HOW PREPARED ARE STUDENTS FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDY? A COMPARISON OF THE INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS OF COMMENCING UNDERGRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE INFORMATION STUDIES STUDENTS AT CURTIN UNIVERSITY

This paper describes a study comparing the information literacy skills of commencing undergraduate and postgraduate Information Studies students at Curtin University. The study was conducted by means of an online multiple choice survey, which students completed during the first few weeks of their course. The results show that a number of both undergraduates and postgraduates have problems with basic information literacy skills, particularly those related to the use of traditional library tools, such as library catalogues. The study found that the only factors associated with differences in performance were postgraduate and undergraduate status (the primary variable examined), age, and previous work experience.