Explore the importance of developing robust research skills in Social Work students to conduct independent research effectively. Understand the challenges faced, including reliance on the internet and the need for critical thinking. Discover strategies to empower students to engage in meaningful research.
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Experience For the last two years, I have taught the Dissertation Module for the BSc (Hons) Social Work degree and one of the key issues that has been evident in the sessions, is that many of the students are hampered by their lack of research skills the lack of being able to find relevant, robust, literature that will underpin their own independent research.
So we know that research is a complex skill, for example, the technical aspect such as how to use a database, and there are also the skills that relate to critical or strategic thinking but more than this, the students must be able to blend all of those skills together.
Sharing Information Now, whilst we are at a stage where we can share information, quite literally, at the click of a button, we do this with the intention that we are sharing this information as a prerequisite of the students learning but we have to consider the truth of this.
because, whilst we know the internet is a useful tool, our over-reliance on it is interfering with the students motivation to find the information for themselves, and we currently have students who are unable to determine robust literature from work that aligns close to fiction, and some students lack the ability to be discerning in the information they rely on, rather, they exist in a data smog (Shenk, 2009).
As we know, there is a lot of information that is readily available and, without too much involvement on behalf of the students, we deliver the information they need without engaging their research ability. We deliver information to them in an easily digestible way, and do not necessarily consider whether the students are thinking critically about it (Karbalaei; 2011), or whether they understand it rather, we merely ask that they regurgitate it in their own paper[s], without plagiarising, to gain the best mark possible.
Why Do Students Plagiarise? and what we also know, is that on occasion, when students are charged with researching a critical area in their studies, they are unable to find the information they need. This can be for a variety of reasons, but among them, we know that it relates to their lack of research skills. Further to this, they do not know how search for information via the Library Catalogue or they cannot find information in electronic journals available from the Library web pages. We have support for them, but the discussion with the Librarian soon highlights that same lack of skills we have already considered. They are not encouraged to have an enquiring mind to take a small amount of information, and grow this into something new, exciting and something that underpins the pool of knowledge necessary to good research. So, students may remedy this by searching the internet, or relying more easily accessible web sites, such as Wikipedia, to give them the information they need, and do not necessarily consider its robustness.
So where do we go from here? We need to consider then, whether we are [dis]empowering the students in our readiness to deliver information quickly (Espinoza & Juvonen; 2011), because in doing this, we risk undervaluing the idea of students finding relevant information for themselves... and we have to ask why would we expect students to invest their time researching, when there is a short-cut to that information (Bolton et al (2013). This is an important question, because a requirement of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), is that students should be able to act independently in accessing information...and we know that the new Office for Students supports the QAA in continuing their assessment of universities role (OfS 2018) so this is not likely to change soon. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/1325/bd-2018-jan-24-designated-bodies-paper.pdf
Maybe we could. One of the ways forward, might be to consider how we empower students to find necessary information from the outset in their studies So rather than simply regurgitating a paper, we could ask them to develop a research question, find suitable sources according to specific criteria, and then analyse and evaluate their chosen sources tasks that allow them to engage with the idea of being a student where they are part of their learning process from the outset.
Maybe we should also charge ourselves with challenging students in their belief that knowledge is a pool of facts, and task them with moving beyond merely memorising information, but rather, to learn how to evaluate their sources and to question how valid some of those sources are. Often, students are not aware of the amount of investment they need to make in terms of time and planning for their written work, and then struggle when information is not readily available to them.
This is the point at which we risk them disengaging from their studies, as they are overwhelmed by it but earlier investment by us, is key to turning this around, and the benefit of this, is a higher rate of retention. We need to make the point that students are in charge of evaluating information for themselves, and that they are part of a learning affiliation. In short, we need to empower students, and re-engage them with the idea of what being a student is about.
References Bolton, R; Parasuraman, A; Hoefnagels, A; Migchels, A; Kabadayi, S; Gruber, T; Loureiro Y. K; Solnet D (2013) Understanding Generation Y and Their Use of Social Media: A Review and Research Agenda Journal of Service Management, Vol. 24 Issue 3 pp 245 267 Elias Rafik Z. The Impact of Anti-Intellectualism Attitudes and Academic Self-Efficacy on Business Students Perceptions of Cheating Journal of Business Ethics (2009) 86:199 209 Springer 2008 DOI 10.1007/s10551-008-9843-8 https://search-proquest- com.ezproxy.uwl.ac.uk/docview/198094130?pq-origsite=360link [16.03.2018] Helga Nowotny (2003); Democratising Expertise and Socially Robust Knowledge, Science and Public Policy, Volume 30, Issue 3, 1 June 2003, pp 151 156 Shenk D (2009) Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut Harper Collins NY Van Winkle, William (2006); Information Overload: Fighting Data Asphyxiation is Difficult but Possible http://www.gdrc.org/icts/i- overload/infoload.html [accessed 06.02.2018] Guadalupe Espinoza and Jaana Juvonen (2011) The Pervasiveness, Connectedness, and Intrusiveness of Social Network Site Use Among Young Adolescents. Cyberpsychology, Behavior [sic], and Social Networking pp 1 5 Karbalaei A (2011) Critical Thinking and Academic Achievement kala vol.17 no.2 Medell n May/Aug. 2012 http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0123-34322012000200001 [16.03.2018] Ahmad Raza, A. Rashid Kausar, David Paul, (2007) "The social democratization of knowledge: some critical reflections on e learning", Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, Vol. 1 Issue: 1, pp.64-74, https://doi.org/10.1108/17504970710745210 [accessed 25.06.2018] Lecklider Aaron S The Real Victims of Anti-Intellectualism SEPTEMBER 10, 2017 https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Real- Victims-of/241101 [accessed 26.06.2018] https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/1325/bd-2018-jan-24-designated-bodies-paper.pdf [accessed 26.06.2018]
