Document 6435375

ODU Libraries, Information Literacy Modules -- Module 1 -- September 2013
Information BASICS
Option: Print Module 1
This module offers an introduction to information literacy, a discussion of some characteristics of information sources, and a review
of the cycle of information creation and dissemination. Having a basic understanding of these concepts should help you identify
the type of information you need.
Learning Outcomes
After completing this module, you will be able to:
identify and describe two distinct types of research
describe characteristics of information sources
differentiate between scholarly and popular sources; primary and secondary sources
identify a variety of formats in which information is available
describe the cycle of information creation and dissemination
What is Information?
from Dictionary.com -- Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary, 10th ed., 2009
information -n
from Dictionary.com -- Thesaurus
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
[Note: synonyms of informal/non-formal usage
were deleted.]
1. knowledge acquired through experience
or study
2. knowledge of specific and timely events
or situations; news
3. the act of informing or the condition of
being informed
4. a. an office, agency, etc, providing
information
b. ( as modifier ): information service
5. a. a charge or complaint made before
justices of the peace, usually on oath,
to institute summary criminal proceedings
Main Entry: information
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: facts, news
b. a complaint filed on behalf of the
Crown, usually by the attorney general
6. computing
a. the meaning given to data by the way
in which it is interpreted
b. another word for data
7. informal too much information I
don't want to hear any more
Antonyms: ignorance
Synonyms: advice, ... clue, confidence, counsel,
cue, data, .. dossier, earful, enlightenment,
erudition, illumination, info, inside story,
instruction, intelligence, knowledge, ... learning,
lore, ... material, message, network, notice,
notification, orientation, propaganda, report,
science, ... tidings, tip, what's
what, whole story, wisdom
Differentiation between Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom:
Information, knowledge, wisdom are terms for human acquirements through reading, study,
and practical experience.
Information applies to facts told, read, or communicated that may be unorganized and even
unrelated: to pick up useful information.
Knowledge is an organized body of information, or the comprehension and understanding
consequent on having acquired and organized a body of facts: a knowledge of chemistry.
Wisdom is a knowledge of people, life, and conduct, with the facts so thoroughly assimilated
as to have produced sagacity, judgment, and insight: to use wisdom in handling people.
The distinctions above between information, knowledge, and wisdom are key to understanding the following quotations:
"Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" --T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)
"We are drowning in information and starved for knowledge." --Rutherford D. Rogers
"In your thirst for knowledge, be sure not to drown in all the information." Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College
Blue Book
"Data is not information, Information is not knowledge, Knowledge is not understanding, Understanding is not
wisdom." --Cliff Stoll & Gary Schubert
"Information" is hard to define because it is many things. Perhaps the easiest way to think of it is somewhere between data and
knowledge. In the Information Science and Knowledge Management fields, raw data becomes information when it has
been interpreted or put into a context.
* Statistics can be seen as raw data, simply numbers, until I view them in a particular
context that is relevant to my needs.
* A photograph is raw data made up of colors, shapes, textures -- it becomes information to
me when I view and process it.
Knowledge comes from sifting through information from many sources. It can be organized into disciplines that influence the way
information is accessed. The three major disciplines of knowledge are:
Science
Social Science
Humanities
Your search for and use of information in these major disciplines will vary.
Through your studies, hopefully your data, information and knowledge will eventually lead to wisdom, an indefinable human state.
However we define it, we all know there is a lot of it. By some estimates, the amount of available information doubles about every
four years, with digital content doubling every 18 months, especially since the advent of the Internet in the 1990s.
NOTE: The terms "Internet" and "World Wide Web" are often used interchangeably, even though they
are two different things. Very simply...
Internet = a global network of tens of thousands of computer networks; many applications
use the Internet
World Wide Web (Web) = one of the applications that use the Internet; a protocol that
allows you to view, link, download the information, images, videos, etc that are available
to computers connected to the Internet
Learning to filter through information to get the best for our purposes is what information literacy is all about.
What is Information Literacy?
According to the Association for College and Research Libraries (http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/infolit/overview/):
Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is
needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."
