The impact of short term information literacy training on information seeking abilities of faculty members based on Shenton and Hay-Gibson model

Information seeking behavior and information literacy fields derive from the need for information and learning. These fields are interconnected: on one hand, research on information seeking behavior reveals the necessity of information literacy; on the other hand, information literacy is the basis of effective information seeking behavior. Current research aims at investigating the impact of short term information literacy training on information seeking abilities based on Shenton and Hay-Gibson model. this research is quasi-experimental and falls in pretest-posttest control group design. The sample size is 81 faculties of tow training and research centers, of which 47 were in experimental group and 34 were in control group. Both experimental and control groups were homogenous in term of some variables including gender, age, university degree, and university of last degree. The Comenius University questionnaire on information seeking abilities with some justifications was used to collect date in both pretests and posttests. Cronbach's alpha test and expert survey proved the reliability and validity of the questionnaire, respectively. Furthermore, Exploratory Factor Analysis was used for identification of information seeking abilities principal components. Finally, independent t-test and analysis of covariance was used for data analysis. The result showed that Information literacy training has a positive impact on the information seeking abilities of faculty members. information literacy training has potential of improving information seeking abilities of faculties.