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Information Literacy For Success in School and Life By Elaine Settergren, Online Librarian http://www.globeeducationnetwork.c om/library/ May 2009 An Introduction to Information
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Information LiteracyFor Success in School and Life

By Elaine Settergren, Online Librarianhttp://www.globeeducationnetwork.com/library/

May 2009

An Introduction to Information

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Today’s Lessons

• What is Information Literacy?• Seeking information

– Information Cycles– Types of information– Globe Education Network [GEN] Library

• Using Information– Evaluating information– Citation and Academic Honesty

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What is Information Literacy?

• Information literacy is a set of abilities enabling individuals to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, and use the needed information effectively.

• Basically, Information Literacy is to know how to think critically about information: why, when, and how to use information

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Information Literate?

• But it doesn’t happen overnight, your research projects and other critical thinking assignments will help you develop and polish these skills.

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Why Should I Care?Information Literacy in the “real world” is• self-directed lifelong learning• excellent critical thinking and reasoning skills• the ability to research faster and more

effectively

Here’s an example: Say you’ve been diagnosed with a rare disease.

Your information literacy skills can help you learn more about it: causes, cures, side-effects of medicines, etc.

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Seeking Information• Where are you most likely to find the info you need?• Types of sources include (but are not limited to):

They all have their unique strengths and uses

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Seeking Information: Info Cycles

Timeline

For more info and explanations see http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/infocycle_00.htm

Based on http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/intro02.htm

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Types of Information• Different types of sources are good for different usesScholarly• hard facts, scientific evidence, and research findings • “scholarly communication” – for scholars by scholars about research• rigid with citation – all sources must be properly cited

Trade• Industry news and practical advice• written for professionals/ workers by professionals• purpose: to keep professionals informed• mention research, but often don’t cite

Popular• personal or human side of an issue • popular culture and trends• written for general public by editors/ journalists • purpose: entertain or inform• rarely cite anything. No bibliographies.

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The GEN Library• Use the library website to access all the library

research and help tools

http://www.globeeducationnetwork.com/library/

– there is also a link from your Blackboard course.• Login to the library databases/ebooks with the

same username and password that you use for your email• Username: firstname.lastname• Password: last 4 digits of your Social Security #

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The GEN Library

Library Tools and Resources: • Databases –> for finding articles and more• Books and Ebooks• Recommended Websites• Help includes:

• Research guides/tutorials• Librarian contact info -> ask us questions!

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GEN Library: DatabasesThe Basics: • Databases contain articles from e-journals and

many other types of info (i.e. e-books and parts of e-books, images, podcasts, reports, etc.).

• When you need an article, search in a database.• Many databases will help you cite your source. • The library pays for the information in the

databases so you don’t have to

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What’s the Difference?Databases Information is from professionals or experts in the field Contain published works where facts are checked Easy to cite in a bibliography and may create the citation for you Can help you narrow your topic or suggest related subjects. Are updated frequently and include the date of publication.

Websites Can be written by anyone regardless of expertise Content is often not checked by an expert Often don’t provide the information necessary to create a complete citation Often aren’t organized to support student research needs May not indicate when a page is updated.

This chart is from: http://www.hclib.org/pub/search/Difference.cfm

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GEN Library: Databases – continued

• Good Databases to Start with: • EBSCO MegaFile, • Gale (search all cross-searchable), • ProQuest

• Also available: • 360 Search • E-Journal portal • Both of these are good for finding stuff when you

have a citation or aren’t sure what database to look in

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Database: EBSCO MegaFile

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Database: Gale

Click “continue” to search many of the databases at once!

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Database: Gale - continued

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Database: ProQuest

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GEN Library: Books and Ebooks• Search the GU/MSB Catalog for books at the

GU/MSB campuses and for ebooks (for all GEN) • Ebooks: NetLibrary is one of our e-book providers

and is searchable through the catalog

• For Business and Information Technology ebooks search Books 24x7

• More ebooks and portions of ebooks are found in the databases

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GEN Library:

The GU/MSB Catalog for E-Books

These ebooks are for all GEN members.

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GEN Library: Books• If you’re not an online-only student, you can

check out books at the campus libraries with your student ID. You can also borrow books from other school’s libraries (it’s called ILL). Find out more: http://www.globeeducationnetwork.com/library/about-the-library/library-policies/

• If you are an online-only student, you can ILL from campus libraries and your local public library. If you have questions, let me (Elaine

Settergren – [email protected]) know.

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Using Information

• Once you’ve found information, the next step is to use it ethically.

• Not all information is created equally• All information you use in school, you need to

cite

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Evaluating Information

• Evaluate your sources so you’re sure your source is credible.

• Good sources = better papers and research projects = you!

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Evaluating InformationEvaluate your sources by asking yourself some key

questions about the information:• Who? – author, publisher, sponsoring

organization, company, etc.• Why? – selling something, inform, entertain, joke?• Can you trust it? – is it objective, biased, opinion?

– do they cite sources? Is research explained and cited? Is it old and outdated?

• How does it compare? – how does the information from this source compare to other sources on the same topic?

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Citation and Academic Honesty

• You cannot pass off someone else’s ideas as your own because it’s unethical.

• You must give credit and citing is a way to do just that.

• Classes will require APA citation style.• http://www.globeeducationnetwork.com/

library/research-guides/citation/apa/

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Help!?! No Problem!

Questions?

Ask Your Librarian! Ask by IM, email, phone, or in person. We’re here to help.

Find us on the library website:http://www.globeeducationnetwork.com/library/

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More About Information and Research

• Composition class– You’ll learn more about searching and the GEN

Library during composition class

• Library Website –> tutorials – Check the library website for additional

information about researching and using library tools

– http://www.globeeducationnetwork.com/library/