Information Literacy for MOS
ECS-65100, Lecture 2
January 2011, Marco van Veller and Annemie Kersten
Agenda
 25 January: 15:30 - 17:15 h
● room C321: Classroom lecture + feedback and questions
 1 February: 14:00 - 15:30 h
● room PC 602/606: Exam
When are you information literate?
 Define the information you need
 Understand the variety of information sources
 Search efficiently
● fast, comprehensive and accurate
 Search effectively
● get the information that suits your request
 Evaluate and select the appropriate information
 Manage the selected information
 Use the selected information and avoid plagiarism
Influence of climatic change on food
security
Climate change has a direct impact on local weather
patterns. Rising temperatures and less predictable and
more erratic rainfall patterns resulting in periods of
droughts or floods will directly affect agricultural
production. This will have a negative impact on the food
security of many rural households. To reduce the risks of
crop failure and to be less vulnerable farmers will have to
take action.
What are the opportunities and possibilities for farmers in
developing countries to adapt their farming systems to
climate change?
Influence of climatic change on food
security
Climate change has a direct impact on local weather
patterns. Rising temperatures and less predictable and
more erratic rainfall patterns resulting in periods of
droughts or floods will directly affect agricultural
production. This will have a negative impact on the food
security of many rural households. To reduce the risks of
crop failure and to be less vulnerable farmers will have to
take action.
What are the opportunities and possibilities for farmers in
developing countries to adapt their farming systems to
climate change?
Influence of climatic change on food
security
Climate change has a direct impact on local weather
patterns. Rising temperatures and less predictable and
more erratic rainfall patterns resulting in periods of
droughts or floods will directly affect agricultural
production. This will have a negative impact on the food
security of many rural households. To reduce the risks of
crop failure and to be less vulnerable farmers will have to
take action.
What are the opportunities and possibilities for farmers in
developing countries to adapt their farming systems to
climate change?
Concepts (n=26)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Climatic change
Farming system
Food security
Developing country
Adaptation
Influence
Multidisciplinary databases
669
100
180
90
160
80
140
70
120
60
100
50
80
40
60
30
40
20
20
10
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Scopus, Web of Science, Not specified
percentage of relevant records
number of retrieved records
200
316
3674
70000
403
100
180
90
160
80
140
70
120
60
100
50
80
40
60
30
40
20
20
10
0
Percebtage of relevant records
Number of retrieved records
200
940
Subject specific databases
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Not specified, CAB abstracts, Scirus, Agricola, Web of Science,
Wageningen catalogue, Agris, Pubmed, Agrotechnology and Food
Sciences
Influence of climatic change on food
security
What are the opportunities and possiblities for farmers in
developing countries to adapt their farming systems to
climate change?
Influence of climatic change on food
security
What are the opportunities and possibilities for farmers in
developing countries to adapt their farming systems to
climate change?
To ensure food security
Example search 1: concepts
Main concepts
Climate change
Relevant search terms
climate change, climatic change, global environmental
change, global warming, global climate change
Food security
food security, food insecurity, food availability, food
assurance
Agricultural system
agricultural system, agriculture, agricultural production,
farming, farmer, food production
Developing
countries
developing countries, least developed countries, poor
countries, Third World countries, developing world
Adaptation
adaptation, adjustment, innovation, coping, alternatives
Example search 1: Search in Scopus
("climat* chang*" OR "global environmental chang*" OR "global warming" OR "global
climate change")
AND
("agricultural system" OR "agriculture" OR "agricultural production" OR "farming" OR
"farmer" OR "food production")
AND
("food security" OR "food insecurity" OR "food availability" OR "food assurance")
AND
("develop* countr*" OR "poor countr*" OR "Third World countr*" OR "develop* world")
AND
(adapt* OR adjust* OR innovati* OR coping OR alternative)
Search history in Scopus
Search results in Scopus
Example search 2: Search in Scopus
Students’ search
("climat* chang*" OR "climate variability" OR "climate
conditions") AND ("food security" OR "food safety") AND
(farming OR "farming system" OR agronom* OR
cultivation) AND ("developing countr*" OR "Third World
Countr*" OR africa) AND (adaptation)
Adjusted search
("climat* chang*" OR "climat* variability" OR "climat*
conditions") AND ("food security" OR "food safety") AND
(farm* OR agronom* OR cultivation) AND ("developing
countr*" OR "Third World Countr*" OR africa) AND
(adapt*)
Example search 2: Both searches in
Scopus
Example search 2: Learn from results
Cooper, P. J. M., J. Dimes, K. P. C. Rao, B. Shapiro, B.
