 Purpose of this class is to help you learn how to do
research. It will especially help you when you are
looking for information for harder topics.
 The key to an online course is to treat it exactly like a
face to face course. Schedule a time during the week to
listen to the modules and complete the quizzes.
 Stay on schedule and even move ahead. You don’t have
to wait for the deadlines!
 If you need help come to the library and the librarians
can help you with your research or this course.
 Time to begin the Modules…
Beginning an Information Search
© 2009 Val A. Browning Library
What is information literacy?
 Literacy = competency
 Effectively able to use information
 “A set of abilities requiring individuals to ‘recognize
when information is needed and have the ability to
locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed
information.’” (ALA 1989)
 Information literate people “have learned how to
learn.”
 “They know how to learn because they know how
knowledge is organized, how to find information,
and how to use information so that others can learn
from them. These people are prepared for lifelong
learning because they can always find the
information needed for any task or decision at hand”
(Angeley and Purdue).
 Information literacy is common to all disciplines, to
all learning environments, and to all levels of
education. It enables learners to master content and
extend their investigations, become more selfdirected, and assume greater control over their own
learning.
According to the Association of College & Research Libraries, an
information literate individual is able to:
 Determine the extent of information needed
 Access the needed information effectively and efficiently
 Evaluate information and its sources critically
 Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
 Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
 Understand the economic, legal, and social issues
surrounding the use of information, and access and use
information ethically and legally.
 If you believe you are already information literate,
consider taking the Test Out Exam
 Only available during first week of the semester
 No penalty
 However, if you are unsure about how much you know,
consider the following:
 Spring 2006, Education Testing Service (ETS) tested 6,300
college students’ information literacy skills and their
findings showed that improvement is needed
 Evaluating web sites:
 Only 52% of college students correctly judged objectivity
 Only 49% selected the one web site that met criteria for
timeliness, objectivity, and authority
 When searching a database:
 Only 50% used a strategy that minimized irrelevant results
 Selecting a research question for an assignment:
 Only 44% selected a statement that met the demands of the
assignment
 When asked to narrow an overly broad search:
 Only 35% selected the correct revision
 Knowledge workers are information literate
 Bureau of Labor Statistics
 Knowledge workers (professional, managerial, and
administrative)
 Duties most highly valued are cognitive (related to
thinking, learning, and problem solving)
 The type and quality of information source required
varies with the circumstance.
 Finding, evaluating, and integrating information –
into both one’s own knowledge base and the project
at hand – are major skills that students must learn
and frequently use.
 While discipline specific information sources and
research techniques do exist, there are basic
practices that will create a foundation for
information gathering and use in all academic
situations.
 Business
 Market research
 Use of critical information to make the best decisions
 “Search smarts” – locating information
 Health
 Good or dangerous information?
 Need for appropriate evaluation criteria
 Most important attributes a job seeker can have:
1. Communication Skills: Listening, verbal, and writing
2. Analytical/Research Skills: Deals with your ability to
assess a situation, seek multiple perspectives, gather
more information if necessary, and identify key issues
that need to be addressed.
 Primary sources
 Original
 Non-interpreted
 Unevaluated
 Examples: creative works, legislation, original
research, raw statistics, some government or
organizational documents, personal narratives, diaries,
correspondence, some photographs, interviews, and
some scholarly articles that report results of original
research. Certain newspaper articles reporting events
and not offering any analysis or interpretation are
primary sources.
 Secondary sources take information from primary
sources and:
 Summarize
 Analyze
 Evaluate
 Interpret
 Commentary
 Discussion
 Examples: scholarly periodicals and books,
magazine and newspaper articles, textbooks, works
of criticism and interpretation, works that analyze
events or creative works.
 Some secondary sources can contain primary
source material.
 Tertiary sources appear last in the publication
cycle
 Compile and digest secondary sources
 Focus on factual information
 Examples: encyclopedias and other reference books
 Print publications are not necessarily accessed in
print form (electronic versions)
 Periodicals: published at regular intervals (more
than once each year) as opposed to books, which are
published once.
 Scholarly journals
 Trade publications
 Popular (or general) magazines
 Newspapers
 Authoritative authors (experts with qualifications listed)
 Peer review (more experts!)
 Research based (contain critical analysis or original
findings)
 Sources listed (bibliography)
 Technical academic language in a formal tone
 Long articles (10+ pages not uncommon)
 Examples: Journal of Geology, American Art,
Ethnomusicology, Evolution, Social Psychology Quarterly
 Published by professional or other associations, catering to a
single-interest group.
