Information Literacy and Writing Papers!

1. Information Literacy and Writing Papers! Need Find Evaluate Use Cite

2. Choosing a Topic (if not provided by professor) • Awesome, you get to chose your own topic! • Make sure the topic fits the assignment. Your professor will have some requirements—make sure your topic fits! • You’re writing a college paper, you’ll need information written by other researchers and professionals—are there people like that writing about your topic? If not, you might have a hard time. • Let’s face it, the first thing you want to know is, how long does the paper have to be? • Think about the length of your paper and avoid being too narrow or too broad with your topic. Too narrow of a topic means you might not be able to find enough info to write about. Too broad means you’re trying to cover too many things—you are not attempting to write a textbook. ‘Business Management’ is not a topic for a short paper.

3. Topic Pre-research • I have a topic! Now what? • Get an understanding and overview of your topic. Start with reference texts such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, class texts, even Wikipedia* *Wikipedia gets a bum rap, because people use it incorrectly. Your research can start there, but it should not ever END there—so whatever you do, do not cite from Wikipedia.

4. *Segue: Wikipedia.org – What is it good/bad for? BAD because: • Many, many, many, many, many revisions. • Ever click on the ‘Talk’ section of a Wikipedia page? • Anyone can edit it—people who hate cilantro aren’t going to write nice things in the cilantro page. • Pranks, vandalism, to be funny, for the LOLs. GOOD because: • Detailed summaries, especially on technical topics. • References, bibliographies, further readings on the bottom. Always, always take Wikipedia with a grain of salt and do additional research. Do not cite/quote directly from Wikipedia.

5. Topic Pre-Research • While you are reading the summaries/overview/encyclopedia entries: • Write down keywords and synonyms having to do with your topic. • Also write down some broader and narrower keywords. • Twitter <---> Social media <---> Internet • Google glasses <---> augmented reality <---> Transhumanism • Here are some examples of my keywords if my topic is: advertising for bilingual consumers: Then when I do a search to find information, I can try different combinations: • Identify 3 or 4 discussion points—information about your topic that you can divide into smaller topics.

6. This is My Topic and I Understand the Basics • So you think you can stand writing about this topic for the next few days/weeks.... • You should start getting into the latest research and data. • Where should I start? • You should have a list of keywords ready to search! • Start thinking about organizing your discussion points into an outline, or into different sections and paragraphs in your paper.

7. Possible Sources of Information

8. Search Engine:Can’t I just use Google/Yahoo/Baidu/Naver? • You can, but how do you know it’s GOOD information? • Is everything you read on the Internet true? NO! • Yes, but not everything online is bad. There’s good stuff. • Of course there is! But there are things you should check BEFORE using it in your paper. • Is the information accurate? • Does the person writing it have authority? • Is it objective? • Is the data presented current? • How is the coverage of the topic? Just summary? Lots of pictures, no text? • So 2AO2C. Another way to remember what to check is: 5 Ws.

9. Evaluating Websites and More The 5 Ws Who What When Where Why

10. WHO? • Who wrote this? • What are their qualifications? • Do they provide their contact information? • Can you find out more about them? • Why should you trust this author?

11. WHAT? • What is being presented? • Broken links? Bad spelling? • Does the information being presented have a bibliography? List of resources? • Is it opinion? Fact? • Are there ads? Are they trying to sell you something?

12. WHEN? • When was this information made available? • Is the information up-to-date?

13. WHERE? • Where is this information coming from? • Check the Domain: • .eduis US educational institutions (.ac.uk is for United Kingdom educational institutions) • .govis US government institutions • .com, .org, .net = no restrictions • What other articles are also in the same domain?

14. WHERE? Quick Test: • Is http://www.whitehouse.com a government website? • Is http://gov.unitedstates.org a government website? • Is http://www.harvard.edu an educational institution? • You are studying Shakespeare, which is better to use as a resource? http://shakespeare.mit.edu vs. http://www.geocities.com/athens/troy/4081/Sonnets.html

15. WHY? • Why should you use this information? • Why is this better than other information? • Why is the author presenting this information? Is there bias? • Are they trying to persuade you about something?

16. Website Example • Topic is: Attention Deficit Disorder • Here’s an article I found online with Google: Attention Deficit Disorder: The Good and the Bad • http://voices.yahoo.com/attention-deficit-disorder-good-bad-5218893.html • Who – Not a doctor, not a researcher, not a psychologist, etc. He write about other things. • What – There are advertisements. Very small reference list. • When – Fairly recent. • Where – Yahoo.com, commercial, with a lot of different articles. • Why – The information isn’t that in depth. The writing seems to be just practicing to write about any topic. • Do you think this article is good to use on your paper?

17. So using a result found on Google/Baidu/Yahoo/Naver... • Well, evaluating websites is a lot of work. • So what about the other sources of information? Easier! • Books • Encyclopedias • Periodicals (Journals) • The library provides: • Books! • Encyclopedias! • Periodicals!

18. Library Resources – Safe Harbor • Our library catalog finds: Books, Encyclopedias, Periodicals in our library • Keyword: Search with your topic keywords.

