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“Information literacy is a survival skill in the

Information Age” (ALA, 1989).

INFORMATION LITERACY

Definition: Information Literacy is the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information (ACRL, 2012).

“Ultimately, information literate people are those who 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 in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people prepared for lifelong learning, because they can always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand” (ACRL, 2000).

OUTLINE

How is Information Organized?Using Library ResourcesResearch SkillsEvaluating Academic & Popular

SourcesCitation & Academic Integrity

THE ORGANIZATION OF INFORMATION

Students need to acquire the ability to find, evaluate, and use information

From a young age people learn how to categorize information as a benefit to information processing.

Your understanding of how knowledge can be thought of as bodies of information, organized from broad areas to more specific blocks of information, will be most useful as you think about choosing, narrowing and focusing research topics. Practical application of this knowledge relates to:

Locating databases (A literature database will be under the “English” heading) Books are grouped on the shelves, LCCS gathers books on similar topics together

Information can be categorized and analyzed based on who produces it, who the audience is, whether it is scholarly or popular in nature, the format it is in, the type of information and more

(Jefferson Community College, 2012)

SOURCES: DO THEY MATTER?

Academic sources: Pass through peer review process. Authoritative and sourced. Objective and written for academics. Carry more ‘weight’.

Popular sources are often related to general interest and do not require writers to provide research to support their stories.

YES

EXAMPLES OF SOURCESA C A D E M I C S O U RC E S

Academic JournalsPeriodicals

Academic BooksEdited BooksAnthologiesConference ProceedingsEncyclopedias/Dictionaries

Published Reports

P O P U L A R S O U R C E S

Newspaper ArticlesMagazine ArticlesTrade MagazinesOrganizational ProfilesMedia ReportsReports from Other OrganizationsWebsites (usually)Grey Literature

Institutional ReportsBrochuresPress Releases

INFORMATION LITERACY: STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH

Step 1: Defining a topic and planning for research Step 2: Information seeking strategies Step 3: Critical evaluation of information sources Step 4: Reading, examining, taking notes on sources Step 5: Citing sources & constructing reference list

RESEARCH SKILLS Step 1: Defining a topic and planning for research

Interpret the research question/assignment, define the information need

Look for command words Directing words that tell you what to do. i.e. Evaluate, discuss, comment,

critique, analyze Identify the assignment topic

Area of discussion for the assignment. Take the command word and ask “what?” after it. I.e. Evaluate “what”?

Develop a focus (select a specific topic) Area of the topic/assignment you will concentrate on. In other words, evaluate what, in relation to “what”?

Take your focus and develop a thesis statement

Example: Discuss the impact of rising tuition costs on higher education

INFORMATION LITERACY: STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH

Step 1: Defining a topic and planning for research Step 2: Information seeking strategies Step 3: Critical evaluation of information sources Step 4: Reading, examining, taking notes on sources Step 5: Citing sources & constructing reference list

FINDING RESOURCES

“More than 31% of all respondents use Internet search engines to find answers to their questions. However, people who use

Internet search engines express frustration because they estimate that half of their

searches are unsuccessful” (OCLC, 2002).

USING LIBRARY RESOURCES Library Catalogue

Find books, e-books, reserves, videos/DVDs, request items from other campuses, place items on hold, mobile friendly.

OCtopus (library search engine) Research Databases

Organized by subject, search databases for journal articles, e-books, & more

Electronic Journals Listing Search for specific journal and search within the title

Research & Course Guides Created by librarians for students in specific classes or working in

certain subject areas

Reference sources Dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories found online or in campus

reference collections

Print Journals (Level 3)

RESEARCH SKILLS

Step 2: Information seeking strategies Design your search strategy

Develop a question (brainstorming, concept-mapping)

Identify key words and synonyms Investigative tools (research guides, other libraries) Identify central concepts

Locate and gather relevant resources Identify key databases, catalogue, reference works, etc.

Coverage, disciplines, time periods, publication types, doc types

Search expressions & Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) Broaden or narrow your research question

Rising tuition costs will negatively impact higher education because the disparity between students who can and who cannot afford an education will have broader consequences for Canadian society.

CREATING A SEARCH: BOOLEAN OPERATORS

Function

Search Strategy Definition

Narrow AND Retrieves only records that contain both words

NOT Eliminates material you don't want. Careful to not lose valuable info.

Broaden

OR Retrieves matches for either term, more records. Use with terms with the same meaning.

Wildcard Colo?r Global (w5) Warming

To search variations of a word. Use 1 or more symbols within a word to replace 1 or more letters

Truncation Using opera* to search

for operations = opera, operant, operable, etc.

