Assessment of higher education students’ information problem-solving skills in educational sciences

Abstract

Many of the current tests that evaluate information problem-solving skills suffer from ecological validity weakness and from library-bias. The Procedural Information Problem-Solving Knowledge Evaluation in Education test (PIKE-E) aims to assess information problem-solving skills of college students in relation to an academic literature review task in educational sciences. It entails a confirmatory analysis of the PIKE-P test in which it is based. The PIKE-E was completed by 700 students from three different Spanish-speaking countries. In our research, we do not assume that information problem solving skills at the international and cultural level are equal, but Internet access is practically the same in Higher Education. Results show the existence of five first-order factors, Defining the research question, Search strategies planning, Searching and locating sources, Selecting and processing information and Organizing and presenting information, and a general single second-order factor, Information problem-solving, which coincide with contemporary theoretical models on information literacy. The PIKE-E can be used to tackle in which specific areas -concerning information skills development-, students entering education degrees need to improve to succeed in their studies.