The Big Blue project project surveyed present practice in Information Skills Training for students in Higher and Further Education. The project ran from April 2001 to July 2002.
The Big Blue Connect project was a Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) funded project to investigate the information skills sets of staff working in the Higher and Further Education sectors. The project ran from June 2003 to December 2003.
The BRUM Project (Birmingham Re-Usable Materials), official title “Institutional case study to explore academics’ perceptions and use of electronic reusable learning objects for information literacy” was funded by the Eduserv Foundation. The project developed 15 reusable learning objects (five types) for information literacy, which are downloadable from their website and will shortly be available from Jorum. The project has a blog and the final report is available.
The INFORMS project built on the INHALE project. Its main aim was to see if the online learning material created by INHALE could be used as a model for delivery of informatrion literacy teaching in a wider range of institutions. The project ran from 2002 to 2003.
The INHALE project developed a series of web based, interactive information skills packages that taught students how to search databases. The project ran from 1999 to 2002.
JUSTEIS (JISC Usage Surveys: Trends in Electronic Information Services) Project.
This was a large scale study over several years, 1999-2003. The project team used Critical Incident Technique in interviews to explore respondents use of electronic information, and the transcribed data was analysed with the help of NUD*IST software. They also used questionnaires, which were analysed using the SPSS package. Issues to to with the methodology, including sampling and recruitment of respondents (students and staff in UK higher and further education), are discussed (see e.g. the cumulative report for cycles 1-3).
Project SAILS is a standardized test of information literacy skills, based on ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. This web-based tool allows libraries to document information literacy skill levels for groups of students and to pinpoint areas for improvement.
The Staff Information Skills Set project defined and mapped staff development needs and drivers in terms of their information skills and created a model for staff to use in developing their information skills. The project ran from 2003 to 2005.
The project ‘Critical evaluation of information literacy questions used to support the Department of Politics, International Relations European Studies (PIRES)‘ at Loughborough University was funded by the Higher Education Academy Information and Computing Sciences Centre. It aimed to develop methodologies to measure the effectiveness of online testing in the context of enhancing students’ information literacy skills within PIRES. The project created a bank of questions that test student knowledge and understanding of the information searching process and it evaluated the questions by analysis of data available from the assessment .