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Anja Timm, Student Diversity and Academic Writing Project LILAC 2008 in Liverpool

“The library? Why would I go there?” Library use by undergraduate students in China, India and Greece. Anja Timm, Student Diversity and Academic Writing Project LILAC 2008 in Liverpool. Student Diversity and Academic Writing Project. International students & plagiarism HEFCE-funded

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Anja Timm, Student Diversity and Academic Writing Project LILAC 2008 in Liverpool

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  1. “The library? Why would I go there?”Library use by undergraduate students in China, India and Greece Anja Timm, Student Diversity and Academic Writing Project LILAC 2008 in Liverpool

  2. Student Diversity and Academic Writing Project • International students & plagiarism • HEFCE-funded • Research and development • Three year project (2005-2007) • Lancaster University Management School & London School of Economics • Business and management studies • Taught postgraduates

  3. SDAW project aims To inject timely and topical research results into the debate about the way international students are recruited, prepared and taught and how plagiarism can be deterred

  4. SDAW outcomes Create resources for diverse audiences: • Lecturers (new and established) • Educational Developers • International students • HE managers Extra funding (2008)covers work with: • Student Unions • Librarians

  5. Country visits: • Focus on China, Greece and India (largest sending countries) • What are the systemic differences in terms of educational practices? • Which aspects might impact most significantly on students’ transition? • Focus on academic writing, but this must be considered in the wider context of students coming to the UK • Centrality of libraries & information literacy

  6. Other project foci • International student recruitment and reception by British universities • Introduction to writing tasks / plagiarism deterrence • Plagiarism detection software – limitations of the technology, i.e. coverage and algorithm – not ‘more fair’, but less. • Institutional use of detection software: policies and practices

  7. What might be useful to know for lecturers about undergraduate studies in India? Demo of video resource (13 minutes)

  8. Other resources available • Country-specific video clips (10 mins on Greece, India) • Country-specific reports (more detail on educational practices in China, India, Greece) • Students interviewing students from China (e.g. on library use and referencing) • Resources on Plagiarism detection software (advice on use & limitations)

  9. Information literacy issues for students from elsewhere

  10. Educational practices in Greece • Panhellenic exams • Frontistirio as an option • Student progression (regulations, politics) • Reliance on peer support • Exam focus (not coursework) + final year thesis • Greek libraries have improved significantly through EU grants, but: • Prescribed (free) textbooks, i.e. no need to go to the library

  11. Educational practices in China • Need to differentiate between Chinese students in UK HE • National entrance exams • Importance of textbooks & limited sources • Library as a place to study (not research) • Variation in library provision (often no international journals or electronic access & Chinese journals differ significantly) • Exam focus + final year thesis (diminishing importance)

  12. International students’ transition Oftentimes student are high achievers in their own system (they know how to study!) and yet they may be new to: • handling multiple sources • differentiating between sources • note-taking • academic writing • attribution and referencing

  13. Role of the library • On arrival practical, language and systemic issues are vital for students to deal with • The library – because it is oftentimes not central to studying back home – is a further add on • ‘Our’ notion of the library and what it is ‘good for’ is unlikely to be shared by all new postgraduates • In terms of service and training provision, students are often unaware of what tends to be distributed across British universities

  14. How and Why New students may be unfamiliar with • the notion of research (and its centrality to academia as we understand it in the UK) • the concept of plagiarism (and regulations) Hence our teaching / preparation in the area of information literacy needs to address not only the ‘how’ to improve information literacy, but also ‘why’…

  15. just type: SDAW Projectinto your preferred search engine For more information on the Student Diversity and Academic Writing Project We are in the process of moving from our old website to a new one… You can contact me, Anja Timm at a.timm@soton.ac.uk

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