Quantitative Assessment of Students' Library Skills and Attitudes

How Attitude Measures Were Calculated


The items pertaining to students' attitudes about the library (9 items in the pre-test, 13 in the post-test) were combined to form 3 separate attitude measures.

Measure #1: Overall Attitude Measure

This measure combined the responses to all of the attitude items except the following item:

"I wish more instruction were available in how to do library research."

This item was excluded because there is no conclusive way to determine if agreement or disagreement to this statement reflects a positive attitude towards the library.

 

The following two items were reverse coded when creating the summary score:

"Using the library is a frustrating experience"
"The library is difficult to use"

For these two items, disagreement indicated a positive attitude towards the library; for all other items, agreement indicated a positive attitude towards the library.

 

The scores for each item were added and then divided by the total number of items to get an average attitude measure.


Measure #2: Attitudes about the Librarians

This measure combined the following items:

"The librarians are helpful."
"The librarians are approachable."
"I feel comfortable asking for assistance in the library."

The scores for each item were added and then divided by the total number of items to get an average.


Measure #3: Students' Perception of their Own Library Research Skills

For the pre-test measure of students' perception of their own library research skills, the following items were combined:

"I know how to locate most of the materials I might need in the library."
"I feel confident that I can use the library to meet my information needs."
"I feel confident using the library."

For the post-test measure of students' perception of their own library research skills, the following items were combined:

"I know how to locate most of the materials I might need in the library."
"I feel confident using the library."
"I feel confident that I can use the library to meet my information needs."
"I believe I now have a better understanding of how the library is organized and how to find the information I need"

The scores for each item were added and then divided by the total number of items to get an average.

Back: Results - Attitude Measures

Back to Quantitative Assessment of Students' Library Skills and Attitudes, Table of Contents


[Musselman Library] [Gettysburg College]

URL: http://www.gettysburg.edu/jwertzbe/poster/calculatingatt.html
This page created and maintained by Janelle Wertzberger, Reference/Instruction Librarian
jwertzbe@gettysburg.edu
Musselman Library
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, PA 17325
Last Update: