Information Literacy

1. Information Literacy For Success in School and Life By Elaine Settergren, Online Librarian http://students.msbcollege.edu/library/locations.html September 2007 An Introduction to Information

2. Today’s Lessons • What is Information Literacy? • Seeking information • Information Cycles • Types of information • MSB Library • UsingInformation • Evaluating information • Citation and Academic Honesty

3. 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 howto use information

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

5. 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.

6. Seeking Information • Where are you most likely to find the info you need? • Types of sources include (but are not limited to): • Books • Periodicals (magazines & journals) • Newspapers • Websites • Photographs • Interviews • Encyclopedias • Textbooks • Annual Reports • Videos • Dissertations • Bills • Statutes • Illustrations • Financial Reports • Maps • Government Documents • Case Studies • Book Reviews • and More!!! They all have their unique strengths and uses

7. 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

8. Types of Information • Scholarly • 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. • Different types of sources are good for different uses

9. The GU/MSB Library • Use the library website to access all the library research and help tools http://library.msbcollege.edu – there is also a link from your Blackboard course. • Login to the library databases with the same username and password that you use for your email • Username: firstname.lastname • Password: last 4 digits of your Social Security #

10. The GU/MSB Library Library Tools and Resources: • Databases –> for finding articles and more • Books and E-books • Recommended Websites • Help includes: • Research guides/tutorials • Librarian contact info -> ask us questions!

11. MSB Library: Databases The 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

12. 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 updatedfrequently 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

13. MSB 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

14. Database:EBSCO MegaFile

15. Database: Gale Click “continue” to search many of the databases at once!

16. Database: Gale - continued

17. Database: ProQuest

18. MSB Library: Books and E-books • Search the Catalog for books at the GU/MSB campuses and for e-books • E-books: NetLibrary is one of our e-book providers and is searchable through the catalog • For Business and Information Technology e-books search Books 24x7 • More e-books and portions of e-books are found in the databases

19. MSB Library: The Catalog for E-Books Keep in mind that if you search only for e-books, you won’t find any print books from your local GU/MSB campus.

20. MSB 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://students.msbcollege.edu/library/faq/#checkout • If you are an online-only student, you can ILL from your local public library. If you have questions, let me (Elaine Settergren – esettergren@msbcollege.edu) know.

21. 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

22. Evaluating Information • Evaluate your sources so you’re sure your source is credible. • Good sources = better papers and research projects =  you!

23. Evaluating Information Evaluate 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?

24. 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. • Some classes will require APA citation style, while others will require MLA. Your instructor will let you know.

25. Help!?! No Problem! Questions? Ask Your Librarian! We’re here to help. Find us on the library website: http://students.msbcollege.edu/library/locations.html

26. More About Information and Research • Composition class • You’ll learn more about searching and the MSB Library during composition class • Library Website –> tutorials • Check the library website for additional information about researching and using library tools • http://library.msbcollege.edu