Attitudes toward Information Competency of University Students in Social Sciences

Abstract

This paper examines students’ self-assessment of their information literacy, presenting a study involving 1,575 social science students at five Spanish universities. Data were collected and analyzed through a validated instrument that measures the variables of (1) the students’ belief in the importance of information literacy skills; (2) self-efficacy, the students’ faith in their ability to master those skills; and (3) the students’ main source of learning information competencies. The groups of competencies studied were information search, information evaluation, information processing, and information communication. The results reveal an overall low perceived self-efficacy and provide a clear overview of the current state of information literacy among social science students in Spain.