Joli McClelland
Instruction & Web Design Librarian
Queens University of Charlotte
mcclellandj@queens.edu
704-337-2591
In the beginning . . .

 Ba in Psychology, 2000
Queens College
 Undergraduate connections led to a partnership
between the library and the Psychology Department
Evolution of PSYC 300

 All Psychology Majors are required to take:
 PSYC 306: Experimental Methods
 Must complete a publishable research paper
 PSYC 400/401: Advanced General 1 & 2
 Must complete Senior Thesis
Evolution of PSYC 300

 Two parallel precipitating factors – Frustrations and
Assessment
Frustrations
 Faculty
 Student papers did not reflect high quality literature
 Student presentations were weak on substance (but strong on
appearance)
 Students
 Students unable to find literature for their papers
 Students unable to distinguish among different types of literature in
Psychology
The Plan

 Add a course to be taken after General (Introductory) Psychology to specifically
teach literacy skills
 Select goals from APA standards to set up course objectives and literacy learning
outcomes:
 Goal 3: Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology

Students will respect and use critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and, when
possible, the scientific approach to solve problems related to behavior and mental processes.
 Goal 6: Information and Technological Literacy

Students will demonstrate information competence and the ability to use computers and other
technology for many purposes.
 Goal 7: Communication Skills

Students will be able to communicate effectively in a variety of formats.
 Try to convince librarians to teach most of the classes and grade all of the papers 
The Curriculum

 QUILT – Queens Information Literacy Tutorial.
 Must pass quiz with at least 80%
 Class sessions, spread throughout the semester, on
Library Instruction & Information Literacy topics.
 Meet with students one-on-one for topic discussion
and research guidance.
 Presence in physical class and online LMS (Moodle).
Results

Self-rated Proficiency for Types of Writing in Psychology
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Pre
Post
Tech.
report
Lit review Research
report
Pre-post differences for technical reports and lit reviews were significant at the .o1 level
Results

 Question: How do you find articles on a topic in Psychology?
 61 % changed from no mention of a database on the pre-test to
mention of some database on the post-test
 83% changed from general answers on the pre-test to specific
answers on the post-test
 Examples:
 Books → Databases
 Internet → Psychological Databases
 Databases → PsycINFO; PsycARTICLES