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
Information literacy equips you "with the critical skills necessary to become independent lifelong learners." You need to be able to
find, retrieve, analyze, and use information for your course projects, your job, your role as a citizen, and in your personal life.
Throughout your life, you will have a variety of information needs (from research papers to finding out about a medical procedure
for a family member) and the sources you choose will vary depending on your need.
Are you E-Literate?
Click on the url below to watch a 15-minute video to get a better idea of just how much information is out there. Note the
following:
1. The kinds of information you may not have considered
2. Types of deceptive or misleading information
3. How many new websites came online while you viewed this video
http://media.gseis.ucla.edu/newliteracies/e-literate_big.mov
What is Research?
Research is the process of gathering, evaluating, and interpreting information or data to answer a question or solve a problem.
As students, you will apply information literacy skills to your research projects.
The two types of research we are concerned with here are:
Scientific research. Whether in a lab or out "in the field," researchers conduct studies of organisms, behavior,
technology, organizations, etc. They may come up with a hypothesis to test, and theywill develop a methodology for
their testing or experimentation.
This type of research happens most often in the sciences and social sciences. The data they collect
may be in the form of measurements, observations, interviews, etc.
Existing information can be combined with original thought, experimentation and/or analysis to produce
new information.
Library or information research. Students and researchers use library and other information resources to study
a topic. They research what has been written in order to find support for an argument or thesis statement, to expand
a topic by bringing together various viewpoints, to trace the history of a topic, etc.
In many cases, existing information is used to produce new information through analysis.
For whatever type of research you are doing, the quality of the information you use is of utmost importance. An information literate
individual "evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base"
(ACRL Standards). This applies across all disciplines.
Keep in mind that different disciplines use different research methods. They also use different citation styles when documenting
sources.
Characteristics of Information
Information comes in all shapes and sizes. Knowing some of its characteristics will help you better identify your information need
and evaluate what you are receiving.
Do you need a quick fact or a critical analysis?
Would you like unbiased information or someone's opinion?
Would current information answer your question, or do you need historical information?
Where you search and find your information will depend on what type of information you need.
Factual vs Analytical
Factual Information is usually brief. It gives indisputable answers to specific questions. No explanation or analysis is needed.
Examples of sources for factual information are encyclopedias, statistical compilations and almanacs.
A total of 1,670 general aviation accidents occurred during calendar year 2005.
(National Traffic Safety Board. http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2009/ARG0901.htm)
Analytical Information analyzes and interprets facts to form an opinion or come to a conclusion. The primary questions
answered with analytical information are why? or how? Examples of sources for analytical information are books and articles.
"Crash Risk in General Aviation" is an article hypothesizing about the risks of private air flights and
why they crash, including bad weather conditions, pilot characteristics, environmental factors, airport
features, terrain and role of alcohol.
Your research papers will usually provide analytical discussion and interpretation of a topic. But, you will most likely need facts to
back up your ideas.
Subjective vs Objective
Subjective information is one person's opinion. In a newspaper, the editorial section is the place for subjectivity. It can be
based on fact, but it is one person's interpretation of that fact. In this way, subjective information is also analytical.
Student research papers are usually subjective, in that the writer formulates a thesis statement and uses sources that
support that thesis. Bear in mind that there is usually another equally valid viewpoint that can be supported with
other sources.
Objective information reviews many points of view. It is intended to be unbiased. News reporters are supposed to be
objective and report the facts of an event. Encyclopedias and other reference materials provide objective information.
Objective or Subjective?
Read the paragraph below. In the blank spaces, indicate whether the statement is objective or subjective.
99% of U.S households have at least one TV set.
television is more important than anything else.
It is clear that even though many people are poor,
Submit
Current vs Historical
Another characteristic of information to consider pertains to its currency. Depending on your topic or information need, the date can
be very important. If you are reviewing the latest cancer treatments, current information will be most relevant. If you are reviewing
attitudes toward cancer in the 1960s, you will probably need to review historical information.
In many cases current and historical sources will be required for a thorough study of a topic. Always look at the publication date
and think critically about whether you need the most current information, historical information, or both.