Use a symbol at the end of a word to replace any number of letters

Combine

Nesting NO: media AND politics OR election

retrieves records that match "media that also match politics" OR retrieves records that match "election.“

YES: media AND (politics OR election) retrieves records that match media that also match either politics OR election

Combine AND and OR in a single search. Divide your terms into units like an equation.

(University of Idaho, 2012)

TruncationNesting

AND OR NOT

RESEARCH SKILLS Keyword searching: typically retrieve more information with less

precisionGood for broad or unknown topic areas

Field searching: typically retrieves less information with more precisionGood when looking for few results or source son specific topicsIncludes subject searches, title searches, etc.

Too much information?Examine irrelevant records in search resultsWhere did your search term match in search results? (Subject, title, etc.)Use limiters (Boolean, field searching, database limiters)

Too little information?SpellingEliminate long phrases or natural languageUse alternate termsTry broadening your terms

MORE WAYS TO FIND ARTICLES

Reference list and article citations, bibliographies Examine the reference lists of resources identified as being useful,

and find other similar resources.

Subject headings in databases & catalogue Terms used to describe resources, controlled vocabulary, assigned

by indexers

Known authors Search for other items by same author(s)

Books or resources on similar topics In-person or virtual ‘shelf browsing’

Searching journals directly More direct and focused than databases

OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Available in print (REF PE 1625 .O86) & Online: FIND ARTICLES, or HOMEPAGE ARTICLES Select subject from drop-down menu, or choose a

database by title Click title for more information, or CONNECT to

access the resource Quick & Advanced search: Field and full-text searching Historical Thesaurus: Allows browsing by topic

LIBRARY CATALOGUE

Great starting point! Use subject headings, call number

browsing, author searches, Limit by location Request and renew items

LIBRARY DATABASES: ENGLISH

MLA International Bibliography Literature Resource Center Oxford Reference Online Premium Project Muse JSTOR Ebrary Academic Search Premier OCtopus

REFERENCE SOURCES

Oxford English Dictionary Encyclopedias (print & online)

Choose reference as a limiter in e-resources listing

Examples: Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples, Encyclopedia of Evolution, Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Encyclopedia of Sociology, Encyclopedia of World Cultures

Search library catalogue

USING LIBRARY RESOURCES: GET HELP

Library reference desks Hours vary, phone, email, or in-person Citation assistance, research help

AskAway Online, live chat reference service Open longer hours than library ; Manned by

librarians from post-secondary institutions across BC

Chat boxes on website & within databases

E-mail Response received within 24 hours Sept – April,

typically daily throughout summer

INFORMATION LITERACY: STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH

Step 1: Defining a topic and planning for research Step 2: Information seeking strategies Step 3: Critical evaluation of information sources Step 4: Reading, examining, taking notes on sources Step 5: Citing sources & constructing reference list

EXAMPLE EVALUATIONS

http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1344132

SOURCES: TRUE OR FALSE?

Wikipedia is considered an academic source.

False

False

A book found in an academic library (i.e. college, university) is an academic source.

RESEARCH SKILLS

Step 3: Critical evaluation of information sources

Critically evaluate informationCriteria and methods of evaluating information

resourcesComprehensiveness, relevance, author,

purpose and audience, accuracy and currency, objectivityIn academia we are looking for sources that are

reliable, accurate, objective, and up-to-date.

ACADEMIC SOURCE CHARACTERISTICS

Who wrote it? What are the authors’ qualifications? Academic authors are likely to come from a university or institute.

Is there a sponsor, owner, funding agency? *important for online sources*

Are sources listed? Reference list, bibliography, citations

Has the item or writing been peer-reviewed? Editorial board or committee list, or provided instructions

Who is the targeted audience? Style of writing, advertising, jargon

Is the writing objective? Free from bias, blatantly one-sided

Who is the publisher? Academic writing is often published by a university press.

What is the appearance? Glossy pages, advertisements, graphs, images, photos.

EXAMPLES OF SOURCESA C A D E M I C S O U RC E S

Academic JournalsPeriodicals

Academic BooksEdited BooksAnthologiesConference ProceedingsEncyclopedias/Dictionaries

Published Reports

P O P U L A R S O U R C E S

Newspaper ArticlesMagazine ArticlesTrade MagazinesOrganizational ProfilesMedia ReportsReports from Other OrganizationsWebsites (usually)Grey Literature

Institutional ReportsBrochuresPress Releases

PERIODICALS

J O U R N A L

Academic, professional, technical audience

May use jargon In-depth articles Thorough reference

list Minimal advertising Peer-reviewed

M A G A Z I N E

General audience Easy reading Many

advertisements Broad coverage, not

usually in-depth Rarely peer-reviewed

EVALUATING: REPUTABLE SOURCES

Print sources Online Sources

Reliable: Sources that check their facts: footnotes, list of references, other evidence of research

Reliable: Sources that check their facts: Footnotes, references, other research evidence

Accurate & Objective: Quality control, editor, editorial board, peer review

Accurate & Objective: Quality Control, Evidence of peer review, author identifiedLook for: Extravagant claims, URL (.com vs. .org), funding agencies

Up-to-date sources: What could have changed about this topic since publication

Up-to-date sources: Copyright date or indication when page was last updated

In academia we are looking for sources that are reliable, accurate, objective, and up-

to-date.

