Student Success/Information Literacy

This lesson introduces information literacy. In this lesson you will learn about information, library resources, information source databases, advanced search techniques, digital media, Internet credibility, academic honesty, and proper citation formats.

Students in a library

Library database

Source credibility

Citations

Objectives and Skills

Objectives and skills for this lesson include:

• Determine the extent of information needed
• Access the needed information
• Evaluate information and its sources critically
• Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
• Access and use information ethically and legally

Readings

1. American Library Association: Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education
2. Lumen: College Success - Academic Honesty

Multimedia

1. YouTube: Information Literacy: Part 1 - Library Resources
2. YouTube: Information Literacy: Part 2 - Databases
3. YouTube: Information Literacy: Part 3 - Advanced Database Search Techniques
4. YouTube: Information Literacy: Part 4 - Digital Media
5. YouTube: Information Literacy: Part 5 - Internet Credibility
6. YouTube: Information Literacy: Part 6 - Academic Honesty
7. YouTube: Information Literacy: Part 7 - Citations

Activities

1. Explore student services.
   • Contact the college Library to learn about information literacy and research support services.
2. Play information literacy games.
   • Review one or more of the following resources and try any of the games that interest you.
     • Indiana University of Pennsylvania: Games and Activities for Energizing Library Instruction
     • University of Nebraska - Lincoln: Games for Teaching Information Literacy Skills
3. Review information literacy resources.
   • Review one or more of the following resources and follow any links that interest you.
     • Indiana University of Pennsylvania: Information Literacy Tutorials and Activities
     • Indiana University Bloomington: Handouts, Worksheets, & Activities for Information Literacy
4. Learn about academic honesty and plagiarism.
   • Review Lumen: College Success - Assignment: Academic Honesty.
   • Review Indiana University: How to Recognize Plagiarism: Tutorials and Tests.
   • Check academic honesty requirements and penalties in the courses you are taking this semester. Copying anyone else's words or ideas without proper acknowledgment is academic dishonesty.
5. Create a citation.
   • Use the Cite this page link on the left to view a proper Wikiversity page citation in a variety of standard formats.
6. Blog / Journal / Wiki
   • Update your blog, journal, or wiki page summarizing your experience this week. Include a list of resources and links or contact information for each resource.

Lesson Summary

Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. Legal and socioeconomic interests influence information production and dissemination.

Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise and credibility, and are evaluated based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used. Authority is constructed in that various communities may recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of authority required.

Information in any format is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences.

Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.

Communities of scholars, researchers, or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations.

Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops.

Library Resources

Library resources may be searched by title, author, and topic.

Electronic resources may be viewed online through the library search page.

Off-campus access is available by logging in with your student username and password.

Newspapers and magazines are popular resources. Journals are scholarly resources.

A variety of databases may be searched to locate academic resources for a given topic.

Databases

Libraries have a variety of general and subject-specific subscription databases.

Frequently-used databases include:

• Academic Search Premiere
• ProQuest National Newspapers Core
• Opposing Viewpoints in Context
• LexusNexus Academic
• Films on Demand

Advanced Search Techniques

Advanced search techniques include:

• Double-quotes (") are used to search for an exact phrase.
• An asterisk (*) is used to search for words beginning with a given character sequence.
• "and", "or", and "not" are Boolean operators which may be used to limit or enhance a search.
• Select citations in the format required by your instructor and save citations while doing your research.
• Use permalinks rather than direct browser links when referencing resources.

Digital Media

Common digital media types include:

• Websites
• Online magazines and journals
• Blogs
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Wikis
• Online speeches and presentations

Internet Credibility

Website information can be:

• Biased
• Unbalanced
• Outdated
• Unreliable
• Just plain wrong

Questions to ask include:

• Who owns the website?
• What is their agenda?
• Is the information current?
• Does the information seem biased?

When evaluating information sources, consider:

• Current
• Relevant
• Authority
• Accuracy
• Purpose

Academic Honesty

Copying something without crediting the source is always unacceptable.

Cheating is the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work through the use of dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means.

Plagiarism is representing the work of someone else as your own (copying someone else's ideas or words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information).

To avoid plagiarism, give credit for all resources used, including words, images, drawings, video, and audio.

Citations

Common citation formats include:

• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• American Psychological Association (APA)
• Chicago (CMS)

Always check with your instructor to verify the required citation style for your assignments.

Key Terms

abstract

A brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding, or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose.

See Also

• Wikipedia: Information literacy
• Purdue: Online Writing Lab - APA, Chicago, and MLA Style Guides

References

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