College & Research Libraries 1990 51 (5): 448-462
A taxonomy of instructional objectives for search behavior was used to develop a quiz that measures skills in three domains of search behavior (affective, cognitive, sensorimotor) at three levels of competence (basic, intermediate, advanced). A computer-based education system known as PLATO was used to test an online interactive measure of information searching competence on three populations of university students (n = 69). A rationale is presented for measuring these three domains of search behavior by means of three corresponding types of quiz items (true/false, multiple choice, and fill-in). Implications for bibliographic instruction are explored, including the desirability of tailoring teaching activities to build up three corresponding types of memory for search behavior: affective memory, cognitive memory, and sensorimotor memory.
Leon James a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Diane Nahl is a Professor in the Library and Information Science Program in the Information and Computer Sciences Department at the University of Hawaii, Manoa
|
Statements of
instructional objectives for bibliographic instruction usually have included
only cognitive items.' Recent trends in instruction have recognized that
teaching and learning involve the three traditional domains of human affairs:
affective for feelings and attitudes; cognitive for knowledge and reasoning;
and sensorimotor for perception and action.2 There is an
increasing awareness in librarianship of the advantage in considering all
three domains of behavior when organizing activities for users, as
exemplified at a Mary land public library where toys in the collection are
categorized according to the major areas of child development in the three
domains.' A handbook on teaching library instruction includes instructional
objectives in the three domains.4 The categories "feelings,
thoughts, and actions" are used in a study on the stages students go
through in the library research pro cess.5 A library resource
workbook was revised to include exercises designed to part skills in all
three domains.6 Similarly, our intention was to develop a balanced
curriculum for information searching |
competence for university
students, making certain that all three domains were adequately represented.
TAXONOMY OF INFORMATION
SEARCHING COMPETENCE
From the behavioral
perspective, searching is a threefold activity. The searcher first feels an
information need or motive, then plans a seek-and-find strategy, and finally,
executes it. Information needs provide the motive power for searching
behavior. Planning and decision making provide the means by which a need can
be fulfilled through performing an activity. This activity is goal-directed
(integrated), which means that the motive or goal continuously governs the
selection of steps to be executed. The goal contains a definition of what the
last step ought to be. Blocks to achieving success in this ultimate step are
also solved under the guidance of the ruling objective or goal. These
distinctions represent three traditional do mains of human endeavor: the
affective (needs, motives), the cognitive (thoughts, images), and the
sensorimotor (sensations, movements). |
|
A three-way
perspective on library behavior was recently proposed as a taxonomy of search
skills.7 Table 1 summarizes the taxonomy. Following the work of
Benjamin Bloom and associates on educational objectives, all possible search
activities that users can perform in a library are automatically defined as
separate skills. Three types of skills in human behavior are affective skills
(corresponding to feelings and motives), cognitive skills (corresponding to
thoughts and plans), and sensorimotor skills (corresponding to perceptions
and motor acts). Three stages of learning library skills within each of these
three behavioral domains are depicted in table 1. The nine cells or
categories from a matrix for localizing particular library skills according
to behavioral do main and level of expertise.
A searcher's
persistent attraction to learning the information searching pro- |
cess and striving to improve
are "affective skills." A searcher's abilities to develop effective
plans and make valid decisions are "cognitive skills." A searcher's
acuity in visual identification and prowess in maneuvering in dynamic
information environments are "sensorimotor skills." Three levels of
skills acquisition exist within each of the three behavioral do mains. The
nine categories represent different and independent aspects of the complex
behavior of learning to become a competent searcher. For example, category
[Al] (Affective domain, Level 1) is titled Affective Orientation and is
defined as "demonstrating willingness to practice library tasks, and
maintaining selective attention (= library adjustment versus library
maladjustment)." Category [C2] Cognitive domain, level 2) is titled,
Cognitive Interaction and is defined as "acquiring objective knowledge
of search se- |
TABLE
1
TAXONOMY OF LIBRARY SKILLS AND ERRORS
|
|
Affective
Domain |
Cognitive
Domain |
Sensorimotor
Domain |
|
|
A3
Affective
Internalization |
C3
Cognitive
Internalization |
S3 |
|
Level3 Internalizing the library |
Demonstrating support for the library
perspective on society and sea. |
Acquiring
personal knowing and subjective intuition of a scholarly discipline,
(=Disciplinary Connection versus Lacking Connection) |
Performing
cumulative searches in one's field and promoting the library in one's life. |
|
|
A2 |
C2 |
S2 |
|
Level
2 |
Demonstrating
continuous striving and value p references favorable to the library and its
system. (=Positive Library Attitudes versus Library Resistance) |
Acquiring
objective knowing of search sequences, their analysis and synthesis. |
Negotiating
search queries and performing a single, one-time search that meets a current
information need. |
|
|
Al |
Cl |
SI |
|
Level
I |
Demonstrating
willingness to practice library tasks and maintaining selective attention. |
Acquiring
representative knowing and comprehending library relevant distinctions. |
Performing
physical operations (hands-on experience, browsing and walking around)
(=library Exploration and Efficiency versus Library Avoidance and
Inefficiency) |
quences, their analysis and synthesis (= library search
protocol vs. idiosyncratic search protocol)."
