Communications in Information Literacy - Volume 13 - Issue 2 - Article 5 - Initial Development of the Perception of Information Literacy Scale (PILS)

Oct 15, 2026

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The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education guides librarians in building students’ information literacy skills, yet assessment remains limited by the absence of valid and reliable framework-based instruments. This article presents the development and testing of the Perception of Information Literacy Scale (PILS). Data from 443 graduate students produced a 36-item measure covering seven constructs, with subscales demonstrating internal consistency and evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. PILS supports measurement of students’ self-perceived knowledge, practices, and dispositions for outreach, instruction, and assessment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Need for framework-based assessment tools

Assessment grounded in threshold concepts

Role of self-assessment and metacognition

Overconfidence and instructional implications

Methods and instrument development (implied)

Communications in Information Literacy | Volume 13 Issue 2 | Article 5 | | --- | --- | | 2019
Initial Development of the Perception of Information Literacy Scale (PILS)
Matthew Doyle
California State University, Fresno, [mdoyle@csufresno.edu](mdoyle@csufresno.edu)
Britt Foster
California State University, Fresno, [brfoster@csufresno.edu](brfoster@csufresno.edu)
[Mariya A. Yukhymenko-Lescroart](Mariya A. Yukhymenko-Lescroart)
California State University, Fresno, [mariyay@mail.fresnostate.edu](mariyay@mail.fresnostate.edu)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit](https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit)
Part of the Information Literacy Commons
Let us know how access to this document benefits you. | | Recommended Citation Doyle, M., Foster, B., & Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M. A. (2019) . Initial Development of the Perception of Information Literacy Scale (PILS) . Communications in Information Literacy, 13 (2), 205-227. [https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2019.13.2.5](https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2019.13.2.5) This Research Article is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communications in Information Literacy by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact [pdxscholar@pdx.edu](pdxscholar@pdx.edu). Initial Development of the Perception of Information Literacy Scale (PILS) Matthew Doyle, California State University, Fresno Britt Foster, California State University, Fresno Mariya A. Yukhymenko-Lescroart, California State University, Fresno Abstract The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education has provided academic librarians a guiding document to facilitate the development of information literacy skills in students. Despite widespread adoption of the Framework in academic libraries, a lack of valid and reliable Framework-based scales for assessing students’knowledge practices and dispositions hinders further understanding of student information literacy. The current article describes the development and testing of the Perception of Information Literacy Scale (PILS) . The participants in this study were 443 graduate students. The resulting scale is made up of 36 items that measure seven distinct constructs of information literacy. The subscales ofthe PILS had good estimates of internal consistency and showed evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. PILS allows academic librarians to measure how students perceive their own information literacy knowledge practices and dispositions and could be useful for outreach, instructional design, and assessment activities. Keywords: information literacy, graduate students, scale development, Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, perception, assessment Doyle, M., Foster, B., & Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M. A. (2019) . Initial Development of the Perception of Information Literacy Scale (PILS) . Communications in Information Literacy, 13(2), 205-227. Initial Development of the Perception of Information Literacy Scale (PILS) Introduction As the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL, 2015) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education becomes integrated into the information literacy (IL) work of librarians, professionals need a valid, reliable Framework-based tools to assess varying aspects of student IL. Creating such tools has been a difficult task for a few reasons: Due to the relatively recent adoption of the Framework, librarians have had a limited amount of time in which to develop tools based on it. In addition, the Framework provides unique challenges for assessment of IL because it is grounded in Meyer and Land’s (2006) idea of threshold concepts. Oakleaf (2014) outlined the considerations of assessing IL through the lens ofthe Framework and how Meyer and Land (2006) addressed assessment of threshold concepts. Included is the need fo

FAQs

What problem does this article address in information literacy assessment?

The article addresses the lack of valid and reliable framework-based scales for assessing students’ information literacy knowledge practices and dispositions.

How is the Perception of Information Literacy Scale (PILS) constructed?

PILS is developed and tested using responses from 443 graduate students and results in a 36-item scale measuring seven distinct constructs.

What evidence of validity and reliability does PILS provide?

The PILS subscales show good internal consistency and provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore