Differences in university students’ perceived and actual information literacy self-efficacy: A comparative study in a developing country setting

Abstract

Understanding information literacy self-efficacy is essential for creating an intervention that helps students to be more successful in their academics and research work. The primary aim of the study is to measure university students’ information literacy self-efficacy by comparing their perceived competence with their actual competence and to find any differences between these two. Using a quantitative research approach, this study utilized a validated 23-item IL self-efficacy scale to assess students’ perceived competence and a set of 20 task-based questions to measure their actual competence. A total of 432 data were collected from the students of a public university in Bangladesh utilizing print-based surveys and a convenience sampling technique. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. The study found moderate levels of perceived IL self-efficacy and comparatively lower levels of actual self-efficacy among the students. Additionally, there existed a significant positive relationship as well as a significant positive difference between students’ perceived and actual IL self-efficacy. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first initiative to measure and compare perceived and actual IL self-efficacy among university students in Bangladesh.