ÝÝ
The taxonomy provides
a theory for developing instructional objectives in the acquisition of
information searching competence (ISC). Affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor
(ACS) objectives can be constructed for three levels: orienting to the
information environment (Li, basic); interacting with it (L2, intermediate);
internalizing its features (12, advanced). Quiz questions can then be
constructed to mea sure a student's feelings, comprehension, and performance.
This study was de signed to develop a half-hour online mea sure of a person's
current skills profile in the nine categories of information search behavior.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
FOR SEARCHING COMPETENCE
It was necessary to adapt the taxonomy to the topic of information
searching competence by following the definitions for the nine categories of
search behavior (as given in table 1). Table 2 is the result. The progression
in the affective domain from basic (L1) to advanced (L3) plots the development
of a person's struggle to over come techno phobia (general and specific). For
example, many students experience a general fear on entering a large library or
computer lab. At a basic level, they must learn to overcome this resistance
through accepting the ways of the new environment (adjustment) [A1]. However,
to ad-
vance they must in addition learn to be come supportive in
specific ways, such as appreciating and desiring to make use of the tools the
library provides [A2]. Lastly, users must learn to derive enthusiasm and energy
from the perception that they are improving [A3].
The progression in the cognitive domain is marked by first
learning how to interpret displays and acquiring necessary terminology ([C1] in
table 2); then, learning the classification scheme and how to deter mine search
steps [C2]; finally, acquiring familiarity and intuition about how information
is organized in disciplines and how professions disseminate findings [C3]. The
progression in the sensorimotor domain from basic skills ([E x] in table 2) to
advanced skills [S3], begins with recognizing the salient information elements
of a search problem. This involves learning to modulate the rhythm of visual
and motor acts, such as visually focusing on the information fields in an
entry, rather than randomly looking around, or walking ac cording to a plan
rather than aimlessly [S1]. In the next stage, users must go be yond merely
recognizing the literal meaning to identifying the background structure from
the foreground elements, such as distinguishing between title of article and
title of magazine [S2]. Ultimately library users must learn to incorporate
accuracy and standardization in their information recording, becoming regular
searchers as they develop into information specialists [S3].
TAXONOMY
OF BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES
FOR INFORMATION SEARCHING COMPETENCE (ISC)
Levels
Affective Domain
Cognitive Domain
Sensorimotor Domain
Level 3
Advanced
A3
Feeling
Empowered
C3
Acquiring
Familiarity and Intuition with Disciplines
S3
Practicing
Documentation Routines
Level
2
Intermediate
A2
C2
Understanding
Search
Strategy
S2
Identifying
Implicit Features
Level
1 Basic
A1
C1
Decoding
Information Displays and Terminology
S1
Recognizing
Information Elements and Locations
ÝÝÝ The content
areas in table 3 are not fixed, but reflect the focus of this study. Other
content areas should be explored, each with its own pool of questions.
Theoretically, an unlimited pool of potential questions exists within each
content area and category. The ISC measure is a technique to be adapted to
individual situations, rather than a fixed instrument.
ÝÝÝ Figure 1 portrays an overall perspective
on the distribution of instructional objectives for information search
behavior. The shaded grid of the cube is the same as the face of table 2. Questions
can be constructed for each of the nine categories of search behavior in any
number of content areas. For example, Reading Displays had [C1], [51], and
[S2] items. Of course, any content area can be measured in all of the nine
ÝÝÝ The author selected an online delivery system for making the
ISC quiz readily available to users, deciding on the PLATO computer-based
education system.'2 Questions were entered in the quiz format of
PLATO's Tutor authoring language. The question forms include multiple choice,
matching, yes/no, and fill-in items. Answers typed in are automatically
evaluated by PLATO's judging capacity, matching the alternatives supplied for
each item.Ý For example, in an item asking
the student to identify the month I a periodical index entry, acceptable
answers in include ìFebruary, ì îFeb,î ìF,î and ì2.îÝ In the case of writing a citation from a
catalog record, punctuation, capitalization, and order were ignored in
judging, so that an answer was scored incorrectly only for
Ýcategories.
omitting necessary
information or for misspelling.
