Information Literacy
Relevance & Reliability/Database Navigation
Session II Intermediate
Frederic Murray
Assistant Professor
MLIS, University of British Columbia
BA, Political Science, University of Iowa
Instructional Services Librarian
Al Harris Library
frederic.murray@swosu.edu
Focus Question
How do you evaluate/trust the
authority of what you find?
Selecting Sources
You just moved to town and need a doctor for a physical:
A. An internationally known, award-winning podiatrist who
specialized in foot fungus
B. A general practitioner in town who is affordable; he has just
been investigated for Medicare fraud
C. Your aunt’s best friend’s general practitioner, who has been
rated highly online
The best choice is relevant, reliable, and contextual.
Class Activity
What’s the Difference?
Periodicals
• MAGAZINES
– Popular Info
– Audience:
• General Public
• Casual Reader
– Purpose:
• Hobby
• Pleasure
• Curiosity
• JOURNALS
– Scholarly Info
– Audience:
• Researcher
• Professional Who Needs
to Stay Up-to-Date
– Purpose:
• Goal-Driven
– Research Paper
– Certification, Tenure
– Job Requirement
Difference Between Scholarly and
Popular Periodicals
POPULAR MAGAZINES
SCHOLARLY JOURNALS
•
•
HAVE A SOBER, SERIOUS LOOK
•
ALWAYS CITE THEIR SOURCES IN
FOOTNOTES/BIBLIOGRAPHIES
•
ARTICLES WRITTEN BY A
SCHOLAR OR RESEARCHER
“HORSE’S MOUTH”
•
PEER-REVIEWED BY SCHOLARS
•
LANGUAGE OF JOURNAL ASSUMES
SOME SCHOLARLY BACKGROUND
ON THE PART OF READER
•
ADVERTISING IS SPECIALIZED TO
THAT DISCIPLINE
•
PAGINATION IS CUMULATIVE
•
•
USUALLY SOMEWHAT SLICK AND
ATTRACTIVE IN APPEARANCE
RARELY CITE SOURCES. INFO.
IS USUALLY SECONDARY,
REPORTED FROM SOURCE
ARTICLES SHORT, WRITTEN IN
SIMPLE LANGUAGE AND FOR A
MINIMAL EDUCATION LEVEL
•
USUALLY LOT OF ADVERTISING
AND PICTURES
•
PAGINATION RESTARTS IN EVERY
ISSUE
Peer Reviewed
Study Design 101
EDITORIAL PROCESS
Databases
• A large, regularly updated file of
digitized information related to a
specific subject or field.
• This is where we find Journal Articles
• This is where most of your research
will take place
Searching in Databases
• Keywords with Boolean
• Subject terms from thesaurus
• Limiters: date, peer reviewed,
geography, and full text
Databases for ENG 1213
• Academic Search Complete
• CQ Researcher
• Issues & Controversies
• JSTOR
Academic Search Complete
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Limit To*
Source Types*
Publication
Subject: Thesaurus Term*
Subject*
Publisher
Company
Language
Geography
NAICS/Industry
Academic Search Complete
• Limit To*
• Source Types*
• Subject: Thesaurus Term*
• Subject*
Full Text Results
Good
Good
Problematic
Example Topic
Oil Production
Oil Production and Oklahoma
Oil Production and Oklahoma or Texas
JSTOR
• JSTOR is a full-text scholarly journal
archive. JSTOR specializes in making
available the back issues of journals in
a wide variety of humanities and social
science disciplines.
JSTOR
• Limit by Language – English
• Limit by Publication Type – Journal Article
• Narrow by discipline – History
Class Exercise
Locating Articles
Navigation Exercise
• Find an article (peer-reviewed/ full
text) dealing with video games,
violence and alienation.
• Find an article dealing with fishing
treaties involving countries from the
pacific rim (newspaper/ full text)
focused on international law.
Reading Scholarly Articles
• Title: Communicates the central topic
• Abstract: Summarizes the text
• Section headings: Serves as a title
for a specific part of an article
• Conclusion: Recaps on what was said
and expands on its significance
Analysis of Cases of Harm Associated With
Use of Health Information on the Internet
Main Argument: Exercise
• After examining the title, abstract,
section headings, and conclusion,
identifying the main argument or idea
of the text will help you read it
effectively and efficiently
• Try stating the main point in your own
words (single sentence) in order to
understand the text.
Citations
• We think of citation patterns as the
flow of information," says Carl
Bergstrom, a biologist at the University
of Washington. "That's what a citation
is — the trace that an idea flowed
from one place to another."
Bibliographies/References
• Do not solely rely on digital tools
– i.e. Ebrary/Ebsco
• Bibliographies are rich sources of
knowledge and information-use them
• Know how to read a citation
Questions?
• Contact me:
– Frederic Murray
• 774-7113
• frederic.murray@swosu.edu
Thank You