College Research: Competencies and Challenges for First-Time Freshmen at Sonoma State University

At Sonoma State University, information literacy is embedded throughout the General Education (GE) learning outcomes. However, too often a student’s work shows that they struggle to deeply engage with information they find. The skills gap between finding, analyzing, and incorporating information could be attributed to a number of factors: a crowded information landscape, students’ perception of research, lack of preparation, or a neglect to address skills in the classroom. This poster presents preliminary findings on how freshmen conceptualize and conduct research, as well as challenges they encounter in their first year.