19. Title Perfect for when title is known no need to use whole title (first 3-4 words) no need to use capitals Author Use when author is known Think about phonebooks! Subjects Great for finding related items Keywords Best when only know the topic Matches words from anywhere – largest search area, searches title, author, isbn, subject, call number, everything beneath it. Library Catalog

20. Use * ‘wildcard’ to retrieve plurals and alternate endings Useful to find words in variant forms Search all words that start with the same characters Represent multiple characters Use * to search by the root of the keyword advert* will find advertise advertising advertisements Psycho* vs. Psych* PsychologyPsychiatry PsychologicalPsychic Psychotherapy Psychology

21. Use “quotation marks” to search for exact phrases • To search multiple keywords as an exact phrase (same order, same words) • “quality control” • “climate change” • When NOT to use: • “Long Ago” cannot find titles with “Long Time Ago” • Wrong: “management business” – if you can’t use the words in the exact order in a sentence, then it is not a phrase, do not use “”.

22. Library Databases • Used by students, researchers, professors. The 5Ws are easier to find and determine.

23. Library Databases – Search for articles about your keywords Encyclopedias: Getting an overview of a topic—but don’t stop here. Use the other database to find articles with more in depth information. Biography is if you want information about a person. Literature has more critical and analytical essays about authors and their works.

24. Library Databases Don’t let the busy interfaces confuse you, if you’re not sure, just enter your keywords into the main search area: Then filter out any results you don’t want. Try to get more current articles and peer-reviewed articles (other researchers look at the article before it is published.)

25. Citing Articles Found Inside Databases In Academic Search Elite (and other Ebsco databases), you can find the citation function inside each search result.

26. Citing Articles Found Inside Databases In ProQuest Research Library (and other ProQuest databases):

27. Find One, Get Many More I found a great paper for my topic!

28. Find One, Get Many More: EXAMPLE • You found a great article about your topic. In the bibliography of the article, this is listed as a reference: • Neff, Jack. "Walmart Ups the Ante with Brand Co-Op Ads-in More Ways than One." Advertising Age80.40 (2009): 4, 23 • This fits your topic too! Does the library have this article? When searching the library catalog for journal articles, use the journal title, not the article title. When you find ‘Advertising Age’, check the holdings section, does it include 2009? Then go to that location to find it.

29. Find One, Get Many More: The Sequel Our Library Catalog and various database such as ProQuest Research and Academic Search Elite have Subject links, Author links, related links.

30. Library Catalog: Find One, Get Many More More books like this in the library with SUBJECT links!

31. Database: Find One, Get Many More Find more written by the same author, or find more with the same subject.

32. Plagiarism: Daring to Fail! What is plagiarism? • Copy and paste without quoting. • Replacing a few words, rearrange sentences. • Not giving credit to other people’s ideas: • Ideas includes words, photos, data analysis/charts/graphs. • Assignments may be checked by TurnitIn—a computer program that checks for originality. Source: Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It (http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml)

33. How to Use Info Without Plagiarizing 1. Put in “quotations” everything that comes directly from the text and then give credit to who had the idea. This is the ONLY time you can copy & paste. Example: He wrote within the introduction, “it was my idea, so credit should be given to me” (Smith, 1). 2. Paraphrase, use your own words to explain the idea, but be sure you are not just rearranging or replacing a few words. Then, give credit to who had the idea. Example: In the beginning of the article, Smith defended his case by saying that he should get the credit since he not only discovered the problem but came up with the idea for the solution (1). Source: Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It (http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml)

34. Citing Your Research • Why Cite? • Give credit to other people’s work. • Avoid plagiarism. • Proof that you did the research. • There are 2 parts: • In text citing: Right after the sentence. • Bibliography (Works Cited): An alphabetical list of every resource you used.

35. In-Text Citation: MLA Style Neff noted that although both Target and Walmart employ nonunion workers, Walmart remains the bigger target for labor activists (4). OR Although both Target and Walmart employee nonunion workers, Walmart remains the bigger target for labor activists (Neff 4).

36. Works Cited: MLA Style Works Cited Neff, Jack. "Walmart Ups the Ante with Brand Co-Op Ads-in More Ways than One." Advertising Age 80.40 (2009): 4, 23. ProQuest Central. Web. 31 Aug. 2011.

37. Citation Help! http://lib.uwest.edu Subject Guides > Citation

38. Subject Guide > Citation > KnightCite Link Plug and Play: http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/ 3) Fill in the data and submit 1) Which Style? 2) What did you use?

39. Subject Guide > Citation > OWL Link Learning by Example: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ In Text Citation Works Cited Sample Paper

40. And remember, our library databases... • ...provide you with the citation in MLA style, but... • Be familiar with the basics of the citation style you are using…database programs can make mistakes. • MLA Works Cited format usually goes something like: • Books • Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. • Periodical/Journal Articles • Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages. Medium of publication.

41. To sum up! • Need – What do you need? Put it into simple one, two, or three words (these are your keywords). Think about other ways to say the same thing, including narrower or broader words (more keywords). • Find – Use your keywords to (1) find books in our library catalog, and (2) journal articles in our databases. • Evaluate – Are the items (books, articles, even websites) you found appropriate? Based your judgment on 2Ao2C or the 5 Ws. • Use – Do you know how to incorporate the information in your paper? Use direct quotes or paraphrase and always remember to give credit. • Cite– There are two parts to citing in MLA style. Part 1 is in-text and part 2 is the Works Cited.