Self-efficacy and attitudes associate with undergraduates’ library research intentions: A theoretically-grounded investigation

Abstract

Undergraduates’ use of academic libraries is associated with academic achievement, but library research resources are underutilized, and little is known about what factors contribute to students’ use of these resources. A random sample of undergraduate students from a historically women’s college in the United States (N = 207; 59.2% white; 87.7% female or transfemale, 5.9% gender queer, 5.9% gender non-conforming, and 0.5% other gender) reported on their information literacy self-efficacy, attitudes toward research in undergraduate courses, and behavioral intentions to engage with library resources and services using an anonymous online questionnaire. Controlling for past library research and class year, results indicated that self-efficacy and positive research disposition were associated with greater library research intentions (βs ≥ 0.246, ps ≤ 0.005), with positive disposition related to intentions most strongly among students of underrepresented racial and ethnic identities (b = 0.4817, p <.0001). Surprisingly, greater research anxiety was associated with greater library research intentions (β = 0.345, p =.005), and no significant relation emerged for perceived usefulness (p ≥.05). Self-efficacy is an important factor in library research intentions, and attitudes should be assessed multidimensionally as they relate to library research intentions in different ways. Future research should apply these findings to library instruction and research methods course design to enhance student self-efficacy, encourage library use, and promote success in undergraduate learning.