Will the next generation of Researchers be any better than us? (I doubt it)
The British Library and JISC did a research study on “how the specialist researchers of the future, currently in their school or pre-school years, are likely to access and interact with digital resources in five to ten years’ time.” As I read it, it occurred to me that some of this new generation will be doing my gig in the future. If so, I have much to teach them.
Check out some of the findings of the research. (It destroys a lot of myths).
“information behaviour of the researcher of the future”
- the information literacy of young people, has not improved with the widening access to technology: in fact, their apparent facility with computers disguises some worrying problems
- internet research shows that the speed of young people’s web searching means that little time is spent in evaluating information, either for relevance, accuracy or authority
- young people have a poor understanding of their information needs and thus find it difficult to develop effective search strategies. As a result, they exhibit a strong preference for expressing themselves in natural language rather than analysing which key words might be more effective
- faced with a long list of search hits, young people find it difficult to assess the relevance of the materials presented and often print off pages with no more than a perfunctory glance at them
- They prefer visual information over text. *Our verdict: A qualified yes, but text is still important. As technologies improve and costs fall, we expect to see video links beginning to replace text in the social networking context. However, for library interfaces, there is evidence that multimedia can quickly lose its appeal, providing short-term novelty.
- They have zero tolerance for delay and their information needs must be fulfilled immediately * Our verdict: No. We feel that this is a truism of our time and there is no hard evidence to suggest that young people are more impatient in this regard. All we can do is repeat the obvious: that older age groups have memories that pre-date digital media experiences: the younger generation does not.
- They find their peers more credible as information sources than authority figures * Our verdict: On balance, we think this is a myth. Research in the specific context of the information resources that children prefer and value in a secondary school setting shows that teachers, relatives and textbooks are consistently valued above the internet. We feel this statement has more to do with social networking sub-culture and teenagers’ naturally rebellious tendencies. Its specific application to the world of education and libraries is pretty questionable.
- They are expert searchers* Our verdict: This is a dangerous myth. Digital literacies and information literacies do not go hand in hand. A careful look at the literature over the past 25 years finds no improvement (or deterioration) in young people’s information skills.
Want more? Click here to download the full report
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