Consider different disciplines:
In the sciences, the most up-to-date information is often needed.
In the humanities, historical information may be most important.
In the social sciences, historical and current information are often consulted.
Current or Historical?
Topic: The development of the typewriter
Which type of information should you consider?
Current
Historical
Both current and historical
Topic: The development of film animation
Which type of information should you consider?
Current only
Historical only
Both current and historical
Topic: Causes and cases of 21st century H1N1 flu virus.
Which type of information should you consider?
Current
Historical
Both current and historical
Scholarly vs Popular
Some resources are scholarly (or academic), while others are considered popular (or general interest). In most cases, your
professors will require that you find scholarly resources.
How can you tell the difference?
Scholarly resources
Popular resources
Authors
written or reviewed by experts in the discipline
written by the publication's staff writers
Audience
written for researchers or practitioners in a particular discipline written for the general public or lay person
Publisher
professional society or organization or university
commercial publisher
Content
provide in-depth analysis of topic or report of original research
review an event or research project, highlighting
key points
Language
uses technical language which may not be understood by the
understandable by the lay person
lay person
Appearance
* illustrations include graphs and tables
* articles are usually long
References almost always include a list of sources consulted
* often use slick paper and more color
* many advertisements and graphics
* articles are usually very short
rarely include a list of sources consulted
Examples
Books
Any type of publication can be scholarly or popular, including books. In some cases, the title will give you a hint.
Scholarly or Popular?
Review the book titles below, and try to determine whether they are popular or scholarly.
1. Act like a lady, think like a man: what men really think about love, relationships, intimacy, and commitment .
2. A psychosocial exploration of love and intimacy .
Submit
Always think about the audience and purpose of an information source.
Popular books are written for the general public.
Scholarly books, on the other hand, usually have an academic audience in mind. Their purpose is to educate, inform, and advance
knowledge in the discipline.
Journals and Magazines
Articles will be an important resource for your research projects at ODU because most researchers will publish their findings as
articles. Articles from journals will usually be scholarly, whereas articles from magazines are usually popular.
You can't always tell by the title alone.
Wall Street Journal -- journal or newspaper?
Ladies Home Journal -- journal or magazine?
Journal of the American Medical Association -- journal or magazine?
NOTE: You may hear librarians and some professors use the term "periodicals." Periodicals are publications that come out
"periodically" such as journals, magazines, and newspapers.
Peer Review
For journals, the most scholarly articles will be those that have gone through a review process before being published. These
articles are referred to as PEER-REVIEWED, REFEREED, or SCHOLARLY.
Oxford Reference Online defines "Peer Review" as:
The process used by publishers and editors of academic journals to provide a chance for scholars to
examine and critique a paper or monograph before it is published to help ensure its integrity and
veracity.
Journal publishers want to make sure that the articles in their publications meet high standards for their scholarly audience.
Many articles have even been rejected until the author corrects errors in the citation list;
this is why some of your professors are sticklers for correct citation format!!
It is often impossible to tell if an article has been peer reviewed just by looking at it. Some of the search tools you will use to find
articles will provide this information; some won't.
In many of the library's databases, you can view the journal information.
For example, EbscoHost's "Environment Complete" database gives the following information about the
journal Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy & Management:
Title:
Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy & Management
ISSN:
1464-3332
Publisher
Information:
World Scientific Publishing Company
5 Toh Tuck Link
Singapore 596224
Singapore
Bibliographic
03/01/1999 to present
Records:
Full Text:
Link to this
Publication:
Publication
03/01/1999 to present (with a 12 Month delay)
*Full text delay due to publisher restrictions ("embargo")
http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eih&jid=8KJ&site=ehost-live
Academic Journal
Type:
Subjects:
Engineering; Environmental Studies; Law; Management; Public
Administration
Description:
An interdisciplinary, peer reviewed international journal covering policy
and decision-making relating to environmental assessment (EA) in the
broadest sense.
Publisher
URL:
http://www.worldscientific.com/
Frequency:
4
Peer
Reviewed:
Yes
This information is also found on the journal web site.