Shiferaw, and S. Twomlow. 2008. Coping better with
current climatic variability in the rain-fed farming
systems of sub-Saharan Africa: An essential first step
in adapting to future climate change? Agriculture,
Ecosystems and Environment 126:24-35
Records retrieved and records which cite relevant articles
provide new search terms: use these to adjust your
search.
Example search 3: Search in Scopus
Students’ search
("food security" OR "food supply" OR "agricultural
production" OR "agricultural system" OR "food production"
OR farming OR cultivation) AND ("developing countr*" OR
"developing nation") AND ("climate change" OR "global
warming") AND (chance? OR opportunit* OR possibilit*)
Adjusted search
("food security" OR "food insecurity") AND ("food supply"
OR "agricultural production" OR "agricultural system" OR
"food production" OR farming OR cultivation) AND
("developing countr*" OR "developing nation") AND
("climate change" OR "global warming") AND (chance? OR
opportunit* OR possibilit*)
Example search 3: Both searches in
Scopus
Example search 3: Students’ search results
Example search 4 in CAB
(exp climatic change) AND (exp farming systems OR exp
farming OR exp agriculture) AND (exp food security) AND
(exp developing countries)
Example search 4: search history in CAB
abstracts
Example search 4: thesaurus in CAB
abstracts
Example search 4: search results CAB
abstracts
Use of thesaurus
 Find out the right search terms
 Include narrower terms with explode
 Search specific in keywords field
 Not in all databases available
Choice of subject specific databases
 Use the Portals, Resources by subject, on the Library site
● Choose a bibliography by checking the content (or
do a metasearch in the databases)
 Use Metasearch (not preferred)
● Do a simple search and compare the results
● Note: Scopus is not searched well by Metasearch
Evaluating search results
Determining relevance
and quality
Illustration © Loet van Moll 2009
Judging bibliographic records
 Is the content of this document appropriate
for my research topic?
 Is it worth the effort of getting the full text
and reading it?
 Criteria:
● type of document
● subject and scope – abstract information
● primary or secondary research
● audience
● date of publication
● author details
Judging bibliographic records
 Type of document
● Books
● Research reports
● Theses
● Conference proceedings
● Government/policy documents
● Journal articles
Journal articles
Scientific journals
Research
Peer reviewed
Professional journals
Practical
Non-peer reviewed
A standard procedure in scholarly publishing, whereby a
prospective publisher submits the manuscript of an
article to experts in the research field for their critical
scrutiny, under conditions of anonymity, with the aim of
assuring quality and reliability of findings.
© American Chemical Society 2009
Peer review
Judging bibliographic records
 Primary research presents original research
methods or findings for the first time. Examples
include:
● A journal article or research report that presents
new findings and new theories
● A poster presented at a conference
 Secondary research provides a compilation or
evaluation of previously presented material.
Examples include:
● A review article summarizing research or data
● A textbook
Judging bibliographic records
 Intended audience
Is the publication aimed
at scientists,
professionals, policy
makers, students or a
general audience?
Illustration © Loet van Moll 2009
Evaluating internet resources
 Anyone can publish
 Advertising can be disguised
as facts.
