**8. Discussion of emergent themes: Secondary level analysis**

Further analysis of the data was carried out to determine what they revealed about the overall annotation-writing strategies of the students. Five such strategies were detected.

The first pertains to the approach adopted for identifying and selecting source material on which to write the annotations. Given the vast difference in terms of usage between the term 'mobile phone' and the other four, one may infer that the dominant search strategy employed highlighted that term above all the others. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to investigate how students approached the task of identifying key terms that would guide their search, and more specifically, how they decided which terms to include for the search.

A close examination of the essay topic seems to suggest that the term 'mobile phone' was in the dominant position at the beginning of the topic statement and that this, coupled with its heightened popularity in the wider society may have influenced the greater attention it received from students. What ever may have been the factors, it is evident that the search strategies used warrant further investigation.

As noted earlier, the tasks of writing overviews and highlighting perceived relevant details were generally well represented in the data set analysed. Given that these are widely regarded as core components of the more complex task of writing a summary, one may infer that students had knowledge of and were practicing these two summarizing techniques. However, as noted earlier, students' knowledge did not seem to extend to the acknowledged relationship between the two.

One exception to this general pattern was observed in the following three meaning-units , taken from a single annotation:


The writer of this annotation was displaying a competency level in the writing of summaries that was of a higher standard than that exhibited by the other writers.

Looking at the overview in particular across the entire data set, it appeared that at times, this element served as a default strategy when students found it difficult to draw out the meaning of the details of the source material.

An Analysis of the Search Skills of Online Graduate Students as

graduate students beyond the level of task-identification.

capability for relational thinking.

**9. Conclusions** 

**10. References** 

iv

the Basis for the Development of Appropriate Instructional Strategies 231

acknowledging the quality of the segment of the annotation identified as MP89 to MP91 earlier, it should still be noted that here the focus is only on the role of the mobile phone in fostering the development of socialization skills in young people. The same pattern is evident in MP75. Indeed it can be argued that the weaknesses observed earlier in the searching strategies employed may also be traced back, at least partially, to a limited

Finally, the question may also be asked whether all relevant summary-writing strategies as they pertain to the writing of annotations were present in the data analyzed. In this regard, it is important to note that students were required to develop the annotated bibliography in relation to a specific essay topic that they would write on subsequently. It was not being developed in relation to a general topic of interest. To the extent that there is a distinction between the two, and that there are additional strategies that apply in the first scenario that

One of the main factors that influenced the decision to undertake this study was the perception that the outcome-oriented task-focused approach to providing guidelines for assisting students in developing information literacy skills, may not be sufficient to address the fundamental process skills that students need to apply in order to achieve the intended outcome. This view was also shared by the two library information specialists cited. In particular, one recalls Kavanagh's (2011) discussion about the research strategy log. This view also resonates with Ally's (2004) assertion that the developer of online materials must select learning strategies that, inter alia, promote meaningful learning and provide support during the learning process. It is envisaged that the findings of this study can provide a useful starting point for taking the design of information literacy instruction for online

Ally, M. (2004). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In T. Anderson and F.

http://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/JIL/article/view/LLC-V5-I1-2011-1 Shelley, A. (2009). Beyond buzz words and skill sets: the role of critical thinking in

Stemler, Steve (2001). An overview of content analysis. *Practical Assessment, Research &* 

*Evaluation*, 7(17). Retrieved October 7, 2011 from

http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=17 .

University. Chapter 1, pp. 3-31. http://cde.athabascau.ca/online\_book . Crème, P and Lea, M.R. (2003). *Writing at University* (2nd. ed). UK: Open University Press. Kavanagh, A. (2011). The evolution of an embedded information literacy module: using

Elloumi (Eds.). *Theory and Practice of Online Learning.* Athabasca: Athabasca

student feedback and the research literature to improve student performance. *Journal of Information Literacy,* 5(1), pp. 5-22. Retrieved October 7 2011 from

information literacy. *Library Student Journal.* Retrieved October 7 2011 from http://www.librarystudentjournal.org/index.php/lsj/article/view/110/233#topd

are not required in the second, this distinction was not evident in the data analyzed.

The following are to be noted in this regard:


Whether or not an overview was required at that point in the respective annotations, it would appear that detailed information had been suppressed and students were resorting to vague, non-specific utterances that were largely devoid of the core essence of the content of the source material.

A third area of interest emerged in what appeared to be a strategy to ensure the relevancy of the content of the annotation. It can be argued that some students seemed to be making a conscious effort to ensure that their output was consistent with the requirements of the essay topic. In short, they wanted to ensure that they were 'answering the question'. As noted earlier, this sometimes meant the direct transfer of key terms from the essay topic into the annotation, as reflected in the items included in the category defined earlier as 'superimposition'. This superficial approach meant that the annotation itself was not able to reflect the essence of the source material on which it was based.

A fourth area of interest was the use of assertions by some students in which they appeared to be advancing propositions as if they (the propositions) were emanating from the source material. One wonders whether this resort to what was essentially a personal position, through the use of the 'grand statement', derived from an inability to accommodate openended thought and the need to remain in the comfort zone of clearly-defined factual information.

The use of assertions may have also been propelled by an orientation towards more prescriptive rather than analytical modes of thinking, as implied in the tendency towards providing a solution in MP148 and MP149. Overall, what appears to be the case here is a need to define knowledge within firm boundary lines and it can be argued that the assertion provided the required mechanism for doing so.

Finally, the data analysed appeared to reveal a likely weakness in students' capacity to engage in relational thinking that was able to observe and deal with elements of a body of knowledge in a manner that allowed a focus on the elements in interaction with one another rather than singly and sequentially. Such an approach to thinking would demonstrate an appreciation of the Gestalt principle of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts and conversely, the significance of viewing the parts in the context of the whole. As noted earlier a large proportion of the meaning units analyzed were focused on the mobile phone only. Even when the focus extended to include the landline phone, the context in which the two were being discussed bore little relation to that espoused in the essay topic.

Additionally, when the use of these technologies was shown as impacting life style changes, it was the impact of the mobile phone only that was focused on. For example, even though acknowledging the quality of the segment of the annotation identified as MP89 to MP91 earlier, it should still be noted that here the focus is only on the role of the mobile phone in fostering the development of socialization skills in young people. The same pattern is evident in MP75. Indeed it can be argued that the weaknesses observed earlier in the searching strategies employed may also be traced back, at least partially, to a limited capability for relational thinking.

Finally, the question may also be asked whether all relevant summary-writing strategies as they pertain to the writing of annotations were present in the data analyzed. In this regard, it is important to note that students were required to develop the annotated bibliography in relation to a specific essay topic that they would write on subsequently. It was not being developed in relation to a general topic of interest. To the extent that there is a distinction between the two, and that there are additional strategies that apply in the first scenario that are not required in the second, this distinction was not evident in the data analyzed.