Activity
Peer-Reviewed?
1. Go to the Library's Web site (www.lib.odu.edu) and click on "Find Journals & Newspapers."
2. Under "Find a Journal Title," type -- the international economy
3. You should be given several options. Click on "Business Source Complete" and review the information.
Is The International Economy a peer-reviewed journal?
Yes
No
Trade Publications
Another type of "periodical" is a trade publication (sometimes called "professional publication"). These are generally written by
someone working in a trade or profession. Their audience is practitioners or other members of the trade, rather than researchers
or the general public. The authors share their experience and expertise to further the trade or profession and keep others up to
date. Publishers of trade publications are generally professional associations.
The American Library Association publishes American Libraries, which "provides current news and information
concerning the library industry."
WWD (Women's Wear Daily) "aims to serve as the voice of authority, international newswire and agent of
change for the fashion, beauty and retail industries."
ENR (Engineering News Record) "provides business information needs of contractors, engineers, owners, and
other construction team members involved in engineering construction projects by offering news, feature
stories, market statistics and analysis."
[Information quoted from UlrichsWeb, a database providing
detailed, comprehensive, and authoritative information on
periodicals published throughout the world.]
Which to use?
Below is a chart developed at the University Libraries of The Pennsylvania State University to help you decide which type of
resource you need.
How to Evaluate Your Search:
Should I use more scholarly resources? More popular resources?
Depending on your purpose, you may need more scholarly or more popular resources.
Use Scholarly Journals
when you need...
* articles written by
researchers or experts in
the field
* documented sources
* research findings,
reports, or methodologies
* reliable information
reviewed by scholars
Use Professional/Trade
Publications when you
need...
Use Popular Periodicals or
Magazines/Newspapers when
you need...
* articles written by
members of the trade or
profession or experts in the
trade
* information on the trends,
standards, or new
technologies in the trade or
profession
* articles written for the
general public by publication
staff writers
* general information on a
topic in which no expertise is
required
* current news stories
* reliable information
reviewed by an editorial
board
If you're ever in doubt about the type of publication you are planning to use, ask your professor. Or, ask a librarian.
To get information about a journal you can check a database called UlrichsWeb. Search by the title of your publication and you
will find everything you need to know about that publication (and more).
Activity
Activity: Scholarly or Popular?
Click on the article link below, and then click on the "PDF Full Text Link". Review the article and answer the questions below.
ARTICLE LINK
What is the title of the article? (Fill in the first 6 words.)
What is the title of the magazine or journal source the article appeared in?
Is this a scholarly source (Yes or No)?
Why?
Submit
Primary vs Secondary
An important distinction among information types is whether they are primary or secondary. Different disciplines use primary and
secondary sources differently.
For Example:
In the Sciences -- you may need to find the original research study to examine the data
(primary source) presented.
In Social Sciences -- to understand a new theory, you may need to trace it back to the
original document (primary source) from which it was derived.
In Humanities -- you may need to examine original documents or artifacts (primary
sources) to analyze an historical event.
For most of your research questions, it may be essential to look at both primary and secondary sources.
Primary Information Sources
A primary source is original, firsthand information. It hasn't been interpreted, analyzed, condensed, or changed.
It can be in the form of a creative work, diary, speech, letter, interview, news film footage, autobiography,
photograph, official record, historical document.
It can be an email written by a researcher to a colleague which includes data from an experiment. It can be a
professor's lecture.
It can be a newspaper article written at the time of an event or the transcript of a television report of an event.
It could even be a tweet or other dispatch via a social media outlet like facebook, as in the case of the events
surrounding the "Arab Spring" or, more locally, in the case of the military jet crash in April 2012 in Virginia Beach, or
the August 2011 earthquake in Virginia.
Examples:
A Letter from former
A photograph taken in 1992 during the
The Diary of Anne Frank Virginia Governor Almond
Los Angeles riots.
(an autobiography)
Information may need to be constructed with raw data from primary sources.
In the humanities, primary sources may be books or historical documents or artworks.
In the social sciences, a primary source may be transcripts of interviews with people, or data collected from surveys.
