Information Literacies of PhD Students: A Hermeneutic Dialectic Study within the Health Sciences

Abstract

Doctoral studies offer a unique phase in the development and legitimisation of researchers, in which PhD students shift from consumption to production of knowledge. While literature exists concerning the information behaviour of graduate students and researchers, there is little work which focuses specifically on the information literacies of PhD students within the health sciences. To better understand this user group, we undertook a qualitative study at the Research School of Health and Welfare in Jönköping, Sweden. Twelve open-ended interviews with both PhD students and their supervisors were conducted and analysed according to a hermeneutic dialectic process. Findings revealed that the supervisors commonly assumed that PhD students already have necessary information literacy skills. Yet some of the students self-reported feeling uncertain when searching and getting ‘stuck’ with one strategy. Responses also indicated that the PhD students and their supervisors were often unaware of what services and support the library could provide.