The Critical Role of Information Retrieval in STEM Information Literacy

ABSTRACT

Searching databases for peer-reviewed journal articles is a traditional mainstay of STEM information literacy instruction. This paper examines the barriers that STEM students face in learning to access and use the peer-reviewed literature. Database searches of students, ranging from the freshman to the post-doctoral level, were studied over a period of five years and a method consistent with the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education was developed to address the barriers. The potential value of the method is considered within the context of the roles of STEM peer-reviewed literature in scholarship.

KEYWORDS:

• ACRL framework
• database searching
• information literacy
• information retrieval
• library instruction
• STEM