 Quality criteria:
● Accuracy
● Objectivity
● Authority (of author and
publisher)
● Currency
Example and feedback in
exercise herbalife
Illustration © Peter Steiner 1993
Reference management
 Selecting references
 Print, download, e-mail
 Export to reference management software
● EndNote (short demo)
© Thomson Reuters 1988-2010
Publishing
 Publishing: why
● contribution to the record of science
● part of research process (requirement)
● reflection
● evaluation (publish or perish)
 Publishing: where
● Type of document
● Journal selection, impact factors
● Open access journals: BioMed Central, PLoS Biology
Plagiarism
 Definition: Taking someone's
words or ideas as if they were
your own.
 (also known as) Copy and paste
 Plagiarism is a serious academic
offence
 Wageningen University uses
Turnitin to check student reports
 Avoid unintentional plagiarism by
citing correctly
Illustration © Loet van Moll 2009
Plagiarism exercise 1
 Original text
“This study has shown that golf courses can
enhance the diversity of three indicator groups
(birds, ground beetles and bumblebees), relative to
adjacent pasture farmland.”
 Text from Mr. Smith
The study of Tanner and Gange (2005) has shown
that golf courses can enhance the diversity of three
indicator groups (birds, ground beetles and
bumblebees), relative to adjacent pasture farmland.
Tanner R. A. and A. C. Gange, 2005. Effects of golf courses on
local biodiversity. Landscape and urban planning, Vol. 71, 2-4,
137-146
Plagiarism exercise 2
Original text
“This study has shown that golf courses can enhance the
diversity of three indicator groups (birds, ground beetles and
bumblebees), relative to adjacent pasture farmland. “
Text from Mr. Smith
The study of Tanner and Gange (2005) has shown that “golf
courses can enhance the diversity of three indicator groups
(birds, ground beetles and bumblebees), relative to adjacent
pasture farmland.” (p.....)
Direct quotations must be quoted!!
Plagiarism exercise 3
Original text
“This study has shown that golf courses can enhance the
diversity of three indicator groups (birds, ground beetles and
bumblebees), relative to adjacent pasture farmland. “
Text from Mrs. Brown
According to Tanner and Gange (2005) the diversity of birds
and some insect groups can be higher on golf courses than on
adjacent farmland.
Tanner R. A. and A. C. Gange, 2005. Effects of golf courses on
local biodiversity. Landscape and urban planning, Vol. 71, 2-4,
137-146
Plagiarism exercise 3: Secondary source
Is it okay when you cite Mr. Smith for this information
originating from Tanner and Gange?
Preferable not.
But in case you cannot get the original publication, it is
allowed. You have to indicate that this is a secondary
source, e.g. (Tanner and Gange, 2005, as cited in Smith,
2010). In your reference list you should provide the
details of the secondary source (the source you read).
Whether you have to give the details of the primary
source or not, depends on the citation style.
Referring, citing, quoting
 To allow readers to find and check your
information sources
 To give authors of these sources credit for their
work
 Methods
● In-text citations and quotes
● Reference lists
● Many different styles
● Bibliographic details differ per
document type
Examples of styles
Kotir, J. H. (2011). "Climate change and variability in
Sub-Saharan Africa: A review of current and future
trends and impacts on agriculture and food security."
Environment, Development and Sustainability 13(3):
587-605.
1.
Kotir, J.H., Climate change and variability in
Sub-Saharan Africa: A review of current and future
trends and impacts on agriculture and food security.
Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2011.
13(3): p. 587-605.
Choice of style
 Ask your supervisor
 Citation guides
 Journal style: About this journal, Author guidelines
● Journal of Hydrology
Wrong style:
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global
Change
(http://www.springerlink.com/content/u2j72l0244j1
m77q/)
DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:MITI.0000004663.31074
.64
Evaluation – zie ook Agenda
 Assignment
● Assignment had to be submitted in order to get a
grade for this course
 Exam
● PC exam on 1 February 2012
● Re-exam on 3 May 2012
● Final grade is based upon this exam (minimum 5.5)
 Contact: marco.vanveller@wur.nl or
annemie.kersten@wur.nl
End slide
Thank you for your
attention!