2.00 Understand information management.

1. 2.00 Understand information management. NC CTE 2.01: Use information literacy skills to increase workplace efficiency and effectiveness.

2. Assess information needs • Determining information • Factual information - a piece of information presented as having an objective reality; knowledge or information based on real occurrences • Criticism -  is the practice of judging the merits and faults of something. Criticism as an evaluative or corrective exercise can occur in any area of human life. In specific areas of human endeavor, the form of criticism can be highly specialized and technical; it often requires professional knowledge to understand the criticism. • Opinions - a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter; a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty

3. Assess information needs • Types and formats of information sources • Formality of information – the degree of trust of formal information sources over purely informal information sources • Disciplines - information literacy practices change based on the discipline (or what one is studying or researching) to determine if information is relevant to the need • Current vs. historical • Current information – most recent information on a event found on social media, broadcasting, newspapers, and the internet • Historical information – found in academic/scholarly journals, books, government publications, and reference collections • Primary vs. secondary • Primary sources are original materials on which other research studies are based.  Primary sources report a discovery or share new information; they present first-hand accounts and information relevant to an event. • Secondary sources of information is one that was created by someone who did not have first-hand experience or did not participate in the events or conditions being researched.  They are generally accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight.

4. Obtain needed information efficiently • Methods/techniques used to obtain or retrieve information. • The Web is potentially a terrific place to get information on almost any topic.  Doing research without leaving your desk sounds like a great idea, but all too often you end up wasting precious time chasing down useless URLs.  • Procedures for obtaining information. • Your best bet is not a search engine, but a Web directory like the Open Directory Project,  Google Directory or  Yahoo.  A directory is a subject-tree style catalogue that organizes the Web into major topics, including Arts, Business and Economy, Computers and Internet, Education, Entertainment, Government, Health, News, Recreation, Reference, Regional, Science, Social Science, Society and Culture.  Under each of these topics is a list of subtopics, and under each of those is another list, and another, and so on, moving from the more general to the more specific. • Check out this source link http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html

5. Evaluate quality and source of information • Factors that should be evaluated when assessing information’s quality • Validity - refers to the degree to which a study accurately reflects or assesses the specific concept that the researcher is attempting to measure • Reliability – is, literally, the extent to which we can rely on the source of the data and, therefore, the data itself. Reliable data is dependable, trustworthy, unfailing, sure, authentic, genuine, reputable • Accuracy -  the document must be correct so you can put a point across • Timeliness -  having information when you need it. It means that the sooner the information is available to decision makers, the better. • Bias - an inclination of temperament or outlook, especially a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment

6. Evaluate quality and source of information • Procedures for evaluating the quality and source of information • Authority • Who published the source? Is it a university press or a large reputable publisher? Is it from a government agency? Is the source self-published? What is the purpose of the publication? • Where does the information in the source come from? Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched, or is it questionable and unsupported by evidence? Is there a list of references or works cited? What is the quality of these references? • Who is the author? What are the author's credentials (educational background, past writing, experience) in this area? Have you seen the author's name cited in other sources or bibliographies? • Is the content a first-hand account or is it being retold? Primary sources are the raw material of the research process; secondary sources are based on primary sources. • Currency • When was the source published? Is the source current or out of date for your topic? • Purpose • What is the author’s intention? Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda? Is the author's point of view objective and impartial? Is the language free of emotion-rousing words or bias? • Is the publication organized logically? Are the main points clearly presented? Do you find the text easy to read? Is the author repetitive? • Check this out http://media.easybib.com/ebook/mla_websiteeval.pdf

7. Apply information to accomplish a task • Ways to organize information to support the purpose and format needed for a task • Outlines - An outline arranges materials hierarchically and sequentially by identifying main topics, subtopics, and details under the subtopics. Outlines allow you to group materials by similar concepts or content and put them into a logical order. • Drafts - adequate information and understanding, are near or at the end of gathering research, and have completed an exercise in prewriting. • Storyboards - A storyboard is a sketch of how to organize information and a list of its contents. • Proposals - a plan or suggestion, especially a formal or written one, put forward for consideration or discussion by others. • Summaries - An overview of content that provides a reader with the overarching theme, but does not expand on specific details.

8. Apply information to accomplish a task • Ways to integrate existing information, data, or images into a new product or performance • Quoting - repeat or copy out (a group of words from a text or speech), typically with an indication that one is not the original author or speaker. "he quotedan article from the newspaper" • Summarizing - is a strategy in which readers sort through the information presented in a text in order to pull out and paraphrase the essential ideas. It requires readers to determine what is important, to condense this information, and to state it in their own words  • Copying - make a similar or identical version of; reproduce. • Manipulating -  to use or change (numbers, information, etc.) in a skillful way or for a particular purpose

9. Store information for future use • Advantages of storing/recording information • Documentation - Every organization needs to save information for its own purposes, such as institutional memory, transaction lookup and analysis, and so on. • Audit trail - there are minimum requirements of business record retention that are recommended for business owners to keep in the event of a tax audit. • Personal files - Allows you to back up records and keep them in a safe place in case of fire or theft. • Heritage preservation – photos, newspaper articles on company activities, etc. saved as memorabilia

10. Store information for future use • Negative results of storing/recording information • Obsolescence of format or medium - when deciding which format or medium in which to keep a document/file, the particular software which is purchased may become obsolete or redundant • Security of information - But storing information sets you up for a risk: E-discovery requests in lawsuits expose a company's data and data management to close scrutiny. The more you store, the more they can ask for, increasing the odds of damaging findings. • Challenges of storing/recording information • Recordkeeping – documents are duplicated or replaced • Storage space – purchased software is not large enough • Filing systems – purchased software is not adequate to maintain all programs used • Employer analysis -  identify what data a company has and how its employees typically use that data. That information can help in deciding what should be collected and retained, both for legal and corporate purposes.