purpose This study aims to examine reciprocal exchange in teams using a psychological contract (PC) framework. Adopting Rousseau’s conceptualization of the contract, the authors explore the extent to which the team members reciprocate perceived team obligations and fulfilment by adjusting their own obligations and fulfilment. A new scale for the measurement of obligations and fulfilment was developed. Team commitment was hypothesized as a mediating variable. Design/methodology/approach The new PC scale was tested in a longitudinal study design. A survey of a representative sample of 230 Dutch first-year college students nested in 73 teams was conducted. Findings The authors found that in student teams, perceived team obligations at Time 1 are positively associated with perceived member obligations at Time 2. Furthermore, they found higher commitment to the team as the team fulfilled the obligations as perceived by its members. Contrary to the exchange theory, in student teams, perceived fulfilment of obligations at Time 1 is not reciprocated by more obligations of its members at Time 2. No significant mediating effects are found of team commitment. Originality/value To date, this study provides the first measurement of contract fulfilment in non-hierarchical team relationships. The instrument can act as a tool to assess future team effectiveness and performance and adjust team composition accordingly.


Author(s):  
Weiqi Mu ◽  
Dongyun Zhu ◽  
Yanhong Wang ◽  
Fugui Li ◽  
Liyuan Ye ◽  
...  

First-year college students’ adaptation problems and related mental health have attracted researchers’ attention. The current research focuses on the depressive symptoms of first-year college students and aims to explore the relationship between the neuroticism trait and depressive symptoms, the mediating effect of addictive use of social media, and the moderating effect of psychological resilience. Three-wave longitudinal data from 1128 first-year students at a university in Fujian Province, China, were collected within three months of their enrollment. PROCESS macro for SPSS with bootstrapping was used to test the model. Results showed that the prevalence of moderate to severe severity of depressive symptoms in first-year students was 10.28% (T1) and 11.17% (T3). Addictive use of social media (T2) plays a moderated mediator role in the relationship between neuroticism (T1) and depressive symptoms (T3) of first-year students. Specifically, a low neuroticism individual does not necessarily have a less addictive use of social media. Psychological resilience (T1) moderated the above mediation. Implications for research and practice are discussed.


Author(s):  
Beverly G. Dyer ◽  
Daniel P. Nadler ◽  
Michael T. Miller

Female college students experience unique dimensions to their transition to college. Traditional orientation programming has begun to address the needs of female students, but these efforts have typically not provided the holistic attention deserving of this population. The current report was a case study of 605 female first-year college students, their perceptions of an orientation program based on the CAS Standards, and the differences between Multi-Ethnic and Caucasian females.


Author(s):  
Stefania D. Petcu ◽  
Dalun Zhang ◽  
Yi-Fan Li

Using data from the 2019 CIRP Freshman Survey and the Your First College Year (YFCY) from the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, this study explores the differences between the characteristics and behaviors of the first-year students with autism spectrum disorders (17) and those of students with learning disabilities (102). The findings indicate that the characteristics of these two groups of first-year college students were similar except for gender, ethnicity, first college generation, and parents’ income. Compared with first-year college students with LD, students with ASD were less likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors, use health services and the writing center.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Scott Tharp

The development of college students’ cultural competence is important in an increasingly diverse world. This exploratory, qualitative, action research study examined how 158 first-year students understood and applied core concepts after participating in a standardized diversity and social justice lesson plan designed using transformative education principles. Three student affairs staff conducted content analysis on credit-bearing reflection papers submitted after participation in the lesson plan. Data were manually coded and collectively analyzed revealing themes regarding students’ abilities to accurately discuss multiple core concepts, demonstrate internalized responsibility, and indicate self-growth, all of which were related to students’ conceptual understanding and intrapersonal application of concepts. Implications are discussed for designing curricular and cocurricular diversity initiatives that utilize a multiplicity of concepts and social identities, promote intrapersonal development, and explore systems of privilege and oppression as part of the transformational learning process.


Author(s):  
Sherry A. Woosley

This study focused on survey response, which was defined simply as the completion of a survey. It examined connections between survey response and college student characteristics. It also investigated whether survey response predicted educational outcomes, including retention. The study focused on a cohort of first-year students at a mid-size, 4-year public university. Eighty percent of the students responded to a survey administered during their first semester. Survey response was linked with high school percentile rank and sex. Survey response was also a significant predictor of first semester grade point average and retention to the second year. The findings suggest that survey non-response may be an early warning indicator for first-year students. Also, the findings suggest that research based on surveys may be overlooking a sub-population (non-responders) that could affect the validity of those models.


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