In the sciences, primary sources may be data collected from experiments.
Secondary Information Sources
A secondary source is one or more steps removed from a primary source and may interpret or analyze a primary source. They are
usually written by someone other than the original researcher or author.
News commentators provide secondary information about particular events.
After a research study (a primary source) has been published, the research findings are often summarized for
a wider audience through articles in magazines and newspapers.
A literary scholar will publish an article or book analyzing the novel of a particular author.
Your textbooks contain information gleaned from various sources.
An encyclopedia presents objective reviews of concepts, events, people, etc.
Your research papers are usually secondary sources, providing critical analysis of a particular topic supported by other secondary
sources and/or primary sources.
Tertiary Information Sources
Even further removed from the original source is a tertiary source. An example is a bibliography (citation list) of primary and
secondary sources about a person or topic.
For example:
A bibliographic guide to North American industry : history, health, and hazardous
waste by Dale A Stirling. Publisher: Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2009. Encyclopedias are often viewed as tertiary sources because they review a topic and usually include bibliographies of primary and
secondary sources consulted.
Databases and indexes are tertiary sources which provide access to materials on specific topics.
Always Think Critically...
A source must be evaluated for quality and accuracy.
Here is an example of a secondary ("popular") source reporting on a research study.
According to this article, I would recommend coffee drinking to my elderly mother who is having heart problems.
If I were skeptical, I would find the original article (primary source) to review the research. Here are a few quotes
from the Discussion section of the original article:
"Our results do not allow us to conclude whether caffeine or the caffeinated
beverages were responsible for the protective effect...."
"Overall, our findings do not allow for a conclusion as to whether caffeine
ingestion protects against heart disease mortality by inducing blood pressure
increases that counteract postprandial hypotension..."
"The current study has several limitations...."
"This study does not provide a valid basis for recommending increased
consumption of caffeinated beverage...."
(Greenberg, J. A., Dunbar, C. C., Schnoll, R., Kokolis, R.,
Kokolis, S., & Kassotis, J. (2007). Caffeinated beverage intake
and the risk of heart disease mortality in the elderly: a
prospective analysis. Am J Clin Nutr, 85(2), 392-398.)
If you were writing a scholarly paper about the effects of caffeine on the heart, would you cite the MSN article or the
primary source?
Activity
Primary or Secondary?
Think about the differences between primary and secondary sources, and choose the appropriate type for the following:
1. An article discussing the history of presidential acceptance speeches.
Primary source
Secondary source
2. A transcript of Obama's presidential acceptance speech.
Primary source
Secondary source
Formats
You may be most familiar with print and electronic resources, but information comes in many formats.
Printed materials: Books (hard bound and paper bound), journals and
magazines, newspapers, government documents, maps and atlases. Many
print materials are being replaced by electronic formats because they are
easily accessible, available from a computer, and cheaper to reproduce.
Electronic (digital) materials: E-books, e-journals, web sites,
databases that require computers or other specialized equipment to view.
Digital materials are usually stored on a server accessible through the
Internet or local server.
Microforms: Microforms are usually print materials that have been
photographed in reduced size and are viewable only on special
reader/printers.
Audio/Video: Analog or digital materials in specialized
formats, such as music cds, LPs, dvds, vhs tapes, reel-toreel tapes, cassettes.
Still Images/Art: Photographs, paintings, and other artistic
formats need special handling.
When identifying an information source, it is important to note its format. If it is digital and on the Web, you may have easier
access than if it's a microfilm and only available when the library is open.
NOTE: This doesn't mean you should only look for items on the Web; it just means you may need to plan ahead to
get the items in less accessible formats. These may be the most valuable sources for your research.
NOTE: More specifics about information sources are covered in Module 2: DEFINING the Information Need.
Information Cycles
"Information Cycle" refers to the succession of sources that are created and disseminated after an event occurs. Understanding
this cycle and knowing when and why an information source was generated, should help you choose appropriate sources for many
of your research projects or questions.
Would you try to find a full length book to describe something that happened last week?
