College-wide assessment by source of evidence
HEDS Research Practices Survey (RPS)
About HEDS RPS
The HEDS Research Practices Survey (RPS) is a fifteen-minute questionnaire that assesses the information literacy of undergraduates, including their knowledge, attitudes, and practices in conducting academic research. The Research Practices Survey questionnaire was developed by an inter-institutional group of liberal arts librarians, faculty members, and assessment specialists led by the St. Olaf Office of Institutional Research and Evaluation. It is administered by the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS), an organization of institutional researchers and assessment specialists in private colleges and universities.
HEDS RPS results and reports
The RPS has been administered at St. Olaf since it was first piloted in Spring 2005. RPS results show how St. Olaf students’ experiences, attitudes, and proficiencies in academic research change during the first year of college and from the beginning to the end of college. They also show how St. Olaf students’ proficiencies compare to those of their peers at other liberal arts institutions. RPS results have been used at St. Olaf to inform the content and process of library instruction, to shape requirements for research assignments, to help prepare new FYW and WRI instructors, and to evaluate programs engaging students in research projects.
