Workshop 1 - where to start
After completing this workshop you will be able to:
- List the most basic points of Information Literacy
- Identify keywords from an essay topic
- Understand some important considerations involved in preparing to search
- Perform simple searches on the library catalogue using the Topic Keyword(s) option
- Anticipate the frequent need to review the search
Information Literacy
Recognising a need for information - One key aspect of this is the ability to recognise when there are gaps in the information found – and to revise the search strategy appropriately and perceptively.
Searching thoughtfully - Though your search makes use of computers – machines – it should never become mechanical. The computers should be clearly recognised as tools only, to enhance your searching ability. You need to work towards understanding your topic, and the best ways of researching thoughtfully. You also need to understand how computers - computerised information retrieval systems - search for the statements and keywords you enter into them.
Evaluating information - Evaluating information can often be quite challenging; without some understanding of the subject you may not get very far. Start your research by making use of reference material eg. dictionaries & thesaurus'.
Points to consider
Should the same methods be followed in researching all topics?
Use your initiative & think about the most appropriate method of researching your topic.
Does information literacy lead to an in-depth understanding of issues?
While Information Literacy is a vital step towards such an understanding, if applied superficially, it can even lead you in the wrong direction. This is why searching and evaluation should not be done in a mechanical or superficial way.
Activity
Understanding how information is produced and communicated
Travelling the world of information in an age of information explosion means that you can easily get buried under the rubble. Often, for any topic, there is a very large quantity of available information, but of uncertain quality. Or, on some topics, most of the easy-to-find material is produced to support one side of an argument, regardless of the genuine merits of the case.
Suppose your assignment asks you to discuss a particular book published a few years ago. During an initial search you see that almost all the 20 articles are discussing or reviewing it, and are supportive of the book's main arguments.
What should you be prepared to do next, and why?
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Preparing to recognise the gaps in information found and to revise the search
You should not expect to gather enough relevant, appropriate and reliable information on one short journey of searching. It's best to start out on a search with the clear recognition that at the end of your expected route you will have to take a careful look at what you have found - and very likely you will need to go some way back, perhaps right to your starting point. From there you will need to start off again, perhaps in a different direction, in any case looking for the kind of information you haven't yet found.
Searching for information on ethical issues of genetic manipulation in human beings, suppose you find after quite a bit of searching using your original keywords and search phrases that you have sufficient material emphasising the science involved, but not enough addressing the underlying social and ethical principles properly.
What could you do now?
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Evaluating Information
You have another problem. You have heard from various sources, and found yourself, that you have to be careful about Internet materials, because anyone can put up a webpage, it is all uncontrolled. Your are not naive about stories in the mass media either: you know they are frequently biased and inaccurate. But you are unsure about what you should do with books and articles written by academics. Can you assume that they are all valuable and trustworthy, and that you don't really have to bother trying to evaluate those?
What do you assume? Do you need to evaluate all the sources of information gathered?
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