Appendix A
Eligibility Criteria

Include:
1. Study includes an explicit or implied research question regarding the effectiveness of academic library research guides for college student learning.
2. The research guide must have been directly developed or compiled by an academic librarian or under the oversight of an academic library program or initiative.
3. Empirical data must have been gathered as part of the study’s assessment of research guide efficacy or effectiveness.
4. The study population must include college students, and provide learning outcomes-related data drawn from or about this population.
5. We are interested in all studies regardless of publication date.
6. It includes explicit or implied learning outcomes relating to any model or operationalization of information literacy.
7. There are no limitations on study design or study type. Study types will include experimental and observational (quasi-experimental, observational, case studies, non-quasi-experimental survey-based) primary studies. These can include peer reviewed articles and high-quality grey literature (e.g. dissertations, white papers, reports, conference proceedings, posters);
8. We will not actively limit results to any language.

Exclude:
1. A research guide cannot be identified as the primary intervention. Excluded from this study would be those in which a research guide is implemented or assessed as part of a broader suite of educational offerings, and the impact of the guide therefore cannot be understood.
2. Excluded from this review are studies investigating the usability or user experience of research guides as related to their functional design, in which no measures relating to student learning are provided.
3. No student-related data are gathered or analyzed. Excluded from this review are studies in which librarians or instructors comprise the sample population and student data were not gathered or assessed.
4. Non-empirical research, such as reflections, perspectives, editorials, opinion pieces, best practices, or professional guidance materials.
5. No sufficient information to understand the research guide’s implementation as an intervention, or how its effectiveness for learning was defined or assessed is offered.