A Chemical Information Literacy Program for First-Year Students

In the Classroom

A Chemical Information Literacy Program for First-Year Students Ellen S. Gawalt* Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15282, United States *[email protected] Barbara Adams Gumberg Library, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15282, United States

Learning to navigate and understand the chemical literature is an important though often overwhelming part of an undergraduate chemical education. Course instructors and chemistry librarians have sought ways to effectively teach literature searching to students and professionals for years, reporting many of these efforts in this Journal and elsewhere (1-37). Availability and accessibility of the literature have increased dramatically with the Internet, online research databases, and online articles, but these developments have not changed the fact that searching the literature is difficult for students to understand and eventually master. Educators have worked to integrate the literature into various courses through the use of laboratories (29) and literature-based paper assignments (4, 9, 14, 28, 30). In addition, some chemistry departments teach complete courses for upper-level students on using the chemical literature (3, 6, 8, 13, 18, 21-24, 26, 36, 37). Although literature education has been reported at all levels, introductory (4, 30), organic (3, 14, 29), and upper-level undergraduates (8, 9, 13, 16, 21-24, 28) as well as graduate students, it takes place mostly at the upper-level undergraduate and graduate levels. Here, we describe the integration of chemical literature education into the first semester of the honors general chemistry course using an inquirybased program. The program is a result of a collaboration between the chemistry and biochemistry department and the main library over the past 5 years. The chemical information literacy program and its objectives, approach, structure, content, assignments, assessment, and challenges are described. We also show the positive impact of incorporating chemical literature education early in the undergraduate chemistry major curriculum. Program Overview The overall purpose of the chemical information literacy program is to teach students how to use chemistry-specific resources early in their academic career. The chemistry and biochemistry department does not offer a separate course on the chemical literature. However, general information literacy course has been taught for more than 10 years as a first-year course required of all students. In that course, students learn basic computer skills, use of the library catalog, basic database search skills, information evaluation skills, and generic basics of academic and scholarly research processes. Prior to implementation of the chemical information program within honors general chemistry course, scientific information literacy was not explicitly taught within courses at any level in the chemistry curriculum. As at many institutions, the students were formerly expected to learn to access 402

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the chemical literature needed for their chemistry assignments and laboratory reports by simply applying the rudimentary skills learned in the general information literacy course. Additionally, prior to implementation of the information literacy program, students in chemistry lacked the additional, specialized literature preparation needed for their first research experience. The large majority (90%) of the department's majors participate in original scientific research. These students often start the experience by reading background articles and finding protocols in the chemical literature. This is a difficult process for students with little chemical knowledge and no understanding of how to access or read the literature. Professors observed that the students participating in the research experience did not know where to begin looking for relevant literature. As a result, each research mentor had to devote valuable time to help students through this process. The training that resulted was specific to the student's current project and many students had difficulty transferring search skills to other projects. In response to these observations, we designed the chemical information literacy program to be implemented as a component within the first-semester honors general chemistry course, an invitation-only course capped at 35 students. Most of the students in the course are chemistry or biochemistry majors. This first-year course was chosen as an appropriate location for the program within the curriculum because the course reaches students prior to their engagement in undergraduate research, which begins in the first semester of their second year for many students. The chemical information literacy program incorporates inclass and library instruction periods and assignments to prepare students to locate appropriate literature for future lab assignments and classroom research papers in chemistry, beginning with the second-semester honors general chemistry course. The program also prepares the students to read the literature at the beginner level necessary for their undergraduate research projects. In the program, the faculty member assigned to teach the course partners with the member of the library faculty assigned to serve as liaison to the department. The sustained commitment of both the chemistry and biochemistry department and the library is essential to the effectiveness of the program, as others have noted previously (20, 27). Objectives Participation in and commitment to the program stems in large part from a shared dedication to implementation of the information literacy standards articulated by the university's accrediting agency, Middle States Association of Colleges and

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In the Classroom

Schools. The guidelines emphasize information literacy as an essential outcome of higher education and as a requirement for institutional accreditation (38). With this in mind, the following objective goals were developed. By the end of the first-semester honors general chemistry course, each student will be able to 1. Select the most appropriate investigative methods or information retrieval sources or systems. 2. Navigate the library and its Web site to retrieve appropriate information and sources. 3. Construct and implement effective search strategies in a variety of research databases. 4. Develop a method for identifying and reading primary sources in chemistry.