ÝÝ Online statistics are available on the
choices selected by each student, and on the total time spent. A printout of
the film answers is obtainable, each person receives a random presentation of
the questions and immediate feedback on the correct answer. At the end of the
session the computer displays the number and percentage of correctly answered
questions. Students then have a chance to answer an online biographical
questionnaire and to add their personal comments.
RESULTS FROM ITEM
ANALYSIS
ÝÝÝ Table 3 presents the percent correct for
each of the seventy-one questions. These item analysis statistics are taken
from the PLATO records and are based on approximately 130 scores on the
average. This number varies slightly from item to item since the data
includes the attempts of people who didn't complete the test, as well as a
few trials by the PLATO system operators. Also included are retakes done by
some students. These cumulative percentages continually change somewhat but
tend to stabilize as more people take the quiz. The highest percentages are
obtained for the affective items, regardless of the level. An abnormally low
score (2%) is posted for the item on writing a citation (S3). The cognitive
and sensorimotor scores appear broadly distributed, thus measuring a variety
of independent skills. As well, the scores validate the levels, with level 3
items posting lower scores. Exact calculations are presented in table 4 for a
subset of scores isolating the three designated student populations.
RESULTS FOR
THREE POPULATIONS
ÝÝÝ From the perspective of teaching
information skills, the students in this study comprise three different
population groups: undergraduates, library and in- formation science graduate
students (LIS), and international graduate students who did not meet the certification
level on the TOEFL.13 The expectation was that the overall score on the ISC
measure would reflect the differences in information skills
TABLE 3
among the three populations.
Thus, the highest scores should come from LIS students and the lowest scores
from international graduate students. The undergraduates should produce
scores in between. The subjects took the online quiz in the computer lab at
their own convenience. No time limit was imposed, but they were told that the
quiz takes less than an hour to complete.
ÝÝÝ The results are presented in table 4. The average time to
complete the online quiz was thirty-four minutes. The differences among the
three samples are in the expected direction and are statistically highly
significant. The undergraduates' familiarity with the PLATO system might
account for their faster completion time.
ÝÝÝ In terms of percent correct, the three groups performed as
expected, with a mean of 74% for the library students, 59% for the
undergraduates, and 49% for the internationals. Statistically, this is a
highly significant effect despite the small samples. The sub-scores
corroborate the intended manipulation of three levels of development. The
questions in the basic level averaged out at 73%, intermediate level
questions at 53% and advanced, at 45%. This pattern was confirmed for each of
the three groups. Also, the expected difference among the three populations
is replicated at each level to a highly statistically significant degree.
"The concept of affective
library search errors recognizes that users' freedom of access to information
is restricted by irrational fears or unreasonable frustrations."
RESEARCH ISSUES
ÝÝÝ The concept of affective library search errors recognizes that
users' freedom of access to information is restricted by irrational fears or
unreasonable frustrations. These fears are evident in user self reports, as
in the following samples:
Content
Areas and Abbreviated Questions
ÝI appreciate floorplan maps
OPAC
COMMANDS (4)
Category of Skill Correct
[A1]
[A1]
[A2]
[A2]
[A3]
[A3]
[A3]
[A2]
[A2]
[C1]
[C1]
[C1]
[C2]
[C3]
[C2]
[C2]
[C2]
[C2]
[C2]
[C2]
[C2]
[C2]
[C1]
[C1]
[C3]
[C3]
[S1]
[S1]
[S1]
[S1]
[S1]
[S2]
[S2]
[S2]
[S3]
[S3]
[S1]
%
98
84
94
83
94
92
92
90
94
96
82
76
58
28
41
36
38
81
58
49
63
41
73
68
81
40
69
40
90
93
74
86
69
83
2
23
62
TABLE 4
PERCENT
CORRECT ON THE ISC QUIZ FOR THREE POPULATIONS
Time
Levels
Domains
Groups
N
(mins.)
Total
1
2
3
A
C
S
USStudents
11
35
74
89
81
56
92
75
60
I can tell you that I
had great apprehensions at the thought of having to do a library research
paper.
It shocked me to
visit a library with five floors compared with one floor, and I felt that I
was in another world.
Two weeks ago I
walked into the library lost and confused.
