The organizers invited Dr. Anne-Kathrin Mayer, head of the research unit "Research Literacy and User-Friendly Research Support" at the Leibniz Institute for Psychology Information (ZPID), as keynote speaker.
"From 'will' and 'skill' in subject-related information worlds: Psychological perspectives on the promotion of information competence" is the title of her presentation. Mayer will explicate that it is not enough to limit the promotion of information literacy to the transfer of knowledge and skills required for information search and evaluation.
It is also important to take people's differences in motivation to acquire this skill and implement it in their behaviour into account. ZPID research work will be presented which proves that self-perception and personal persuasion act as motivational factors. These factors determine
- how extensive information competences acquired by students on their own are,
- to what extent students benefit from information literacy training
- and how students use subject information environments (for example subject databases such as the PSYNDEX database created by ZPID).
Participants of the conference "Promotion of information literacy in (higher) education-related learning contexts" are mostly librarians and information scientists. Among other things, it will be discussed which skills teachers need to convey information literacy, how information can be searched for using internet search engines and what limits are encountered.
Research at ZPID focuses on how people acquire competencies and beliefs in order to adequately assess and use scientific information. Results of studies are used to create research infrastructures that support people in search and evaluation of information. It also examines whether fixed attitudes can be changed.