Learning outcomes of the program include attitude as well as skills. At the conclusion of the program, the students are not yet expected to have a high level of skill in using the chemical literature. However, they are expected to have an appreciation of its value in the scientific research process and enough introductory literature experience to encourage further exploration of specialized sources and search techniques. Their level of skill at the conclusion of the program is sufficient to enable beginning students to enter a research laboratory with confidence in their ability to find and read the background research required for understanding their own projects. The program's objectives are also in line with information literacy standards set by both collaborators' professional associations, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee for Professional Education (39) and the American Library Association (ALA) Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) (40). The requirement for chemical literature skills is formalized in the ACS Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures for Bachelor's Degree Programs (2008) section 7.2: “Students should be able to use the peer-reviewed scientific literature effectively and evaluate technical articles critically. They should learn how to retrieve specific information from the chemical literature, including the use of Chemical Abstracts and other compilations, with online, interactive database searching tools” (39). The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Standards for Science and Engineering/Technology are also applicable, especially the objectives listed under the broad heading of standard two: “The information literate student acquires needed information effectively and efficiently” (40). For the students, this process begins in first-semester honors general chemistry and continues with assignments in second-semester honors general chemistry, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, science writing, and integrated laboratory (which incorporates analytical, physical, biochemistry, and inorganic components), as well as undergraduate research. Approach There are many effective ways to teach the searching and reading of the literature including lab assignments that are based on literature (29), article reading assignments and discussion groups (3, 9, 13, 14, 21, 28), paper-writing assignments that require referencing journal articles (4, 13, 23, 30), and online tutorials with assignments (8), to name a few. Employing a different tactic, we took the inquiry-based approach that many use in lab courses and applied it to the library. In the library sessions, the students are

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given a short tutorial (prelab) and then given an assignment that allows them to freely explore the library's chemical resources. Overall, the students learn through searching for specific information in reference books and articles, reading parts of articles, and later presenting articles. Engaging students in active-learning experiences after only a brief introduction is intended to help them overcome their fear of the literature and accept the fact that they will not be able to understand all of the chemistry they are reading. Structure The honors general chemistry course includes three, 50 min lectures and one, 2.5 h recitation per week. The chemical information literacy program involves three library meetings and four classroom meetings, which are held during the recitation class period. Goals 1-3 of the program are addressed primarily in the library meetings. At each library meeting, the librarian introduces the resource or resources the students will need for that day's inclass, written search assignment. Each library assignment is graded and is counted as a quiz grade. Goal 4 of the program is addressed primarily in the classroom meetings. During classroom meetings, the course instructor teaches concepts of primary and secondary literature in chemistry and leads the class in group activities focused on reading articles. Additionally, the students are given a 20 question, multiple-choice skills survey at the beginning and at end of the term. Neither survey is counted toward the student's grade. These assessments are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and will be discussed later. Library Meetings;Content and Assignments The library meetings focus on goals 1-3, related to resource selection navigation and information retrieval. Because the program uses the inquiry methodology, the sessions are focused on learning through the designed activity after a short tutorial. Each meeting features one or two information resources. Both in-library print sources and online library information sources are covered. Meetings take place in a computer classroom in the library. This location reinforces the connection between the library and the students' chemistry course. Taking a “field trip” to the library as a special location for these meetings emphasizes the importance the course instructor places on what the students are learning about library resources. Additionally, space considerations and resource limitations for some databases required that we meet in the library for these tutorials. The first library meeting focuses on the use of the library catalog and print resources housed in the library. The learning objective is that the student be able to successfully navigate the library and its Web site to find chemistry-related information. With each student seated at a computer, the librarian presents a PowerPoint tutorial leading him or her through the library Web site. After the tutorial, each student is given a written assignment created by the course instructor, which is completed in class (Table 1; more details are available in the supporting information). To encourage individual effort, each student has a different set of questions. Every assignment includes questions requiring the student to locate specific, factual, chemistry-related information in reference books, monographs, and journals in the library collections. Additionally, the assignment includes a question asking students to use the library catalog to identify and locate a primary, secondary, or tertiary source on a specific, given topic.

