[Web 2.

0 Courses in LIS Education]

I. Research Proposal Cover Page
Title of Proposed Research
Web 2.0 Courses in LIS Education
Abstract (less than 250 words)

In order to remain relevant in the face of the rapidly evolving information landscape and the
development of technological tools like Web 2.0, Library and Information Science (LIS) graduate
programs have begun altering their curricula to reflect these changes by including Web 2.0 courses.
Despite the increase in Web 2.0 classes within the LIS curriculum, there has not been much substantial
research on the impact of these courses in LIS education. This study intends to fill this research gap by
gathering data on the impact of Web 2.0 in LIS curricula across the country.
Purpose The purpose of this research is to determine the value of incorporating a Web 2.0 course
into the University of South Florida (USF) LIS curriculum by evaluating students experiences with
Web 2.0 in their jobs after graduation from the program and the Web 2.0 class.
Design/Methodology The survey will measure the experiences of 300 students who have previously
taken a Web 2.0 course. More specifically, the survey will be asking LIS graduates about Web 2.0 use
in their libraries, the potential obstacles in the way of implementing Web 2.0 tools, and their opinions
about the Web 2.0 course. The data from the surveys will be analyzed through descriptive analysis and
content analysis.

Start Date

Completion Date
4/25/2014

9/26/2014

Amount Requested

Submission Date

$15,079
Principal Investigator1s Name & Affiliation**
Stephanie Bailey
Affiliation: USF Library and Information Science
Professor

10/1/2014
Principal Investigator2s Name & Affiliation**

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Introduction
The information landscape is rapidly changing in order to remain relevant in the face of
technological advances such as Web 2.0. Consequently, more libraries across the globe are
utilizing Web 2.0 technologies to provide information and instruction, which makes it necessary
for information professionals to develop new knowledge, skills and competencies in Web 2.0 and
other technologies. As a result, some Library and Information Science (LIS) graduate programs
are altering their curricula to reflect these changes in the field by including courses on Web 2.0.
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to determine the value of incorporating a Web 2.0 course into
the University of South Florida (USF) LIS curriculum by evaluating students experiences with
Web 2.0 in their jobs after graduation from the program and the Web 2.0 class. The following
research questions are used to guide the study:

Are the knowledge, skills and competencies gained from the Web 2.0 course used in the

graduates careers?
Do the LIS graduates that have taken the course use Web 2.0 in their libraries? If so, how

are they using these web technologies in their libraries?

Are there any obstacles in the way of the graduates implementing Web 2.0 tools in their
libraries?
Significance of the Study & Needs Assessment
According to Aharony (2008), 10% of the accredited United States LIS programs have

