Researching Latin America, part two: A survey of how the new generation is doing its research

Abstract

Students too often rely on Google for research, while demonstrating an alarming lack of awareness of other library resources. This is especially disconcerting to observe in graduate students who are expected to be experienced searchers and familiar with the resources in their fields. Following up on previous research done on US-based students, this paper seeks to assess the information-seeking behavior of Latin American graduate students. Student members of theLatin American Studies Association with mailing addresses in Latin America were contacted via mail and invited to respond to an online survey of their research strategies, including experience with bibliographic instruction and comfort level finding information on Latin America. Descriptive statistics were used to interpret the sample and Chi-squared tests to compare these results against those obtained in the previous survey. Respondents were found to feel comfortableand confident finding information using the preferred convenience of electronic media. They were also found to be unfamiliar with the research tools mentioned in the survey, and the majority had not received bibliographic instruction. There is clearly a need for faculty and librarians to work together to ensure these students are aware of the many available resources andto develop the information search skills they need to become effective researchers, scholars, or working professionals.

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