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In the Classroom Table 1. Excerpts from the Navigating the Library Assignment Objective

Skills

Find chemical terms and substance properties

Question Template

Determine subject or keyword search terms Search library catalog by subject or keyword Select appropriate reference source from library catalog search results Use Library of Congress Classification to locate shelving range for chemistry Use call number to locate a specific print reference source Use print or e-book reference source to find specific definition or specific substance property Record essential elements of a book reference

Find chemistryrelated primary sources

Find chemistryrelated library information

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the [name of property] of [name of substance] 2. Reference the book and page number in which you found the information.

3. Search for and locate a primary source published by the following association or on the following topic [ ]. Write the name of the journal here. What makes this source primary?

Determine effective search terms and search expressions for library catalog Identify relevant item in search results Identify and articulate steps in the search process


the definition of [term] OR

Note: Each student is given one definition or a specific property for a specific substance.

Use library catalog keyword search to search for journals by topic or publisher name Identify a primary source based on journal description at the journal's Web site Describe primary source characteristics and how they apply to a specific source

For this question, students are expected to apply what they learned about ACS classification of types of sources in their classroom meeting prior to going to the library (41). The first library meeting takes place within the first month of school, so care is taken to choose common keywords from high school chemistry, the news, or the first weeks of class. Typically, by that point in the semester, students in the general information literacy course have already completed an in-class exercise on searching, navigating, and understanding screen displays in the library catalog. However, most students have not yet taken the step of locating specific items in the library. The university library is larger than the libraries most students have used in the past, and its classification system and physical organization may be unfamiliar. Students are given a brief outline of Library of Congress classifications, but not standard bibliographies or lists of suggested titles to use for specific types of information. They must experiment by trying searches in the library catalog or browsing in the library stacks. The act of locating specific items in the library and finding specific information within them can be frustrating initially for the students, but rewarding later when they must utilize their skills in their lab course. In the remaining library meetings, students are introduced to specialized research databases. Each year we have covered PubMed and SciFinder. Previously, we utilized Web of Science, but this year the library moved to Scopus, and we followed. The databases presented are chosen for their utility in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry. For the past two years, Google Scholar was added owing to its popularity with students and the expansion of Google's full text content to include key scientific publishers not previously included. The librarian's short PowerPoint presentations include the strengths, weaknesses, and special features of each database, for example, cited reference search in Scopus, substance data in SciFinder, biomedical data sets in PubMed, and the difficulty of predicting exactly which articles will be indexed in Google Scholar. The library sessions focus on the procedures students will need to access the library databases and articles in the future. For example,

1. Using reference sources find the following information.

4. Write the steps you would use to conduct a search to find a primary or secondary source on [a topic].

the students are shown how to access the databases from offcampus as well as on-campus and from their own computers as well as library computers. They are also shown how to navigate to full text of articles available via the library's resources and the procedure for setting Google Scholar preferences on their own computers to enable access to full text articles via the library's paid subscriptions. Finally, either through screen captures or tutorials provided by the database provider, the librarian briefly shows the students how to do basic topic, keyword, and author searches in each database. Students are then given an individual assignment pertaining to each database covered (Table 2; the complete assignments are available in the supporting information). The assignments include writing down citations from search results of keyword, author, and cited reference searches and a question highlighting the database's strength or distinction. Additionally, at the final library meeting, each student's assignment includes a question asking the student to compare databases. Overall, these meetings give the students the ability to search for and locate the basic types of chemistry sources using the resources available to our campus. Because the introductory instruction is intentionally brief, the subsequent interaction is essential to enable the students' learning through inquiry. The librarian is able to help the students begin to learn the nuances of the databases such as differences in the “look and feel” of different databases when entering searches, connecting with full text or locating print resources. The chemistry instructor helps the students navigate the databases when technical chemical issues arise and understand what they are looking for and reading on the screens. These skills enable them to complete future laboratory assignments in their courses, find appropriate sources for future papers and research projects, and gain confidence in using the library system. Classroom Meetings;Content and Assignments In addition to the library meetings, four classroom meetings are dedicated to the program. These meetings focus on approaching


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In the Classroom Table 2. Sample Database Questions from Assignments 2 and 3 Database Scopus

Skills

Question Template Search for the following topic: [ ] Pick a reference on that topic and write it down. How can you find this item, either through Scopus or through other Gumberg Library resources? Examples: copper chelating proteins two-yeast hybrid cloning

Search database by keywords Select a relevant source from database search results Record essential elements for citing a reference Navigate to full text or source of full text of item Recognize option to use interlibrary loan for items otherwise unavailable

Google Scholar and SciFinder

Find an article by []. Write down the entire citation. State whether or not the search was successful in each database Discuss how the results of successful searches varied Examples: Roald Hoffman Barry Sharpless

Search for an author using multiple keywords Identify the article items in search results Select a relevant article from search results Compare search results from different databases

the primary literature. First, the course instructor introduces the types of sources in chemistry and their uses, based on the ACS classification system. Subsequent meetings focus on how to read the primary literature, for example, the order in which to read an article, how to read a figure, where to find experimental details, and how to find the important conclusions of the article. The instructor also discusses varying approaches to reading articles, depending on the reader's goal. For example, introductory students will not need to spend extensive time reading the experimental section, unless they need to reproduce it in their research. Each week the students are divided into groups of four to read an article and to present answers to a set of questions about the article: Who are the authors?; What is the title?; What is the scientific problem the work is addressing?; What is their approach?, that is, microscopy study, animal study, synthesis; What is one conclusion from the research?; and What did you learn from the article?” The last question is particularly important for the students because it asks them to learn from documents that they do not fully understand yet and generally leads to the most discussion. As the semester progresses, the answers to these questions become more mature and substantial. The articles are chosen from areas of chemistry and biochemistry voted on by the students. Common topics include food chemistry, forensic analysis, and biomaterials. Learning how to approach an article takes away the initial intimidation students are likely to feel when they are given a research article to read. In this way, the students, who may not have the chemical knowledge to understand the nuances of the article, are learning how to teach themselves new information from the literature such as the purpose and results of the work presented. They also learn how to locate experimental details in an article, if necessary. Therefore, the students obtain the skills they will need at the start of their first research experience. Program Assessment Direct evidence of learning has been positive. The program has been quantitatively assessed in a pre- and postprogram assessment format. The students are asked to demonstrate their knowledge of the library, sources, and chemistry research databases in an objective multiple-choice assessment (Table 3; complete assessment is available in the supporting information). This is a 20 question assessment with five questions related to each of the four goals. The assessment is given in the first and last weeks of the course to ensure that we are testing the students based on their information literacy prior to the course and information that the students learn in the


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Table 3. Sample Assessment Questions Question

Choices

1. Chemistry books can be found in the Gumberg Library using the Library of Congress Cataloging system in the section with the call letters of

