Chapter -7 Three Key Academic Success And Lifelong Learning Skills Flashcards
Information literacy
Ability to search for, locate, and evaluate information for relevance and accuracy.
6 step process for locating, evaluating, and using information to write research paper and reports in college and beyond.
- Define your research topic or question
- identify resources for locating information
- Evaluate the credibility and quality of your sources
- Include a sufficient quantity and variety of sources.
- Use your sources as stepping stones to your own ideas and conclusions
- Cite your sources with integrity
What is the first step in the information search process
Be sure that your topic is acceptable to you instructor
Be sure your topic is neither too narrow or too broad
Narrow topic
Leaving you with an insufficient amount of information to write about
Broad topic
Leaving you with too much information to cover
What are the two major sources available to you for locating information
Print resources – cards catalogs, published indexes, and guide books
Online resources – online card catalogs, Internet search engines and electronic databases
Key information search tools and terms
Abstract in – a concise summary of the sources content, usually appearing in the beginning of the article
This information can help you decide quickly whether the source is relevant to your research topic
Key information search tools and terms
Catalog – a library database containing information about what information sources the library owns and where they are located
Most catalogs are now in electronic form and can be searched by typing in a topic, heading or keywords.
Key information search tools and terms
Citation – it up and store information source that provides enough information to allow the reader to retrieve the source it can be in APA or MLA format
Key information search tools and terms
Database – a collection of data that has been organized to make it easily accessible and retrievable
A database may include
Reference citations- such as author, date, and publication source
Abstracts- summary of the contents of a scholarly article
Full length documents
A combination of the above three
Key information search tools and terms
Descriptor (aka: subject heading)- The key word or phrase in the index of a database describing the subject or content areas found within it, enabling you to quickly locate sources relevant to your research topic
Key information search tools and terms
Index- an alphabetical listing of topics contained in a database.
Key information search tools and terms
Keyword- a word used to search multiple databases that match the search word to information found in different databases. It is very specific
Key information search tools and terms
Search engine- a Computer run program that allows you to search information across the entire Internet or at a particular website
Key information search tools and terms
Search thesaurus- A list of words or phrases with similar meaning allowing you to identify which of these words or phrases to use as keywords , descriptors or subject headings in the database
Key information search tools and terms
Subscription database – a database that can only be accessed with a paid subscription
Key information search tools and terms
Uniform resource locator (URL)- and Internet address consisting of a series of letters and or numbers that pinpoints the exact location of an information resource.
Key information search tools and terms
Wildcard- a symbol such as an asterisk, question mark, exclamation point that can be used to substitute different letters into a search word phrase, allowing an electronic search to be performed on all variations of the word represented by the symbol.
Documentation
References you will use to support or confirm your conclusions.
Credibility
Is the source written by an authority or expert in the field
Scholarly
Does the information appear in a scholarly publications that has been reviewed by a board or panel of impartial experts in the field?
Currency
Has the source been published or posted recently?
Objectivity
Is the author likely to be impartial or unbiased toward the subject?