Here is another
description of the hectic time I spent looking for information on diet.
I was frustrated when
many of the articles that I looked up in the indexes were in magazines not
carried at the library.
The most frustrating
thing was trying to look for articles in the indexes.
Walking around the
library with a dazed and confused look on my face wasn't unusual.
The implication of
this evidence is that library services need to take explicitly into account
the affective behavior of users as well as their cognitive strategies and
sensorimotor actions.
Tests of library
skills generally have focused on the cognitive domain. Where affective as
well as cognitive skills are measured, the practice seems to be to obtain
separate scores for each domain.'4 A combined score, where two or
all three do mains are included, as in this study, reflects the integrated
nature of human behavior. While there are three discreet domains of behavior,
the three integrate in human interaction. As table 4 shows, the percent
correct is reported for each do main as well as the combined total percent
correct. Since it is the affective that makes the cognitive alternatives
available, people with a negative affective direction hinder their ability to
learn search strategies. Research and practice will indicate the
types of feedback that are best
for affective items, as distinguished from feedback for cognitive or
sensorimotor items. Scoring the items in all three domains as correct or
incorrect and obtaining a total score reflects the theoretical and
methodological properties of the behavioral taxonomy. Future studies will
explore the relation ship between cognitive and affective scores. In this
study all of the intercorrelations among the nine categories were too low to
reach statistical significance.
In future studies, a greater
variety of affective items will be used. The current items appear to be too
general, with aver age scores above 85 percent (see table 4). Affective items
of the following kind illustrate other directions for testing this do main:
Libraries should be small.
YES/NO [A2]
When I have to go to the
library I put it off as long as I can.
APPLIES TO ME/DOES NOT APPLY TO
ME
[Al]
When I'm doing research for a
paper, I feel that I am wasting a lot of my time.
APPLIES TO ME
FREQUENTLY/APPLIES TO ME SOMETIMES [All
When I'm doing research for an
assignment, I'm grateful that the library is well organized.
YES/NO [A21
When I leave the library, I
feel that my intellect is expanded.
SOMETIMES/NEVER [A3]
Learning how to find
information will help me in my future career.
DEFINITELY APPLIES TO ME/DOES
NOT APPLY TO ME [A3]
I like being in the library.
ALMOST ALWAYS/ALMOST NEVER [A3]
I love libraries.
ALMOST ALWAYS/ALMOST NEVER [A3]
The atmosphere in the
library is peaceful
ALMOST ALWAYS/ALMOST NEVER
[A3]
The library is too big and
impersonal.
ALMOST ALWAYS/ALMOST NEVER
[A3]
The library is too
frustrating. ALMOST ALWAYS/ALMOST NEVER [Al] I
don't like using OPAC.
YES/NO [A2]
I have to improve on using
OPAC.
YES/NO [A2]
I need to improve my
library research skills.
YES/NO [A2]
I feel I should be using
libraries more.
YES/NO [A2]
I am frequently embarrassed
to ask a librarian a question when I should already know the answer.
TRUE/FALSE [Al]
The library is the heart of
the academic and scientific community.
AGREE/DISAGREE [A3]
Library research should not
be required to get a bachelor's degree.
AGREE/DISAGREE [Al]
Libraries are wonderful and
fun.
AGREE/DISAGREE [A3J
It is important to continue
to use libraries after graduation.
AGREE/DISAGREE [A2]
Is not appropriate to ask
the librarian how to find information on personal problems? YES/NO [All
It is exciting to find
needed information.
YES/NO [A3]
It is not important to
continue to learn new ways of searching for information throughout life.
AGREE/DISAGREE [A2]
Whether or not I find what
I need in the library depends more on how much the library has on my topic
than on my own research skills.
AGREE/DISAGREE [A2]
To a great extent finding
information that I need
controlled more by chance
than by systematic
TRUE/FALSE [A2]
I can pretty much find on
my own whatever I need in the library.
YES/NO [A3]
I hate it when I have to
look up the same subject heading in several annual volumes of a periodical
index.
YES/NO [Al]
They should go back to card
catalogs instead of computers.
AGREE/DISAGREE [A2]
I don't like looking for
call numbers because the books are hardly ever there.
