The University of Sheffield
Information School

Study and Research with Us

There are opportunities at Research, Masters and Undergraduate degree level to engage with us in researching and learning about information literacy and information behaviour.

Research students

We welcome applicants for research degrees in the areas of information literacy and information behaviour.

Current students are

  • Phussadee Dokphrom
    'IL needs of Arts faculty students at Silpakorn University, Thailand'

  • Maryam Nazari
    'IL needs of Geographic Information Systems students in an e-learning context'
Successful graduates include:
If you wish to study with us, you will need to know to apply for research, and whom to aproach as a potential supervisor. You should therefore find the following links useful:

Masters Students

We´re proud to introduce a unique new masters course focusing on information literacy. The aims of this exciting course are:

- to develop your understanding of information literacy theory and practice
- to prepare you for the role of educator in information literacy

The MA will deepen your understanding of information literacy and information behaviour in different contexts. Reflecting on your experiences of learning and teaching, you will engage critically with different approaches and build a foundation for a career in which educating others in information literacy is a key role. For more information, see the full details on this page:

MA in Information Literacy

Students who want to take a more general programme can also experience some information literacy specialisms. People studying for either the MA Librarianship or MSc Information Management take a core module Information Resources and Information Literacy (coordinated by Professor Nigel Ford) and can choose the elective module Information literacy Research (coordinated by Sheila Webber). Students can choose any information or library related subject for their dissertation, and dissertation topics of masters students have included:

  • 'Evaluating information literacy activity at the University of Manchester: A case study'

  • 'An investigation into the role of subject librarians in delivering information literacy skills support at Sheffield University library'

  • 'Does the training in the use of library resources, provided at Rotherham College, successfully equip students on the Access course with the skills they will need to use at a university library?'
Additionally, students taking the Continuing Professional Development Route on either programme can take Independent Study modules focusing on a topic of their choice. CPD Masters students have chosen information literacy and information behaviour themes including, in 2006/7, one student investigating information encountering, and another studying inquiry based learning in the library context.

Undergraduate students

BSc Information Management students are introduced to the field in the level 1 Information Literacy module, and their skills and knowledge are progressed through the programme. BSc students undertake a final year project in any area of information management and students have researched topics such as “An investigation into how third year students at the University of Sheffield search the web and the relationship with information literacy education”