Web 2.0 classes and even more universities plan to offer classes on the subject in the near future.
However, despite the increase in Web 2.0 classes within the LIS curriculum, there has not been
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much substantial research on the impact of these courses in LIS education. The available
research on the topic is inconclusive and raises more questions than answers. Virkus (2008)
attributes the lack of research about topic on the fact that Web 2.0 in graduate-level courses is
still relatively recent: The use of Web 2.0 technologies in higher education is still a new
phenomenon and its integration into teaching and learning is in the initial phase (p. 265).
Another author posits that Web 2.0s long-term effects on the library/information profession are
far from clear (Bawden et al., 2007, p. 17). This study intends to fill this research gap by
gathering conclusive and concrete data on the impact of Web 2.0 in LIS curricula across the
country.
This research is needed to ensure that the USF LIS program remains on the forefront of
LIS education. In this rapidly changing field, it is essential for LIS programs to refine their
curricula to include courses that reflect the demands of the current job market. More library jobs
require librarians to use Web 2.0 to interact with patrons, provide information and promote the
library. To better prepare LIS students for their careers, it is important that the program offer
classes that address these changing job requirements.
This research will not only benefit USFs School of Information, but also other LIS
programs, instructors, students, libraries and researchers. The findings will ascertain the viability
of LIS Web 2.0 courses and help USF to decide whether or not to include the class in the
curriculum. This study can also contribute to other academic institutions decisions to adopt or
discontinue Web 2.0 courses in LIS programs. Moreover, the data gathered in this research will
show how Web 2.0 tools are being used in libraries, which has implications for instructors and
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other libraries. Instructors will gain valuable knowledge on which Web 2.0 tools are commonly
used in graduates careers and use this knowledge refine their course content and libraries can use
the Web 2.0 trends that this research uncovers to decide which Web technologies to incorporate
into their library programs and services. This research will provide students with a curriculum
that reflects the evolving information field and prepares them for the changing job market.
Lastly, this study will benefit future researchers because it will provide the building blocks for
more focused research on the topic.
Literature Review
For the most part, the literature on Web 2.0 in LIS curriculum is in consensus on the
major themes and issues. All of the authors agree on the fact that the information landscape is
changing and that LIS programs need to change with it to remain relevant. The literature also
recognizes that the use of Web 2.0 tools in libraries is rising and that this increase has important
implications for LIS programs. Many of these researchers believe Web 2.0 courses are
advantageous for students and the LIS programs. Al-Daihani (2009) and Garoufallou (2011) are
in favor of the course because they believe it will improve the students skills, knowledge and
competencies while Aharony (2008) and Bawden et al. (2007) theorize that Web 2.0 classes will
improve the reputation and credibility of the LIS programs.
The data from the different studies indicated reoccurring issues with implementing Web
2.0 courses in LIS curriculum. One of the main barriers the researchers uncovered is that many
LIS faculty have limited experience and knowledge of Web 2.0 tools (Al-Daihani, 2009; Bawden
et al., 2007). Also, the data from two of the studies revealed that some LIS educators questioned
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Web 2.0s value in education (Garoufallou & Charitopoulou, 2011; Virkus, 2008). Overall, the
authors of this literature saw these challenges as solvable and ultimately had a positive outlook
on Web 2.0 classes in LIS education.
The literature presented provides this study with the baseline data necessary to embark on
the research, but has some flaws that are worth noting and avoiding during the course of this
research. The low sample sizes and use of case studies in this literature adversely affect the
validity and reliability of the results. This study aims to conduct more exhaustive research by
expanding the size and scope of the sampling and choosing more appropriate research methods
than used in the previous studies.
Research Methodology
This study will employ a survey to determine the value of incorporating a Web 2.0 course
into the LIS curriculum of USF and answer the research questions posed. The survey will
measure the experiences of students who have previously taken a Web 2.0 course. More
specifically, the survey will be asking LIS graduates about Web 2.0 use in their libraries, the
potential obstacles in the way of implementing Web 2.0 tools, and their opinions about the Web
2.0 course.
Sample
The sample is going to be selected from the six ALA accredited LIS schools that have
Web 2.0 courses based on Aharonys research (2008, p.4). Students who have graduated from the
one of the six LIS programs in the past five years, been employed in a library after graduating
and taken a Web 2.0 course in their program will be the population from which this study draws
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from. Only graduates were chosen for the survey to find out if former students are using Web
2.0 outside of the classroom and to discover if what they have learned in the Web 2.0 course
benefits them in the workplace. Also, expanding the scope of the sample beyond just recent
graduates will show the trend of Web 2.0 use in libraries over an extended period of time and
increase the sample size. 50 students from each of the six schools that meet the eligibility criteria
to participate in the survey are going to be invited to join the study. 300 students in total will be
asked to take part in the survey, which is a large enough sample size to derive meaningful data
from.
To reduce sampling error and ensure that the results of the survey are representative of
the population, a multi-stage sampling technique will be employed. The sample population will
be stratified by the types of libraries that the graduates work in. Afterward, students will be
selected randomly from each stratified group by using the simple random sample method. This
two-stage sampling procedure will more produce accurate results and achieve higher precision
than the other more simple probability methods.
Data Collection
An electronic questionnaire is the data collection instrument of choice for this research.
An online survey was chosen because it offers many advantages for the researcher and the
participants. It simplifies the data analysis phase of the research and is more cost effective,
requiring less staff, time and resources. Additionally, an online questionnaire is appropriate for
this population and more convenient for the participants, which will lead to more respondents
and subsequently, a higher response rate.
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Before the questionnaire is sent out to the participants, it will be pretested in order to
refine the questions and revise the data gathering procedures. The pretest will be administered to
a group that is representative of the sample that will be studied for the actual survey. The final
questionnaires will be distributed via email correspondences to the graduates of each of the six
schools that meet the eligibility to participate and who are selected during the sampling process.
A week prior to distributing the questionnaire, students will receive a reminder notice of the
upcoming survey. After the questionnaire is disseminated, students will have two weeks to
complete the survey. The questionnaire will be comprised of open and close-ended questions so
that both qualitative and quantitative data are measured. The analysis of these types of data will
occur independently because each method requires distinctive procedures.
Data Analysis
The data analysis will combine qualitative and quantitative methods in order to achieve a
more comprehensive and balanced view of the results. Using a qualitative method will allow for
detail and variety in the responses while the quantitative method will provide an overview of all
the relevant numerical data from the survey. The quantitative data will be measured using
descriptive analysis. This type of statistical analysis was chosen because it fits the purpose of the
research appropriately, can illustrate the relationship between variables in the study and offers a
way to visually present the numerical data. Once the data has been validated and processed
through coding, the quantitative data will be imported into SPSS for analysis. The open-ended
questions will be categorized through coding in order to organize and interpret the data. Themes
that emerge through the responses will be arranged according to similarities and number of
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frequencies. Then, the qualitative data will be ranked based on the frequency of the categorized
responses in a spreadsheet program like Excel.
Personnel
Primary Investigator (PI): Stephanie Bailey
Qualifications: Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Science,
University of South Florida (Spring 2012-Present). The primary investigator has significant
knowledge of Web 2.0 research that will be invaluable to this study.
Research Responsibilities: The PIs chief duty is to ensure the research project is
successfully carried out, which means she must plan and execute the steps in research design,
effectively manage personnel, and supervise the analysis of the data.
Commitment to Research: The primary investigator has invested a significant amount
time into reviewing the related literature, formulating research questions, developing the research
design and constructing a survey.
Support Staff: Graduate Research Assistant
Qualifications: 21 credits (7 courses) into the Masters of Library and Information
Science program with completion of the Research Methods in Library and Information Science
course and one year of previous research experience.
Research Responsibilities: The research assistant will function in an administrative and
support capacity. They will disseminate and collect the surveys in addition to performing coding
and analysis of the data under the supervision of the primary investigator.
Commitment to Research: The graduate assistants research interests align with the
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projects focus.
Timeline
The projected timeline for this research project is six months. The image below is a graph
that illustrates the estimated duration for each stage of the project. Based on the initial
projections, the data analysis and finalization of the report will be the most time-consuming
research tasks; approximately two and a half months of research time will be devoted to each of
these activities.

Budget
Category
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Amount Requested
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Personnel
Principal Investigator
Graduate Research Assistant
Direct Expenses
Survey Monkey Gold Plan
Survey Participation Incentive
Total Estimated Expenses

$10,800
$3,600
$300
$379
$15,079

Since this is an inclusive research project that will have 300 survey participants, the
primary investigator will need assistance from a graduate research assistant in order to
administer the survey and analyze the results. The budget calculations for the personnel are based
on 10 hours of research work per week for 6 months (the estimated timeframe for the project).
For this research, an online survey tool called Survey Monkey will be used to administer and
collect the surveys results. The Survey Monkey plan is necessary because it will save a
significant amount of time and effort in the data collection and analysis phases of the research.
Additionally, the research hinges on high response rates from survey participants and as such, it
is essential to provide an incentive that sufficiently motivates people to respond to the survey,
which is why the researcher proposes that a Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" Tablet be offered to
participants as an enticement to complete the survey.

References
Aharony, N. (2008). Web 2.0 in U.S. LIS schools: Are they missing the boat? Ariadne, (54)
Al-Daihani, S. (2009). The knowledge of web 2.0 by library and information science academics.
Education for Information, 27(1), 39-55.
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Bawden, D., Robinson L., Anderson T., Bates J., Rutauskiene, U., & Vilar, P. (2007). Towards
curriculum 2.0: Library/information education for a web 2.0 world. Library and
Information Research, 31(99), 14.
Branch-Mueller, J., & de Groot, J. (2011). The power of web 2.0: Teacher-librarians become
school technology leaders. School Libraries Worldwide, 17(2)
Chow, A. S., Shaw, T. L., Gwynn, D., Martensen, D., & Howard, M. (2011). Changing times and
requirements: Implications for LIS education. LIBRES: Library and Information Science
Research Electronic Journal, 21(1)
Garoufallou, E., & Charitopoulou, V. (2012). Web 2.0 in library and information science
education: The Greek case. New Library World, 113(3-4), 202-217.
Virkus, S. (2008). Use of web 2.0 technologies in LIS education: Experiences at Tallinn
university, Estonia. Program: Electronic Library and Information Systems, 42(3), 262274.

Appendix: Survey
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Courses Teaching Web 2.0 Tools in LIS Education
The purpose of this survey is to determine the value of incorporating a Web 2.0 course
into the University of South Florida (USF) Library and Information Science (LIS) curriculum by
examining the applicability of the course and investigating the usage of Web 2.0 tools in
libraries. The survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete. By participating in this survey,
you will be automatically entered into a random drawing for a chance to win a free Kindle Fire
HDX 8.9" Tablet. If you are interested in receiving the results of this survey, please send an
email to sbailey6@mail.usf.edu. Your participation in this survey is greatly appreciated.

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