A. CH B. PX C. QR D. QD

3. An appropriate search for tertiary chemistry sources should be done using:

A. SciFinder B. PubMed C. DuCat D. Scopus

15. Which online research database allows you to search directly for protein structures?

A. Scopus B. ScienceDirect C. SciFinder D. PubMed

program. The average preassessment score is 34% and the average postassessment score is 64%. We note that, overall, the students showed substantial improvement and every student improved their score through the use of the recitation sessions. The average final scores emphasize that engaging in research is a complex process that takes more than one semester to learn. However, the assessment results also show that students are more prepared to engage in research than before the program. Using these assessment results, we were able to strengthen the program by looking deeper into the students' performance on individual questions. The students fared well on questions related to goals 2 and 4; those related to navigating the library and identifying and reading primary sources. They did not fare as well on questions related to goals 1 and 3, choosing appropriate research databases and using effective search strategies in each database. Therefore, we added handouts delineating the specific differences between the databases to reinforce the distinctions between databases. However, the use of the databases and understanding their strengths and weaknesses requires more practice. Search and navigation skills will improve and the differences among databases will become more apparent to the students as they advance in their academic career. Each year we evaluate the content of the sessions based on the assessment, the assignment scores, and the general written and oral feedback from the students. This information has caused us to change the order in which we introduced the databases because some are more complex than others, pair the introduction of similar databases, and change the number of sessions.


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Indirect evidence of learning has been strongly positive as well. After students were required to write a paper in the second semester of the honors general chemistry course, the students were surveyed. They indicated that the chemical information literacy sessions had been helpful and necessary for them to complete laboratory and research assignments. The survey consisted of five questions aimed at the process of research and usefulness of program. There were four choices for rating the parts of the program: very useful; quite useful; useful; and not useful. There were 23 respondents to the survey. The results were overwhelmingly positive as indicated in the following highlights of the survey: All 23 felt the first semester meetings were very or quite useful and 16 felt the recitations on reading articles were very or quite useful. Perhaps more importantly, 22 of the students reported using the library to do research and students reported using a total of 12 different research databases. These results show that the meetings contributed to the students' learning of chemical literacy skills. Most importantly the meetings gave the students the confidence to try using databases not covered in class because they understood the process of research at the end of their first year. The faculty feel strongly that the program is successful as evidenced by the continuation of the program when the author is not teaching the course. The faculty's view may be summed up in the following course observation by a colleague: “I often teach the sophomore level inorganic chemistry course and through teaching this course I have seen firsthand the tremendous difference in library skills between students who took Dr. Gawalt's honors general chemistry course and students who took the “regular” general chemistry course, which lacks this library literacy component. I almost always need to spend extra time outside the classroom to assist students, who have not had Dr. Gawalt's course, in library usage and searching the chemical literature; while students who have had Dr. Gawalt's course proceed with these activities successfully on their own.” Challenges and Potential Adaptations Throughout the chemical information literacy program, the chemist and the librarian have encountered challenges and met them through close collaboration. Indeed, the collaboration may be the biggest challenge in setting up a program because it can be difficult to bring together different disciplines. Shared dedication to the success of the program provides the impetus for continued collaboration. Another major challenge is the inquiry-based approach to learning. Traditional library instruction uses a more obviously structured and controlled approach involving bibliographies, lists of recommended sources, or even an assortment of relevant books that have been set aside specifically for the class. The innovative approach allowed for much more uncertainty in the classroom for all involved, including the librarian and the students. However, the initial discomfort is overcome with time, patience, and practice. Other challenges include the inevitability of ongoing changes in library resources. We continue to meet such challenges by modifying topics and presentation content and incorporating new technology including the library's growing number of e-book reference sources. We feel that having sustained the program for 5 years our collaboration will help to secure its place in the curriculum and open the door to finding additional ways of integrating chemical literature education into other chemistry courses. 406


