First Year Students and the Research Process: Hearing Students' Voices

Abstract

Westminster College librarians interviewed first year students after they completed a research paper. The retrospective interviews were designed to elicit student narrative about the research process. Findings include a greater understanding of student use of prior knowledge in topic selection, struggles with the complexity and unfamiliarity of academic research, students' confusion around the use and citation of information, and help-seeking behaviors. By hearing student voices, librarians and faculty can collaborate to craft responsive and effective learning opportunities for the development of students' information literacy. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013.