PRIMARY & SECONDARY SOURCES

P R I M A R Y S O U R C E S

Original & direct evidence

First hand experience

Historical documents, interviews, raw experiment data

S E C O N D A RY S O U RC E S Draw from primary sources Use evidence from primary

sources May comment on primary

sources Use primary sources to

construct argument Books or articles that

provide analysis, critique, or a synthesis from a range of sources

Cage, K. (2011). Identifying academic sources. Massey University. Retrieved July 9, 2012 from

http://owll.massey.ac.nz/academic-writing/identifying-academic-sources.php

T E RT I A RY S O U RC E S Compile, index, or organize Sources may have analyzed or

digest secondary sources Abstracts, bibliographies,

handbooks. Encyclopedias, indexes, catalogues.

INFORMATION LITERACY: STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH

Step 1: Defining a topic and planning for research Step 2: Information seeking strategies Step 3: Critical evaluation of information sources Step 4: Reading, examining, taking notes on

sources Step 5: Citing sources & constructing reference list

RESEARCH SKILLS

Step 4: Reading, examining, taking notes on sources Interpret and synthesize information

Examine information source, identify source type Look at context, methods, results, discussion, etc.

Think critically: ask questions, examine the context (who did the research, what are the research questions), research methods used, results, conclusions

Verify accuracy Use and communicate information Write objectively (supported by findings, free from influence),

concise, formal (formatting according to style)

INFORMATION LITERACY: STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH

Step 1: Defining a topic and planning for research Step 2: Information seeking strategies Step 3: Critical evaluation of information sources Step 4: Reading, examining, taking notes on sources Step 5: Citing sources & constructing reference

list

WHY DO WE CITE?“Scholarly communication is the entire set of activities

that ensure that research and new knowledge can be made known” (DeFelice, 2009).

Citations demonstrate how you developed your argument and ideas from the ideas of others

Citations give credit where credit is due

Citations give the reader of your work a path to the sources you used, so they can investigate those sources if interested

(Mohanty et al., 2009)

AcademicLibrary

Publisher

Editor

Peer Reviewers

CreationManuscript & IP

DisseminationPublication (Registration and Certification)

Reformulation

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

If you don’t acknowledge other people’s work, words or ideas you commit plagiarism

“Penalties for plagiarism serve both to educate students about standards of scholarship and to deter deception and poor scholarly practices. Penalties will reflect the seriousness of the offence; including whether the offence was intentional or unintentional and whether it was a first or a repeat offence” (Okanagan College, 2010, Penalties section, para. 1 ).

Okanagan College Academic Offenses regulations and policies

WHAT DO WE CITE?

Direct quotes Paraphrases Words or terminology specific to or unique to

the author’s research, theories, or ideas Use of an author's argument or line of

thinking Historical, statistical, or scientific facts Graphs, drawings, etc. Articles or studies you refer to in your work

(Mohanty et al., 2009)

BUILDING BLOCKS OF CITATIONS

Building blocks?•Author(s)•Publication date•Title•Publication information• Format-specific

details (i.e. page numbers, doi)

What is it?•Journal article•Book•Report

What format?•Print•Electronic

HOW DO WE CITE?

In text citations: citations given in the body of the article, essay, paper, or assignment.

Example:(Morgan & Hunt, 1994)Morgan and Hunt (1994) noted that….(Morgan and Hunt 50)(Morgan and Hunt (50) noted that….)

Reference list citations: “provides the information necessary to identify and retrieve each source” (APA, 2009, p. 180).Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of

relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58, 20–38. doi:

10.1504/IJMDM.2008.016041

Morgan and Hunt. “The Commitment-trust Theory of Relationship

Marketing.” Journal of Marketing 58.1 (1994): 20-38. Project

Muse. Web. 9 July 2012.

RESEARCH SKILLS

Step 5: Citing Sources & Reference Lists Identify elements of citation you will need for each

itemCite your sources as you go!

Try a numerical system for in-text citationsWrite key author names with notes

Compile list of database citations as a working document throughout research process

Formatting rules provided style guidesReference list, works cited list, versus bibliographyDo not trust MS Word or auto-formatting

CITING SOURCES IN ALL STYLES

Reference List vs. Bibliography vs. Works Cited vs. ?

