Studying Practicing Researchers: How Research within Scientific Industry Can Impact and Influence Information Literacy among Students in Stem Departments

摘要

Through the administration of a survey and hands on interviews with members of The Dow Chemical Company, researchers at the University of Illinois gained insight as to how literature reviews are conducted within a major industry researcher corporation. The results showed that corporate researchers were not as information literate as expected, and encountered barriers to conducting research as well as training. Since PhD students in STEM fields at universities are the future researchers at large corporations, academic libraries can work on the information literacy skills of graduate students in order to prepare them for jobs in industry. Promoting how to get around barriers to library resource access and through providing targeted training on key topics and concepts, academic librarians can prepare students for future employment.