The case for partnering doctoral students with librarians: a synthesis of the literatures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to ask how the academic library may better position itself to assist with the demonstrated need for improved research ability in doctoral students. The paper examines the literature on doctoral student retention, which demonstrates problems with research self‐efficacy in students, and connects this issue to the library literature demonstrating the impact of library instruction.Design/methodology/approach – The main approach is the review of the literatures in library science on the impact of instruction, and in the wider education literature on student retention and doctoral student attrition.Findings – It was found that library instruction does demonstrably improve student research skills, and that doctoral students are generally underprepared to conduct dissertation level research. There is a case for partnering doctoral students with academic librarians to improve dissertation completion rates and lower attrition due to lack of research skill.Practical implication...

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