Technologies, knowledge and truth: the three dimensions of information literacy of university students in Slovakia
ISSN: 0022-0418
Article publication date: 20 October 2020
Issue publication date: 24 December 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to inform on results of the study based on the dissertation project – the study of newcoming university students and their information literacy experience. It describes the three categories of information literacy experience as perceived by these students.
Design/methodology/approach
The document is based on a qualitative phenomenographic study of 40 first-year undergraduate students of teacher education programs from five faculties of Comenius University in Bratislava. Data were collected from each participant in two stages by three methods: written statements, drawings and interviews.
Findings
The phenomenographic analysis results in three categories of information literacy: (1) the conception of digital technologies, (2) the conception of knowledge and (3) the conception of truth. The outcome space presented by two alternative models points to a strong interrelation of all three categories. The resulting conceptions point to the diversity of the concept of information literacy in relation to other types of literacies, especially digital, reading and media literacy, as well as to intersections with other scientific disciplines such as psychology, cognitive science or philosophy.
Research limitations/implications
The most important limits of this qualitative research are the low numbers of participants and the high degree of subjectivity in data evaluation. For this reason, a verification study was carried out one-year later.
Originality/value
Although phenomenographic studies of information literacy in the educational context are quite common, the third category of this study brings a new contribution to the information literacy theory – the dimension of truth or truthfulness of information.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The article was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency within the projects APVV-15-0508 and APVV-19-0074.
Citation
Fázik, J. and Steinerová, J. (2021), "Technologies, knowledge and truth: the three dimensions of information literacy of university students in Slovakia", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 77 No. 1, pp. 285-303. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-05-2020-0086
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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