Skip to Main Content
Frequently Asked Questions
Submit an ETD
Global Search Box
Need Help?
Keyword Search
Participating Institutions
Advanced Search
School Logo
Files
File List
Final Dissertation REVISED - BLUNDELL 4.20.2015.pdf (2.88 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
A Descriptive Phenomenological Investigation of the Academic Information Search Process Experience of Remedial Undergraduate Students
Author Info
Blundell, Shelley
ORCID® Identifier
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9374-6108
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1429452955
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2015, PHD, Kent State University, College of Communication and Information / School of Information.
Abstract
This dissertation discusses the qualitative study which explored the academic information search process (AISP) experience of a group of undergraduate students enrolled in a remedial English course at a four-year, state university in Ohio, USA. The researcher used descriptive phenomenological methods to ascertain how participants explained and described their AISP experience, conducted to fulfill the requirements for the course-assigned research paper. Library and information science research bears out that an efficient AISP is connected to the possession of strong information literacy skills, and further, that strong information literacy skills are `intertwined’ with learning and academic progress in general. Because remedial undergraduate students are an academically at-risk population and have much lower graduation rates than their college-ready peers, this researcher wanted to create a research foundation for further investigation into this greatly understudied area in library and information science, toward finding practical ways to address remedial undergraduate students’ hampered academic progress through targeted, needs-based information literacy instruction. Primary findings from the study included the discovery of a pervasive sense of academic hopelessness in participants; the impact that seeking support services’ assistance had on participants’ AISP experience, particularly when their assistance failed participants; and the influence that `ecological’ factors (such as general perspectives on course instruction, feelings and emotions related to the study’s course, and previous college experiences) had on participants’ AISP experience. This study has implications for remedial educators and library and information science practitioners, and for targeted information literacy (IL) instruction. Specifically, this researcher recommends that collaborative IL instruction created through partnerships between remedial educators and academic librarians might be one way to help students overcome their sense of `academic hopelessness’ when conducting AISPs. Additionally, this researcher suggested that instructors consider using multi-modal learning objects within IL instruction and that remedial undergraduates be allowed to autonomously guide their own IL learning process. This researcher plans to engage in broader, quantitative study with similar student populations in the future to gain a deeper understanding of their information needs and behaviors, and ultimately create IL instruction which aids these students improve academically and persist toward graduation.
Committee
Yin Zhang, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Pages
274 p.
Subject Headings
Curriculum Development
;
Education
;
Educational Evaluation
;
Educational Tests and Measurements
;
Higher Education
;
Information Science
;
Instructional Design
;
Library Science
;
Teacher Education
;
Teaching
Keywords
Remedial undergraduate students, information literacy instruction, academic information-seeking, descriptive phenomenology
Recommended Citations
Refworks
EndNote
RIS
Mendeley
Citations
Blundell, S. (2015).
A Descriptive Phenomenological Investigation of the Academic Information Search Process Experience of Remedial Undergraduate Students
[Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1429452955
APA Style (7th edition)
Blundell, Shelley.
A Descriptive Phenomenological Investigation of the Academic Information Search Process Experience of Remedial Undergraduate Students.
2015. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1429452955.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Blundell, Shelley. "A Descriptive Phenomenological Investigation of the Academic Information Search Process Experience of Remedial Undergraduate Students." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1429452955
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
Abstract Footer
Document number:
kent1429452955
Download Count:
10,631
Copyright Info
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.