Replication Data for "Everywhere and Nowhere: Information Literacy in the Political Science Classroom"

Recent research has suggested that many faculty members believe that their students are lacking the Information Literacy (IL) abilities needed to be successful students. Reports also suggest that there is a broader issue about the uncertain position of IL in the university curriculum. In this article, we use data from a worldwide survey of Political Science faculty to better understand how widespread this perception is, what is being done about this perceived problem, and what steps can be taken to encourage faculty to implement IL training in the classroom. We find that faculty believe there is a problem, but many are not explicitly teaching IL as part of their courses. We also find that faculty members that have received IL training are far more likely to implement IL into their courses. This leads us to suggest that IL training should be provided at the faculty level, which will have positive downstream effects on the IL training students receive. We also argue that IL deserves a more prominent place in the curriculum.