"Folk kan ju påstå vad fan som helst" : En studie om elevers källkritiska förmåga och skolbibliotekets roll

Purpose: This thesis aims to study how students in upper secondary school evaluate sources in their everyday school work and how the role of the school library and librarian officiate in this context. Methodology: A web questionnaire was conducted and 155 students from different schools, with or without school library and school librarian, participated. We coded and aggregated the questionnaires according to the strategies that are used when evaluating sources, identified by Francke, Sundin and Limberg. Cognitive authority, a theory by Patrick Wilson, was also a part of our analysis. Conclusions: The study shows that students use different strategies, separately or combined, as a way to evaluate sources. The teacher is regarded as a cognitive authority and is the main influence concerning source evaluation. It also shows that the role of school libraries and school librarians, in this context, seem to be non-existent. The fact that not all students have access to school libraries makes it difficult to come to any conclusions regarding this matter. It also seems to be an uncertainty regarding the students’ knowledge about their school library and its resources.