Research Assistant - Information Literacy

Research Assistant: Information Literacy Project 

We are looking for a student or graduate from KCL to help us with the project outlined below, assisting with phase one of the project. The successful candidate will organise, conduct, record and transcribe interviews with KCL students over MS teams. The RA will be expected to correspond with student interviewees, organise the time and conduct the interviews. 

The weekly hours specified are indicative and the project in total will involve a maximum 130h commitment over the dates specified. The successful candidate will be able to work flexibly according to their other commitments and will be working with Dr Amanda Jones and Dr Craig Robinson from King's Business School. You will be required to provide your own laptop for the project. 

Enhancing Information Literacy and Employability for Gen Z -   what should effective intervention look like?

Overview 

This project explores the value of implementing information literacy initiatives for enhancing students’ perceptions of both subjective success and employability. ‘Generation Z’ (Gen Z), which describes those born between 1996-2012, make up the vast majority of graduating university students (Schwieger & Ladwig, 2018). This generation faces some specific challenges. First, they enter a workforce where the use of artificial intelligence is increasing in the face of the lowest unemployment in 38 years, with the result that they must be able to perform ‘the jobs that robots can’t’ (Kasriel, 2019). Essential skills to manage in this context include critical thinking and the ability to navigate and interpret vast amounts of data from multiple sources. However, Mohr and Mohr’s (2017) research informs us that, counter to possessing desirable digital and information literacy skills, Gen Z report getting ‘lost’ in data by ‘binging’ on too much information and have trouble identifying the reliable sources. Consequently, universities such as KCL would be well advised to seek to enhance students’ information literacy skills if they wish to assist students in securing gainful employment and help to develop key skills which contribute to a better functioning society in the age of ‘increasing disinformation’ (Frau-Meigs, 2022).   

Aim 

The aim of the project is to gain insight into and develop a series of recommendations to better support students in developing information literacy skills. This will be achieved through initially seeking an understanding of the experiences of students and, at a later stage, employers in assessing information literacy needs and examining the process by which these needs can be met. The project will draw on existing literature on generation Z and information literacy, which is informative of the characteristics of Gen Z and the value and necessity of enhancing information literacy, but limited in its scope for recommending practical methods of enhancement, especially within the UK context. We also aim to consider the relationship between student’s perceptions of information literacy and employability and to triangulate these perceptions with those of employers with the aim of understanding and addressing any disparities between these perspectives.  

Process 

The project involves exploratory data collection in two phases (a student phase and an employer phase), a systematic literature review, and a period of analysis. The first step, involves conducing exploratory qualitative interviews with students which evaluate a specific intervention aimed at enhancing their information literacy and explore the effectiveness of this intervention for enhancing their skills and perceived employability. A systematic review of the education and wider literature focused on Gen Z and information literacy will also take place in parallel, drawing on the assistance of an undergraduate researcher (KURF). The second data collection stream, which will take place in a subsequent phase, involves conducting focus group interviews with employers to stablish employers’ perspective on and requirements for information literacy in graduate recruits. The student interviews will be conducted by a postgraduate research assistant.

As above

• A postgraduate (FHEQ L7) qualification in management or in the process of obtaining one


• An interest in management education and research


• Familiarity with qualitative research methods


• Experience of conducting interviews


• Time management and organisational skills