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This type of program can be easily adapted to any instructor, class size, or even online learning. For large classes, teaching assistants can facilitate the inquiry process in the recitation classes. Online tutorials and assignments can be developed for either introductory students or as advanced literacy training for those who have been exposed in another program. This latter type of online program is currently being developed for advanced chemistry majors. To adapt this program for any campus is to tailor the assignments for the institution's campus resources. Summary A chemical information literacy program was developed for first semester students enrolled in an honors general chemistry course. This program is the result of a 5-year collaboration between the course instructor and a librarian. The program has seven sessions and covers library and database searching and accessing the primary literature. It utilizes an inquiry-oriented approach incorporating brief, interactive presentations followed by activelearning assignments that allowed the students to explore the library's chemical resources. Changes were made each year in response to assessment feedback. Overall, the students and instructors find the program helpful and rewarding, and thus, the chemistry and biochemistry department and the library continue to support it. Literature Cited 1. Alexander, M.; Corbin, N.; Egloff, G. J. Chem. Educ. 1944, 21, 615–619. 2. Allan, F. C. J. Chem. Educ. 1982, 59, 999–1002. 3. Almeida, C. A.; Liotta, L. J. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 1794–1799. 4. Beall, H. J. Chem. Educ. 1993, 70, 10–11. 5. Bramley, A. R. J. Chem. Educ. 1973, 50, 700. 6. Calderhead, V. Res. Strateg. 1998, 16, 285–299. 7. Carr, C. J. Chem. Educ. 1989, 66, 21–24. 8. Cooke, R. C. J. Chem. Educ. 1994, 71, 867–871. 9. Dean, R. B. J. Chem. Educ. 1951, 28, 642–643. 10. Douville, J. A. J. Chem. Educ. 1983, 60, 1050–1052. 11. Duncan, B. L. J. Chem. Educ. 1973, 50, 735. 12. Egloff, G.; Alexander, M.; Van Arsdell, P. J. Chem. Educ. 1943, 20, 587–592. 13. Fikes, L. E. J. Chem. Educ. 1989, 66, 920–921. 14. Gallagher, G. J.; Adams, D. L. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 1368. 15. Hewitt, W. F., Jr. J. Chem. Educ. 1949, 26, 191–192. 16. Hostettler, J. D.; Wolfe, M. B. J. Chem. Educ. 1984, 61, 622–624. 17. Jahoda, G. J. Chem. Educ. 1953, 30, 245–246. 18. Krakower, E. J. Chem. Educ. 1969, 46, 395. 19. Krieger, K. A. J. Chem. Educ. 1949, 26, 163–166. 20. Lee, W. M.; Wiggins, G. Sci. Technol. Libr. 1997, 16, 31–42. 21. Matthews, F. J. J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 1011–1014. 22. Melhado, L. L. J. Chem. Educ. 1980, 57, 127–128. 23. Novick, S. G. J. Chem. Educ. 1995, 73, 297–301. 24. Ordman, A. B. J. Chem. Educ. 1996, 73, 753. 25. Penhale, S. J. Sci. Technol. Libr. 1997, 16, 69–87. 26. Powell, A.; Schlessinger, B. S. J. Chem. Educ. 1971, 48, 688–689. 27. Ricker, A. Sci. Technol. Libr. 1997, 16, 45–68. 28. Roecker, L. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 1380–1384. 29. Rosenstein, I. J. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 652–654. 30. Sherman, L. R. J. Chem. Educ. 1988, 65, 993–994. 31. Smith, J. F. J. Chem. Educ. 1927, 4, 1522–1528.


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In the Classroom Soule, B. A. J. Chem. Educ. 1944, 21, 333–335. Tanner, A. C.; Johnson, J. F. J. Chem. Educ. 1990, 67, 690. Tribe, L.; Cooper, E. L. J. Coll. Sci. Teach. 2008, 37, 38–42. Van Patten, N. J. Chem. Educ. 1950, 27, 431–435. Watters, J. J. Chem. Educ. 1958, 35, 259–260. Wiggins, G. J. Chem. Educ. 1982, 59, 994–995. Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Developing Research and Communication Skills: Guidelines for Information Literacy in the Curriculum 2003. http://www.msche.org/ publications/Developing-Skills080111151714.pdf (accessed Dec 2010). 39. ACS Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures for Bachelor's Degree Programs (2008) Chemical Information Supplement http://portal.

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acs.org/portal/PublicWebSite/about/governance/committees/ training/acsapproved/degreeprogram/CTP_005584 (accessed Dec 2010) 40. ALA/ACRL/STS Task Force. Information Literacy Standards for Science and Engineering/Technology. http://www.ala.org/ala/ mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/infolitscitech.cfm (accessed Jul 2009). 41. ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors, 2nd ed.; Dodd, J. S., Ed.; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1986.

Supporting Information Available The multiple choice assessment and the current version of the template used for each assignment in this program. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.


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A Chemical Information Literacy Program for First-Year Students

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