Shelley Blundell | Kent State University (original) (raw)

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Papers by Shelley Blundell

This article describes an exploratory research study assessing the level of Americans with Disabi... more This article describes an exploratory research study assessing the level of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and general accessibility of online information resources at a mid-sized, 4-year, public institution in the state of Ohio. A rubric, available freely online as a living document, was developed based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and web design best practices. From 2015-2016, the authors used the rubric containing 14 criteria (12 criteria from the WCAG 2.0, a criterion from Section 508, and a criterion related to universal web design best practices) to assess a random sample of online library guides (18 guides) at this institution. The authors found that the template developed by the administrator and used by all library guides at the study institution caused 70% of the applicable criteria to fail. The content contributed by individual library guide authors did not pass all of the criteria...

In the fall of 2012, this researcher used an individual investigation opportunity presented throu... more In the fall of 2012, this researcher used an individual investigation opportunity presented through her Ph.D. program at Kent State University to work with the Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr. Popular Psychology Magazine collection (the “Ben collection”) at the Center for the History of Psychology (CHP) at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The magazine collection, which contains more than 1,500 issues from across popular psychology publications, and which dates as far back as the late 1800s and as far forward as 2012, was a means to explore the intersection of information literacy and archival standards/usage requirements (the core of archival literacy) in a practically applicable way. This included the creation of a rubric for information resource guides on a variety of subjects based on the subjects covered in the magazines themselves, and the creation of a method to preserve the collection in the long-term—both physically and virtually.

Proceedings from the Document Academy, 2014

As presented at DOCAM’14, this proceedings paper discusses my ongoing dissertation research: Docu... more As presented at DOCAM’14, this proceedings paper discusses my ongoing dissertation research: Documenting the information-seeking experience of undergraduate students enrolled in a remedial English course at a 4-year state university in Ohio, United States. Because the information behaviors, needs, and information literacy abilities of these students are understudied areas in library and information science and higher education literature; I chose to investigate these areas in my dissertation research toward contributing research to this gap, using descriptive phenomenological (qualitative) methodology to do so. Although secondary data analysis is still in progress, this paper presents findings from primary analysis (a necessary step in phenomenological study to eliminate bias and assumption from secondary analysis). Ultimately, I aim to use study findings to create targeted, needs-based instruction for remedial undergraduate students, toward supporting their academic progress throug...

Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 2014

IntroductionMany researchers in the field of library and information science in education have ex... more IntroductionMany researchers in the field of library and information science in education have explored different ways that undergraduate students experience the information seeking process (Belkin, 1980; Dervin, 1999; Jiao, Onwuegbuzie, & Lichtenstein, 1996; Kuhlthau, 1991; Williamson, 2005). Most particularly, many of these researchers have endeavored to understand more about information seeking from the undergraduate student perspective, such as when searches relate to specific information needs (e.g. looking for information to write an academic paper). Of the literature available on information seeking and undergraduate students, something appears to be fairly consistent in the findings, particularly in recent research: undergraduate students experience a great deal of information anxiety when seeking information in a formal (i.e. library) setting, particularly if the process relates to an academic need (Becker, 2003; Gross & Latham, 2007; Gross & Latham, 2009; Kuhlthau, 1991; V...

During the spring of 2014, I engaged in a qualitative study which sought to examine, describe, an... more During the spring of 2014, I engaged in a qualitative study which sought to examine, describe, and document the information-seeking experience of undergraduate students enrolled in a remedial English course at a 4-year, state
university in Ohio, in the United States of America. Previously, I had observed there was a significant gap in the library and information science literature regarding the academic information needs and seeking behaviors of remedial
undergraduate students (defined as undergraduate students who require remedial coursework in subjects such as math, English, and college-level study before they can enter traditional higher education coursework). Therefore, I undertook the study for my dissertation research with the intention of contributing to the slim body of knowledge available. Although secondary data analysis is still in-progress,
I presented my initial findings, based on primary analysis of the
collected data, at the 11th annual meeting of the Document Academy (DOCAM’14) in Kent, Ohio, on August 9, 2014, toward soliciting feedback from attendees and discussing the need for further research in this understudied area before an international audience of scholars.

This proceedings paper includes a background to and rationale for the study described above, a theoretical model of the academic information search process of Millennial undergraduate students (which I created based on a thorough review of literature and research available in this area), initial findings from primary analysis of collected data, next steps in the study, and concluding thoughts, as presented at DOCAM’14.

In the fall of 2012, this researcher used an individual investigation opportunity presented throu... more In the fall of 2012, this researcher used an individual investigation opportunity presented through her Ph.D. program at Kent State University to work with the Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr. Popular Psychology Magazine collection (the “Ben collection”) at the Center for the History of Psychology (CHP) at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.
The magazine collection, which contains more than 1,500 issues from across popular psychology publications, and which dates as far back as the late 1800s and as far forward as 2012, was a means to explore the intersection of information literacy and archival standards/usage requirements (the core of archival literacy) in a practically applicable way. This included the creation of a rubric for information resource guides on a variety of subjects based on the subjects covered in the magazines themselves, and the creation of a method to preserve the collection in the long-term—both physically and virtually.

In early spring 2013, a p ilo t study was conducted at a m ajor p u b lic university in O h io to... more In early spring 2013, a p ilo t study was conducted at a m ajor p u b lic university in O h io to explore elements o f inform ation anxiety (defined herein as a com bination o f library anxiety and inform ation technology anxiety) among second-semester freshmen enrolled in all iterations o f both a traditional and a remedial first-year English course. The Infor m ation A nxiety Scale (an adaptation o f Sharon Bostick's 1992 'Library A nxiety Scale') was the p ilo t study's prim ary measure. Study researchers wanted to exam ine w h ich inform ation anxiety elements registered the most statistical significance for respondents. Analysis o f results revealed statistically significant findings between elements in the scale and previous research and library experience, sex, and race/ethnicity. This p ilo t study experience w ill aid the study's researchers in revising their version o f the Infor m ation A nxiety Scale for a larger study on inform ation anxiety, tow ard understanding specific inform ation anxiety triggers for undergraduate students and inform ing future inform ation literacy instruction practices.

Proceedings from the Document Academy, 2014

Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 2014

In the fall of 2012, this researcher used an individual investigation opportunity presented throu... more In the fall of 2012, this researcher used an individual investigation opportunity presented through her Ph.D. program at Kent State University to work with the Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr. Popular Psychology Magazine collection (the “Ben collection”) at the Center for the History of Psychology (CHP) at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.
The magazine collection, which contains more than 1,500 issues from across popular psychology publications, and which dates as far back as the late 1800s and as far forward as 2012, was a means to explore the intersection of information literacy and archival standards/usage requirements (the core of archival literacy) in a practically applicable way. This included the creation of a rubric for information resource guides on a variety of subjects based on the subjects covered in the magazines themselves, and the creation of a method to preserve the collection in the long-term—both physically and virtually.