What do they really think? Assessing student and faculty perspectives of a Web-based tutorial to library research

Over the past thirty years, libraries have increasingly used forms of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in place of librarians for basic instruction tasks. This study evaluates student and faculty perceptions of the Highlander Guide, a Web-based tutorial to library research. Overall, students (particularly those required to use it) and faculty reported positive views of the guide. Correlations drawn between student confidence in using the Web or conducting library research revealed that confident students reacted more favorably toward the Highlander Guide than average students did. In contrast to previous studies, the results of this study indicated that students and faculty were not strongly in favor of using the tutorial to replace traditional library instruction.