TRUE/FALSE [Al] These items
reflect student comments made in a special Library Research Journal section
of their term papers. Each item represents an affective skill or error de
pending on which direction the person is moving. Assuming the person is
answering the questions objectively, as a self witness, the item identifies
some particular adaptive or maladaptive habit in the affective domain. For
instance, persons answering "Applies to me" to the item "When
I have to go to the library I put it off as long as I can," indicates a
tendency to circumvent instructions and the learning steps they must go
through to acquire information searching competence. It is to be expected
that such feelings of resistance occur in clusters and begin to interfere
actively with the acquisition of cognitive and sensorimotor skills. In the
behavioral sense they are affective errors or impediments to skill
acquisition.
"Bibliographic instruction
can help address affective errors or impediments to skill acquisition in many
searches."
Bibliographic instruction can
help ad dress this need in many searchers.'5 To alert students to
the pervasiveness of this maladaptive syndrome in learning search behavior,
the authors have presented students with lists of affective errors and
discussed their causes and solutions. To make students more specifically
aware, they had to read the Library Research Journals of previous students
and were given the opportunity to discuss research strategy in small groups.
They were also teamed in pairs who met in the library to do research
together. These motivational techniques were effective in reducing the strength
of maladaptive affective habits as is evident from the student reports. Here
are some examples:
Since I have become more
familiar with the library through this assignment, my attitude to ward
research is not negative. Struggling
through the paper has
given me confidence to do more papers.
Now when I walk into
the library the surroundings are familiar and I do not feel threatened or
lost. The assignment broadened my ability as well as my awareness of what the
library has to offer, not only scholastically just for pleasure.
I discovered how to
make the library work for me. I now know how to use most of the library
system including the help of the reference librarians.
The process of
gathering information was an enriching lesson that can be utilized for years
to come.
I enjoyed the trips
to the libraries and found it educational. Now I know where to get
information that I need.
As can be seen from
these comments, apprehension and avoidance were replaced by enthusiasm and
gratitude, and a feeling of empowerment in having acquired a tool that can be
used again and again. Thus, maladaptive affective errors are re placed by
adaptive affective skills in information searching.
An additional research
issue concerns the online environment of the quiz and the effect of prior
experience with computers. The online environment could be contrasted with a
control such as a written version, in order to assess the effect of typing
errors, using function keys, screen displays, and the controlled s
Being Supportive
Showing Acceptance
ONLINE QUIZ ENVIRONMENT
Look at
Figure 1
DISTRIBUTION AND ANALYSIS OF ITEMS
Affective Domain (nine questions)
Service and Facilities (7)
Ý
ÝI feel I'm bothering the librarian.
ÝI like using computers for
searching.
ÝIs it o.k. to ask about phone
numbers?
ÝUnfair to have people look things
up.
ÝGlad library has online computer.
People learn by looking things up
Disciplines and Areas (I)
There are too many fields of study.
Reading Displays (1)
OPAC displays are useful, well
organized.
Cognitive Domain: (45 questions)
Reading Displays (2)
Is this book available at Sinclair
Library?
Can this book be borrowed right now?
Subject Headings (3)
What's the main subject heading?
To find more on this topic, which
subject heading is best?
Which are the two broadest subject
headings?
To find another book on the same
topic, which command is best?
To find other books in this series,
which
Ý command is best?
What will happen on this screen if
you press ENTER?
When you know title but not author,
which
command is best to get call number?
LC Classification (12)
What is call number area for these
fields?
Search Strategy (3)
Which alternative is best to find a
journal article on this topic?
Which alternative is best to find
this book with this call number?
Which strategy alternative is wrong?
Terminology (6)
Select the correct definition for
terms.
Locations (4)
Select the correct location for
these materials.
Discipline5 and Areas (5)
Match fields of study with major
areas of study.
Research Methods in Titles (6)
Identify the independent and
dependent variables for these titles.
Sensorimotor Domain: (17 questions)
Reading Displays (8)
Who is the publisher of this book?
ÝWhere was this book published?
Is there an index in this book?
ÝIs "Political Threat" one
of the subject headings?
ÝIn which month was this article
Published?
Is this article illustrated?
ÝWhat's the magazine title?
What's the title of the article?
Writing Citations (1)
Write a citation from this catalog
entry.
Reproducing Titles (6)
Try to remember these titles. Now
type them from memory. Call Number Ranges (2)
Select the shelf range that includes
this call number.
Undergraduates
International
Grad Students
Combined
Anova: F (2,66) = Significance level Number of Questions
43
15
69
29
47
34
24.4
.0001
59
49
59
27.8
.0001
71
72
63
73
11.8
.0001
23
56
48
53
23.6
.0001
22
49
37
45
9.0
.0004
26
90
85
88
1.4
.2613 9
57
48
53
24.4
.0001
45
48
33
42
15.3
.0001
17