The cycle for current events differs from the cycle for academic research. And, the cycle is a guideline -- it doesn't always happen
in the same way.
Idea
What is the cycle of information generated when a scholar comes up with a research idea?
A scientist wonders whether a particular gene could be related to the development of Multiple Sclerosis
A sociologist suspects there could be a connection between serial killers and their having been abused as children
An economist wonders what impact group psychology played on the worldwide economic collapse
A literary scholar wants to know what impact modern technology has had on literary creativity
1st stage: Invisible College information -- email, memos, conversations, lab data -- is often how an idea
develops among researchers.
Invisible College information is not easily accessible, however, because it doesn't get published and is
often only available to a small group of people; hence, "invisible."
2nd stage: Research reports (conference proceedings, unpublished papers, grant reports, letters to the editor) are
the second stage.
At conferences, researchers present their findings to an audience of peers, often to get feedback as their
research develops.
If a researcher gets a grant, they must write up their findings to justify the grantor's funding.
These reports are usually published within a year, but may not be readily available through standard search tools.
3rd stage: Journal articles (more in-depth coverage; description of completed research) may follow within two years
depending on whether they are published in print or electronically. In many cases, these articles will include a basic
structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.
Popular books and articles may also come out in the 3rd stage in order to report on the research and
make it accessible to the general audience.
4th stage: Scholarly books and textbooks, single-subject or interdisciplinary, may be compilations of differing
viewpoints that refer to the original research. Book publishing may take an additional year after journal articles
appear.
5th stage: Reference books (encyclopedias, etc) will place the research findings in the general context of all
knowledge on a topic and may not be seen for 1-2 years after the books.
NOTE: none of the above is absolute; it's just a guideline!
Activity
A Real Life Information Cycle
Who is Dr. Sonenshine?
He is a biologist and professor emeritus at ODU who has been working on ticks since the 1950s when he published his
dissertation on a particular bat tick in 1959. He has written one of the most authoritative works The Biology of Ticks (1991), as
well as several other books, research reports, and scholarly articles.
Dr. Sonenshine has an IDEA about how to control the tick population: could a
decoy tick (a bead), implanted with female pheromones, attract male ticks and
then kill them?
This idea begins an information cycle. Below are publications representing further steps in the cycle. Place a number from 1-5
in front of the citation indicating where it belongs in the cycle. [NOTE: The dates were left out so as not to make it too easy!]
. Sonenshine, DE, & Mather, TN. Ecological dynamics of tick-borne zoonoses. New York: Oxford University Press.
. Allan SA, Barre N, Sonenshine DE, Burridge MJ. Efficacy of tags impregnated with pheromone and acaricide for control of
Amblyomma variegatum. Medical and veterinary entomology 12(2):141-150.
. He confers with colleagues and other experts, as well as with student researchers at ODU. They correspond through
email, memos, conversations = the INVISIBLE COLLEGE.
. "Ticks." Encyclopedia of Entomology v. 3. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
. Sonenshine, DE. Pheromonal disruption of reproduction in ticks using the decoy system: project report. Richmond, VA:
Center for Innovative Technology, Institute of Biotechnology, VCU.
Submit
Event
When an event occurs, the cycle of information is somewhat different.
Suppose you were on I-264 headed toward Virginia Beach when an airplane crashes nearby. You take a picture of the chaos
with your cell phone and post it to Twitter and Facebook.
Would your description be considered primary or secondary?
Objective or subjective?
A TV reporter is on the scene reporting what she sees.
Primary or secondary?
Objective or subjective?
The information cycle has begun. Where are you likely to hear more about the crash very soon?
Blogs, Facebook, Twitter
Internet news
Radio
Television
Newspaper
How far the information cycle goes depends on:
who crashed (president, celebrity, nobody)
what crashed (747 on I64 at rush hour or private small plane)
why it crashed (terrorism or engine failure)
If the event was not significant outside the local area, perhaps the cycle would end here.
Think about it ...
Is there another information type that might include this information later, even if it wasn't significant?
Click here
Think about it ...
