2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Information Literacy instruction (IL) has been used in first-year engineering courses to introduce students to college-level research. Previous efforts in this endeavor have shown success in moving students from competency frames of IL to synthesis and social connection [1]. This study moves past the superficial social connection developed and guides students to develop a personal connection to research, see scholarship as a conversation, and make a connection with real research being conducted in their field on campus. A collaboration between the engineering librarian, first-year instructor and other tenure-line faculty within the college of engineering was built to develop a curriculum in which students completed literature reviews based on current faculty research. A series of eight instructional sessions were developed by the instructor and engineering librarian and delivered over the course of a whole semester. Topics included, how to find and evaluate information, writing conventions, annotated bibliography, abstracts, and literature review. Students were connected to multiple research topics in each engineering discipline currently underway at the university and worked individually and collaboratively to contribute to the research. At the end of instruction students were asked about their views on scholarship, the role of scholarship in engineering, how likely they were to pursue future research, and if they felt connected to their field and the university. Results of students in classes with the embedded engineering librarian were compared to those students who received only one session of IL instruction from the librarian. Students felt more connection to the school and field, understood the research process and felt confident developing and following a research plan.