Measuring the Level of Information Literacy among the Students of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences in the Academic Year 2020-2021

Information literacy skills are the most important tools that, in addition to equipping students to continue their education at the graduate level, turn them into lifelong learners with the power of reasoning and critical thinking. Acquiring information literacy is a fundamental skill for effective learning in higher education. The main goal of the current research was to measure the level of information literacy and the skills of using web-based information resources among the students of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences in the academic year 2020-2021. The current research was conducted by a descriptive cross-sectional survey method. The research population included students studying in the academic year 2020-2021 at the Paramedical Faculty of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences. Of 707 people, 249 were selected as a sample by stratified random sampling. A standard information literacy questionnaire taken from Bakhtiari’s thesis with a reliability coefficient of 0.82 was used to collect data. In the data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics, such as the univariate t-test and Spearman’s correlation test, with SPSS software were used. The findings showed no significant difference between the students’ information literacy in terms of gender, marital status, and father’s level of education, and the skills of using web based information resources, while the mother’s level of education and also the age of the respondents were directly and significantly associated with their level of information literacy and skills of using information resources. The mean level of information literacy of students with a score of 7.504 indicated the unfavorable situation and the low level of information literacy and the skills of using web-based resources among the mentioned students. Considering the low level of information literacy of the studied population and the importance of information skills in scientific progress and increasing the efficiency of individuals in their jobs, it seems necessary to hold workshops on research methods and databases to increase students’ information literacy.