 Authors may be specialists in that industry
 Authors frequently mention sources, but rarely formally cite
them in bibliographies
 Audience is composed of members of that profession or
industry
 Images are often colorful, and advertising is common
 No peer review process
 Examples: Nursing, Reading Teacher, Concrete Monthly, Teddy
Bear and Friends
 Geared toward general public
 Usually published weekly or monthly
 Meant to inform and/or entertain
 Easy-to-read
 Authors are magazine staff members or freelance writers
 Authors may mention sources, but rarely formally cite them in
bibliographies
 Contain numerous advertisements and colorful illustrations
 No peer review process
 Examples: Newsweek, Road and Track, Consumer Reports, Sports
Illustrated Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone
 Usually local or regional (some, like Wall Street Journal and USA Today
have a national audience)
 Usually published daily or weekly
 Short accounts (reporting) of events to a wide audience
 Printed on inexpensive paper and contain many advertisements
 Authors can be local staff, newswire reports, or columnists.
 Focused on current events, often with a regional or local emphasis.
 Politics, sports, and business are common topics.
 Examples: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Salt Lake
Tribune, Spectrum
 Both general and specific information
 Usually essential in research process for undergraduate
students
 Books cover the full range of content, and due to their length,
topics can be explored in depth.
 Some books are compilations of individual articles by a variety
of authors.
 Books are of course available in print, but increasingly they are
also available in electronic format and can also accessed
through the Internet.
 E-books have full-text searching capabilities (every page of
every book!)
 Different formats of information are useful for
different purposes
 Periodicals – current, specific
 Books – in depth and specific, not current
 Encyclopedias – background information, not
current
 Different formats of information have
different content!
 What you find in a book, you won’t necessarily find
in a journal; the content of a newspaper is very
different from the content of an encyclopedia.
 What you need to know and your purpose will
dictate the type of source you look in.
 Popular sources are derivative
 College students are expected to seek out the best –
scholarly – sources available
 Type of assignment determines the types
of information required
 How much?
 To answer question
 At least 2 sources per page of written work
 Does it need to be current?
 Get up-to-date information, but don’t neglect background
 Are there specific requirements?
 If the assignment requires scholarly material, then
focus on that
 Do you need multiple perspectives or points-of-view?
 Specific sources can help with this (CQ Researcher)
 Will I need to order materials?
 Leave enough time to get what you need!
 A quick look at resources to determine the
appropriateness of a topic based on the amount and
type of information found
 Search the World Wide Web – not the first place to
look for actual sources, but useful in choosing a
topic. Don’t look for actual sources, ask these
questions:
 Are the web sites found good quality sources?
 Are there so many that the topic should be narrowed?
 Does it look like there’s enough good information to
support this topic?
 Most effective method:
1. Consult a subject-specific encyclopedia to find
background information, refine your topic, and learn
terminology useful for later searching
2. Search the library catalog for books, e-books, videos,
and other materials on your topic
3. Look in periodical databases for articles about your
topic
4. Explore the World Wide Web using a search engine to
find quality web sites with good information for your
topic
 Heaviest to lightest!
 A good way to remember the order for effective research
is that the sources go from the
 encyclopedias (heaviest)
 to books, which are a bit lighter than encyclopedias
 to articles (only a few pages)
 to Web sites (which don’t weigh anything at all!)
 Find the best sources
 Be able to evaluate the worth of the information found
 Gateway to expensive resources
 Books & More
 Encyclopedias
 Library Catalog for books
 Article Databases
 General / Multi-Subject
 Subject
 Library Home Page > Research Guides
 Librarians have created helpful research guides for
many subjects, including:
 Citations (MLA and APA)
 Reference
 Education
 Communication
 Health Sciences
 More
1. Start early! (as soon as you receive the
assignment)
2. Follow the research plan
3. Use a variety of quality sources (encyclopedias,
books, articles, authoritative web sites, etc.)
4. Ask for help if you need it!
 Librarians are experts in information! We’re here to
help! Don’t be frustrated; contact the human search
engine – your librarian!
 Text-a-librarian (Text DSClib to 66746)
 Chat with a librarian (Click on “Ask a Librarian”)
 In person at the Library Reference Desk
 Check the library home page for times (library.dixie.edu)
 Email us (reference@dixie.edu or use “All Instructors” in
Canvas)
 By telephone: Reference (435) 634-2081
Circulation (435) 652-7714
 You’re now ready to take Quiz 1.
 It’s located in Module 1. Although the quiz is open
book, remember that the Final Exam is not, so you’ll
need to actually be learning the content not just
filling in the bubbles.
 If you have any questions or run into any problems,
please let us know.
 This class is much easier for students who work
quickly through the modules. Don’t be afraid to
work ahead and get the entire class done!