Exploring Social Sciences Students’ Perceptions on Information Literacy and the Use of Mobile Technologies in Higher Education

Abstract

This study aims to examine information literacy (IL) and the use of mobile technologies in the educational sphere by a sample of social sciences undergraduate students (N = 1,390). The study used the MOBILE-APPS questionnaire, which is a scale for measuring students’ perceptions regarding information literacy (both the institutional and as a personal dimension), the threshold concepts of the ACRL Framework and the use of ICT and mobile technologies in learning contexts. The survey was distributed to a sample of four universities and eight Social Sciences degrees in Spain. A descriptive, inferential, and multivariate study is performed, regarding age, course, gender, and degree. The results show that student perception is higher concerning the personal dimension of IL; most of the students are unaware of the threshold concepts of the ACRL Framework, and responses are very heterogeneous in relation to the use of ICT and mobile technologies. An MDS-clustering strategy regarding the diverse degrees that participate in the study is also provided, to grasp a disciplinary view. From the diagnosis developed in this research, some recommendations for teaching activity in IL as well as implications for academic libraries are provided.