In addition to instruction sessions facilitated in the ENG 110, 120 and 201 courses, over 200 information literacy sessions and research skills workshops are facilitated by instruction librarians in a variety of subject area courses every year. The ability to locate, evaluate, and ethically use information within each of these disciplines may take on a unique spin, but in general the essential elements of Information Literacy are so similar that no matter what their major at Pace, a graduate should leave us with the skills to locate, evaluate and ethically use information for a variety of purposes. In a select number of subject-specific programs, the I.S. Team has developed robust assessment activities. These programs are highlighted here. Course, session or class learning objectives may not match exactly to the six learning outcomes listed on the Instructional Services main page, but all can be mapped back to these overarching learning outcomes.
NOTE: Information Literacy and research skills assessment is also conducted by the various academic departments.
In the undergraduate nursing Evidence Based Practice course, students complete a multi-unit, online research tutorial located in their course on the Classes LMS. This tutorial teaches students essential research skills in locating certain types of research studies. In tutorial units, students have “Self-Assessment” quizzes they can complete – these can be taken multiple times, so students know if they are learning the material or not. At the end of the tutorial, students complete a Final Quiz of 20 questions. A review of the Final Quiz grades, survey results, and corresponding research assignment grades is conducted by the embedded librarian for the courses each spring semester. The analysis of the tutorial and assessment is shared with the faculty for additional feedback that is incorporated in the adjustment of the tutorial content. This tutorial has been facilitated in the undergraduate EBP nursing courses since 2007.
| Undergraduate Nursing | |
| Student Learning Outcomes |
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| Type of Assessment | Final Quiz, Assignments |
| Assessment Description |
In both the Spring and Fall semesters of each academic year NURS409 and NURS298 students complete a five-unit, online research tutorial located in their course on the Classes LMS. At the end of the tutorial, students complete a Final Quiz of 20 questions – the Final Quiz can be taken once and counts as 3% of the course grade. Students are given assignments to locate a Research Article, a Systematic Review and a Clinical Practice Guideline. |
| Responsibility | Head of Teaching and Learning Services |
| Results Distribution | University Librarian, Head of Library Assessment, Head of Teaching & Learning Services |
| Assessment Schedule | End of Spring semesters |
| Last Assessment Occurred | Spring 2024 |
| Action Taken Based on Assessment Data |
In summer 2024 updated instructions on Boolean searching and additional questions reinforcing the concepts of Boolean searching were added to the Unit 2 Self-Assessment. As a result to date, students in both NURS 298 and NURS 409 continue to perform well on both the Apollo RN Research Skills Tutorial Final Quiz and the three corresponding assignments to retrieve certain types of articles. In previous years, the questions on the Final Quiz which students performed the poorest were related to Boolean searching.
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New graduate nursing students complete an online research tutorial embedded in their New Student Orientation the summer before their first Fall semester. The “Apollo RN” research tutorial module attempts to develop research skills in students by integrating with the curriculum and can be applied throughout the program. The learning outcomes of the tutorial provide students with the skills needed to locate the information that will be necessary for their programmatic and course level outcomes. Throughout the graduate nursing programs there are additional instruction sessions and consultations with members of the I.S. Team. Informal assessment of those activities is conducted when possible.
| Graduate Nursing | |
| Student Learning Outcomes |
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| Type of Assessment | Final Quiz, consultations |
| Assessment Description |
Students are required to complete the Apollo RN research tutorial and Final Quiz in the summer orientation before their first Fall semester. They must receive a minimum of 83% score on library orientation materials to be considered having reached “mastery” of the content. Students are given three attempts, only the highest grade is accepted. Assessment is informal and formative using end-of-unit self-assessments, capped off with a cumulative final quiz. Assessment is evaluated quantitatively using the average score with respect to each question and learning outcome. Questions or learning outcomes scoring below 65% are flagged as an information need and a place for improvement. Informal assessment is completed through one-on-one consultations with students across programs and course sections. These consultations mirror real world experiences of working with other practitioners to locate, analyze, and synthesize evidence to make informed decisions. No formal assessment is performed but could be considered for the future. A rubric could also be created to help assess student skills in one-on-one research consultations. |
| Responsibility | Head of Teaching and Learning Services |
| Results Distribution | University Librarian, Head of Library Assessment, Head of Teaching & Learning Services |
| Assessment Schedule | End of Spring semesters |
| Last Assessment Occurred | Spring 2024 |
| Action Taken Based on Assessment Data |
Requests for 1-on-1 research consultations decreased significantly from previous two years, making it difficult to assess student learning in consultations that might connect to completion of the Apollo RN tutorial. Targeted outreach to MS and doctoral faculty was performed in Fall 2024, which resulted in additional instruction requests in Spring 2025. |
Since 2012, members of the I.S. Team have been embedded librarians in PAS 514, Epidemiology and Evidence Based Medicine, offered every spring semester for Physician Assistant majors. The embedded librarians serve as guest instructors for the two-week research module, introducing students to library research databases via course content and instructional videos. PAS 514 introduces students to the concepts of evidence-based medicine and clinical research design, while stressing the examination of evidence from clinical research as a basis for clinical decision-making. Students learn how to construct well-built clinical questions based on patient problems and to perform medical literature searches that yield optimal results. Content in the library modules is revised on an annual basis to ensure that it is up to date with changes to course curriculum and database interfaces and functionality. In Spring, 2024 the embedded librarian did a close review of the PAS 514 curriculum and made significant updates to the research module content and corresponding quizzes to reflect the learning objectives and assignments in the course more closely. The embedded librarians continue to provide individualized written feedback on each quiz submission, and the librarians are also available for one-on-one research consultations.
| Physician Assistant Program | |
| Student Learning Outcomes |
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| Type of Assessment | Final Quizzes |
| Assessment Description |
Two quizzes are facilitated, both a combination of multiple choice and open-ended questions. Multiple choice questions quiz on search strategy techniques, locating full-text of articles, and identifying subject terms. Open-ended questions quiz on understanding the search interface, ability to perform a guided search, ability to perform a search on their own topic, and ability to locate the AMA citation for an article. |
| Responsibility | Head of Teaching and Learning Services |
| Results Distribution | University Librarian, Head of Library Assessment, Head of Teaching & Learning Services |
| Assessment Schedule | End of Spring semesters |
| Last Assessment Occurred | Spring 2024 |
| Action Taken Based on Assessment Data |
Embedded librarians discussed the Quiz results with course faculty and decided no modifications needed to be made for Spring, 2025.
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