Reference list (aka. Works cited in MLA): Complete list of all sources cited directly in your work.

Bibliography: All sources used, whether directly cited or not. May include sources used to generate ideas or gain general knowledge.

Some reference styles will ask for a bibliography in place of a reference list, some styles will call it a reference list while others may called it a works cited list. Some instructors may use the term bibliography to mean a reference list, always check if you are unsure.

Annotated Bibliography: Includes a list of sources as well as a summary evaluation of each source’s content and purpose (approx. 100-250 words) (Cage, 2012).

WHAT IS APA?

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is a style manual that provides guidance and standards in:

• research ethics• the publication process• article format and presentation• AND

Citation

APA = American Psychological Association

HOW DO WE CITE?

Refer to APA resources to determine citation style.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association6th ed., second printing Available at all OC Library campuses; Call no. BF

76.7 .P83 2009 OC Library APA style guide webpage PDF and HTML versions of most common APA

examplesLinks to other APA resources

Important: The APA manual is the definitive source of APA citation information. If a resource contradicts the manual – use the manual.

WHAT IS MLA?

The Publication Manual of Modern Languages Associationis a style manual that provides guidance and standards in:

• research ethics• the publication process• article format and presentation• AND

Citation

MLA = Modern Languages Association

HOW DO WE CITE?

Refer to MLA resources to determine citation style.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed. Available at all OC Library campuses; Call no. LB

2369 .G53 2009

OC Library MLA style guide PDF and HTML versions of most common MLA

examples Links to other MLA resources

Important: The MLA Handbook is the definitive source of MLA citation information. If a resource

contradicts the handbook– use the handbook.

APA VS. MLAAPA

Double-space and format entries with a hanging indent

Capitalize the first, the last and all significant words of a title and subtitle. Omit initial A, An or The and subtitles for journals, magazines and newspapers

Italicize titles of larger sources like books or journals; use “ “ around titles of sources like essays or articles which are within larger sources

Reverse the author’s name for alphabetizing but otherwise give the author’s name as it appears in the source

Alphabetize entries by the author’s last name or, if there is no author, by the title ignoring initial A, An or The or the equivalent in another language

For online journal articles retrieved from a database include the name of the database and the word 'web'

MLA Double-space and format

entries with a hanging indent

Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the title and subtitle. Capitalize proper names. Capitalize all significant words of a journal title

Italicize journal titles and volume numbers. Do not italicize issue numbers. Italicize book and report titles

Use only the initial(s) of the author’s given name, not the full name, reverse all authors' names

Arrange reference list entries in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author or by title if there is no author

For online journal articles retrieved from a database, include the DOI or a link to the journal homepage if no DOI available

REMEMBER

Give credit where credit is due Consult OC Library Citation Style guides Consult Publication Manual for Your Style If you are unable to identify a specific example,

use an example that is most like your source OC Library Research Writing & Citing guide Ask!

REFERENCESAmerican Library Association. (1989). Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report.

Retrieved July 9, 2012 from http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2009). ACRL scholarly communication 101: Starting with the basics [PowerPoint]. Retrieved from http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/scholcomm/docs/SC%20101%20Introduction.ppt

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2012). Introduction to Information Literacy. http://www.ala.org/acrl/issues/infolit/overview/intro

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2000). Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency

American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: Author.

Cage, K. (2012). Reference list vs. bibliography. Retrieved July 9, 2012 from http://owll.massey.ac.nz/referencing/reference-list-vs-bibliography.php

Jefferson Community College, 2012). Information literacy tutorial. Retrieved July 9, 2012 from http://sunyjefferson.libguides.com/content.php?pid=127609&sid=1095964

Mohanty , S., Orphanides, A., Rumble, J., Roberts, D., Norberg, L., Vassiliadis, K. (2009). University libraries' citing information tutorial. Retrieved from http://www.lib.unc.edu /instruct/citations/introduction/

OCLC. (2002). How Academic Librarians Can Influence Students’ Web-Based Information Choices. OCLC White Paper on the Information Habits of College Students. Retrieved from http://www5.oclc.org.ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/downloads/community/informationhabits.pdf

Okanagan College. (2010). Academic offenses. Retrieved from http://webapps1.okanagan.bc.ca/ok/calendar /Calendar.aspx?page=AcademicOffenses

University of Alberta. Information literacy at the University of Alberta. Retrieved July 9, 2012 from http://www.psych.ualberta.ca/~ITL/InfoLit%20v.2.0/index.html

University of Idaho. (2012). Information Literacy Portal: Module 3. Retrieved July 9, 2012 from http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/modules/module3/3_6.htm