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A Domain-Specific Test of Procedural Knowledge about Information Searching for Students of Computer Science

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Information Literacy. Lifelong Learning and Digital Citizenship in the 21st Century (ECIL 2014)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 492))

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Abstract

In three studies we constructed a standardized test of procedural knowledge about information searching tailored to the domain of computer science, the PIKE-CS (Procedural information literacy knowledge test for computer science students). A skill decomposition was used to identify nine sub skills which can be classified into two broader categories: Development of search strategies and Application of search strategies. Based on the ratings of experts (N=7), a scoring key was developed. In a pilot study the test was administered to a sample of computer science students (N=18). The scale reached an internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) of α=.78. Finally, the items were administered to N=89 first-year computer science students. The mean difference between subjects with vs. without programming experience in a professional context – which can be interpreted as a proxy for search experience – is significant, pointing to the validity of the test.

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Birke, P., Rosman, T., Mayer, AK., Walter, B. (2014). A Domain-Specific Test of Procedural Knowledge about Information Searching for Students of Computer Science. In: Kurbanoğlu, S., Špiranec, S., Grassian, E., Mizrachi, D., Catts, R. (eds) Information Literacy. Lifelong Learning and Digital Citizenship in the 21st Century. ECIL 2014. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 492. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14136-7_71

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14136-7_71

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-14135-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-14136-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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