Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Associate Professor, Department of Management, Faculty of Management, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.
2 PhD student, Department of Management, Faculty of Management, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran
Abstract
Purpose: Higher education institutions, in the process of equipping students with the knowledge and skills they need, engage in activities—both directly and indirectly—related to information and its use, including fostering information literacy. Through various supportive factors, higher education institutions seek to facilitate the process of enhancing students' information literacy. Accordingly, the present study aimed to prepare a fuzzy map of the factors affecting the improvement of students' information literacy.
Methodology: This study is applied in terms of its purpose and exploratory in terms of its data collection method. The statistical population consisted of postgraduate students in electrical engineering and computer science at Lorestan University, from which 20 individuals were selected as sample members using purposive sampling based on the principle of theoretical saturation. Data collection tools included interviews in the qualitative phase and a questionnaire in the quantitative phase. For data analysis, the qualitative phase employed content analysis and coding using Maxqda software, while the quantitative phase utilized the fuzzy cognitive map method.
Findings: The research findings revealed that the most important factors affecting the improvement of students' information literacy are: creating awareness and understanding the importance of information literacy in academic and research success; independent external motivations; the existence of appropriate policies at the university level to promote information literacy; access to advanced information and communication technology devices; and the level of trust in the Internet.
Conclusion: Overall, the results indicated that improving students' information literacy is a multidimensional phenomenon influenced by the simultaneous interaction of individual, organizational, and technological factors. Students' awareness of the importance of information literacy and its role in academic and research success, along with external motivations, university supportive policies, access to advanced information and communication technology infrastructure and equipment, and the level of trust in the Internet, collectively exert the greatest impact on enhancing information literacy.
Value: The present study is among the first to examine the factors affecting the improvement of students' information literacy using a mixed-methods approach and the fuzzy cognitive map method.
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