The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) information literacy framework established the need to understand the iterative nature of research through posing of increasingly complex questions. Students must have the ability to monitor information gathered and assess for gaps or weaknesses. Students in lower level undergraduate engineering courses are usually unaware of techniques for monitoring information gathered and assessing for gaps in standalone research papers. Moreover, the management of literature research often becomes overwhelming when engineering students encounter team-based design projects that occur over the course of an entire semester. To address this need, we have modified the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) engineering design method to monitor and assess information resources as a natural outcome of the design process. More specifically we have modified the matrix design method known as the House of Quality to associate literature sources with customer determined design constraints and quantify the coverage of the literature review. We introduce this method of identifying literature gaps and weaknesses using QFD in a junior level mechanical engineering systems design course after an initial client interview. Library instruction included a mix of lecture and active learning activities to engage the students with the iterative nature of research. We were thereby able to incorporate information literacy into the preexisting course workflow using the ACRL framework as a guiding document for information literacy.
Chelsea Leachman is the engineering librarian at Washington State University. She obtained here Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2011. She has a background in science and engineering. She received
Jacob Leachman is an Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University (WSU). He initiated the HYdrogen Properties for Energy Research (HYPER) laboratory at WSU in 2010 with the mission to advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of hydrogen systems. He received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Idaho in 2005 and a M.S. degree in 2007. His master’s thesis has been adopted as the foundation for hydrogen fueling standards and custody exchange, in addition to winning the Western Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award for 2008. He completed his Ph.D. in the Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010 on the visco-plastic flow of hydrogenic materials for the fueling of fusion energy machines. He has conducted guest research in the Physical and Chemical Properties of Fluids Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Pellet Fueling of Fusion Plasmas Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
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