Join the LILAC Project!

The LILAC Project is still seeking partner institutions to join us in this important research. Copies of our IRB application and letter of Approval, Call for Partner Institutions, Instructions for Partner Institutions, and other relevant materials are available at http://tinyurl.com/mkzzrbo, or contact jwalker@georgiasouthern.edu for more information.

What Is the LILAC Project?

The LILAC Project is a multi-institutional study of the information-seeking behaviors of students from a variety of levels and institution types. Our central research questions include:

• Where and how have students been taught information-seeking skills?
• What are students carrying away with them from this instruction?
• How do students actually locate, identify, and evaluate information?
• Where (and how) can instructors intervene to help students improve their information-seeking skiills, if necessary?
• What differences and/or similarities can we identify in student information-literacy instruction at different institutions?
• What strengths and weaknesses exist in student information-seeking skills at these different institutions?
• What conclusions, if any, can we draw from these results?

Hypothesis

While students are receiving instruction in information literacy skills, including instruction in locating, evaluating, using, and citing information sources, much of this learning does not carry over with them beyond the confines of the specific assignment or classroom. This research will, we hope, help us to see where the disconnects might lie between what students have been taught and what they are actually doing, allowing us to determine how to best provide instruction at the point of need rather than divorced from the research and writing process itself.

Who Can Join Us?

Graduate students, faculty, librarians--anyone interested in helping us to collect survey and video data at your local institution. We will provide assistance as much as possible to navigate IRB approval, and provide simple instructions for collecting data.  See materials at at http://tinyurl.com/mkzzrbo, or contact jwalker@georgiasouthern.edu for more information.