Changing anatomies of Information Literacy at the postgraduate level: refinements of models and shifts in assessment

Abstract

In this paper fundamental principles that might inform an approach to Information Literacy (IL) on the postgraduate level will be identified. Those are based on following premises:

1. the aims of postgraduate/doctoral studies are different in comparison to earlier educational levels and face specific challenges due to the heterogeneity of student populations
2. IL frameworks have  to acknowledge and address this challenge by  adjusting to specific needs of postgraduate students who operate in new information realms
3. new modes of assessment are needed as a result of revolutionary changes in information landscapes and patterns of generation and use of scientific information

Teaching students in the scientific method and culture has long been recognized as the major focus of postgraduate education, an important precondition for research practices is the adequate performance in the realm of information handling and information management, i.e., information literacy. IL on postgraduate levels has a strong focus on the universe of scientific information, which itself went through tremendous changes in the last decade, particularly as a result of the appearance of the Web 2.0 (e.g. Science 2.0, Research 2.0). Such profound changes suggest renewed conceptions and focal points of IL at the postgraduate level which will take into account the fluid nature of current information environments. After discussing changes in information landscapes brought about the Web 2.0 and examining transformed premises of scientific work within such environments, the authors will plea for re-conceptualizations of IL on the postgraduate level and propose new principles of IL frameworks and modes of assessment that will recognize this transformation.