Mapping the relationship between genres and tasks: A study of undergraduate engineers

Abstract

This paper presents a study that explores the genres, tasks, and the relationship between them in the context of undergraduate engineering education. We build upon previous research on the information behaviors of engineers, by focusing on undergraduates' self‐reported information use in order to understand how they interact with genres and perform tasks. We compiled and validated genre and task repertoires using an online questionnaire with 103 undergraduates. To analyze the responses, we employed exploratory data analysis techniques, including correspondence analysis and cluster analysis. We interpreted three latent dimensions of the genre–task relationship: disciplinary versus education (Dimension 1); classroom versus independent coursework (Dimension 2); and conceptual versus procedural knowledge (Dimension 3). The distinction between the educational function of genres and tasks that support teaching and learning and those that support the socialization of students into the discipline and profession accounted for the majority of the variance in the dataset. The use of genres across tasks revealed that respondents prefer proximal and accessible information, and that personal and less formal genres are central to the learning experience. Findings provide insights into how undergraduates navigate complex information environments and interact with genres and tasks in their coursework.