Information Literacy Workshop
BIO 366: Ecology (Summer 2014)
Peter Fritzler, Sciences Librarian
fritzlerp@uncw.edu
FIG. 1. Diagram depicting information literacy instruction and
outcomes throughout curriculum at UNCW.
Research in the sciences:
• How is it different from other disciplines?
• What types of sources are scientists
expected to rely on for their research,
particularly, if they want to publish their
research?
• As a student and participant in the scientific
community, what types of sources are you
expected to use for your research?
Student Learning Outcomes:
After completing the BIO 366 Information Literacy Workshop,
students will be able to do the following:
1. Distinguish between types of scholarly publications using
classifications such as “primary,” “secondary,” and “tertiary”
sources.
2. Describe the different types and value of publications
including peer-reviewed publications, monographs, and
edited volumes.
3. Describe differences between bibliographic databases (e.g.
Web of Science and BIOSIS Previews) and free search
engines (e.g. Google Scholar).
Student Learning Outcomes:
4. Find relevant scholarly publications using bibliographic
databases (e.g. Web of Science and BIOSIS Previews and free
search engines (e.g. Google Scholar).
5. Create properly formatted parenthetical (i.e. in-text)
references and citations in laboratory reports using the style
accepted by the journal Ecology.
6. Recognize when, where, and how to cite literature using
quotations, paraphrasing, and parenthetical referencing in
order to avoid plagiarism.
Learning outcome 1:
1. Distinguish between types of
scholarly publications using
classifications such as “primary,”
“secondary,” and “tertiary” sources.
Classifying Sources:
Tertiary
Secondary
Primary
Learning outcome 2:
2. Describe the different types and
value of publications including
peer-reviewed publications,
monographs, and edited volumes.
Finding information:
• What do you use to find information,
in particular, scholarly information?
• What do scientists use to find
information for their research?
Learning outcome 3:
3. Describe differences between
bibliographic databases (e.g. Web of
Science and BIOSIS Previews) and
free search engines (e.g. Google
Scholar).
Learning outcome 4:
4. Find relevant scholarly publications
using fee-based bibliographic
databases (e.g. Web of Science and
BIOSIS Previews and free search
engines (e.g. Google Scholar).
Free vs. Fee search tools:
• Free:
– Google Scholar
• Fee-based:
– Web of Science
– BIOSIS Previews
FIG. 2. The Deep Web. Image credit: OSTI.gov
Using databases & search engines
• Single word vs. phrases
• Field-based vs. keyword searching
• Boolean connectors: AND, OR
• Truncation: asterisk symbol
Single word vs. phrases
• Single word = longleaf
• Phrase = “longleaf pine”
Use quotations when searching for a phrase
(i.e. sequence of two or more words).
Field-based vs. keyword searching:
• Keyword searching = database searches
multiple fields in each record of the database.
• Field-based = database searches a specific
field identified by the user.
Boolean connectors:
• Boolean OR connector = either or both
words/phrases are in the document.
– This is very useful when synonyms, related terms
or scientific/commons names might be used.
• Boolean AND connector = BOTH
words/phrases must be in the document.
– This is very useful for narrowing a search.
Truncation:
• Most databases use the asterisk to stem (i.e.
truncate) a term.
– This is useful for finding variant endings of a
term/phrase.
Example: burn* = burn, burns, burnt, burned, burning,
burnout, etc.
Example: manag* = manage, managed, manages,
management, manager, managers, managing, etc.
Complex searches:
• Complex searches using a variety of
terms/phrases require using parentheses to
“instruct” the database to find relevant
publications.
Example (from BIOSIS Previews):
palustris OR longleaf AND pine = 9K+ results
(palustris OR longleaf) AND pine = 500 results
Research topic:
Effects of fire on longleaf pine ecosystems.
Plagiarism
• Intentional or accidental? It’s NOT COOL!
• Consequences? Fail, expulsion, fired, sued.
• Using someone else’s ideas, words or images
without attribution or permission is fraud. It
leaves the reader thinking that these are your
own.
• Common knowledge? When in doubt, cite it!
Which is not plagiarized?1
• Generally, annual or biennial burning resulted in ground-layer
communities dominated by grasses, albeit often with small shrubs and
some forbs in a subdominant position. In contrast, less frequent or
periodic fires tended to favor shrubs and woody sprouts, with reduced
importance of grasses and forbs (Glitzenstein, et al. 2003).
• Generally, annual or biennial burning resulted in ground-layer
communities dominated by grasses, albeit often with small shrubs and
some forbs in a subdominant position. In contrast, less frequent or
periodic fires tended to favor shrubs and woody sprouts, with reduced
importance of grasses and forbs.
• Gliztenstein et al. (2003) note, “Generally, annual or biennial burning
resulted in ground-layer communities dominated by grasses, albeit
often with small shrubs and some forbs in a subdominant position. In
contrast, less frequent or periodic fires tended to favor shrubs and
woody sprouts, with reduced importance of grasses and forbs.”
1. Source: Glitzenstein, J. S., D. R. Streng, and D. D. Wade. 2003. Fire frequency effects on longleaf pine (Pinus
palustris P. Miller) vegetation in South Carolina and northeast Florida, USA. Natural Areas Journal 23:22-37.
How can we paraphrase?
Let’s do this one together:2
Our estimates show that at least 114 million Englishlanguage scholarly documents are accessible on the
web, of which Google Scholar has nearly 100 million. Of
these, we estimate that at least 27 million (24%) are
freely available since they do not require a subscription
or payment of any kind.
2. Source: Khabsa, M., and C. L. Giles. 2014. The number of scholarly documents on the
public web. PLoS ONE 9:e93949.
PLATE 1. The surfer in green. Photo credit: P. Fritzler.