If the crash were of a major jetliner and 100 people were killed and/or the incident were related to terrorist activities, the cycle
would likely continue. What types of sources would talk about it?
Click here
Here is a graphic of the information cycle for a newsworthy event.
Activity
Video: Information Cycle
“Information Cycle” is a short video that shows you how the Information Cycle works with an event in the news. Click on the
image below to watch the video, produced by University of Tennessee Libraries, then answer the questions below.
Questions about the video...
Based on the video, answer the following questions.
1. What are some information sources that produce information as event occurs or soon after? Fill in the blank for at least two
such sources.
2. When the academics (professors) began to write about Hurricane Katrina, what types of information resources did they
produce?
3. Indicate with a T (true) or F (false) whether the following statements are true or false.
1. It took longer for the academic publications to be released because they were doing in-depth research about the events
and related issues.
2. The publishing process for newspapers takes a longer time than for journal articles and books.
4. From the cycle of information portrayed, based on a news story, you might make some generalizations about information
sources. What type of information sources come out even later than journal articles and books?
Submit
Summary
In this module, we looked at the concepts of information, information literacy, and research.
Regardless of how we define it, what we all know about information is that there is a lot of it. By some estimates, the
amount of available information doubles about every four years, with digital content doubling every 18 months, especially
since the advent of the Internet in the 1990s.
Information Literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to
locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."
Research is the process of gathering, evaluating, and interpreting information or data to answer a question or solve a
problem.
We reviewed various characteristics, types, and formats of information.
Factual Information is usually brief, provides indisputable answers to specific questions. and no explanation or analysis is
needed. Analytical information analyzes and interprets facts to form an opinion or come to a conclusion. The primary
questions answered with analytical information are why? or how?
Subjective information is one person's opinion. It can be based on fact, but it is one person's interpretation of that fact.
Objective information reviews many points of view and is intended to be unbiased.
Always look at the publication date of a source and think critically about whether you need the most current information,
historical information, or both.
Some resources are scholarly (or academic); others are popular (or general interest). In most cases, your professors will
require that you find scholarly resources.
For journals, the most scholarly articles will be those that have gone through a review process before being published.
These articles are PEER-REVIEWED or REFEREED.
It's important to know the difference between journals, magazines, and trade publications.
A primary source is original, firsthand information. It hasn't been interpreted, analyzed, condensed, or changed. A source
that is one or more steps removed from the original research or event is considered a secondary source. Different
disciplines use primary and secondary sources differently.
When you identify an information source, it is important to note its format. For items not readily available electronically, you
may need to plan ahead to get these most valuable sources for your research.
We learned how information is disseminated after an event occurs and after a new idea occurs to a researcher.
Information about important events usually moves from the media and social networking sites, to newspapers, to
magazines, to journals, to books, to reference materials.
Ideas usually move from the informal "Invisible College," to research reports or conference papers, to journal articles, to
books, to reference materials.
Having an understanding of the basics of information should help you with your information needs throughout your life and
especially while you're a student. Identifying your information need, knowing what type of information will meet that need, and
knowing where in the cycle of publishing you can find it is a good start.
Return to your Blackboard course for further assignments
Feedback: Please take a few moments to complete a brief survey with your feedback on the module.
Suggested Reading/Sources Consulted
Morris, Bill. "Data Overload: Americans in the Digital Age." Sphere. December 16, 2009. http://www.sphere.com/tech/article/ucsan-diego-researchers-attempt-to-quantify-digital-revolution/19282576
List-Handley, C. J. (2008). Information literacy & technology (4th ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt.
Penn State University Libraries (Producer). The Information Cycle. Retrieved from
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/infocycle/infocycle.html
University Libraries of The Pennsylvania State University. How to Evaluate Your Search, from
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/infolit/andyou/mod7/eval_sch.htm
University of California Berkeley. Glossary of Internet & Web Jargon, from
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Glossary.html
University of California Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (Producer). E-Literate. Retrieved from
http://media.gseis.ucla.edu/newliteracies/e-literate_big.mov
Copyright 2010-2013 Old Dominion University -- ODU Libraries, updated September 2013