Research Guides: Faculty Toolkit for Teaching Information Literacy: 1. Information need

Information need

Standard one:

The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed.

understands the research assignment and is able to communicate it to others
formulates a thesis statement or research question that fits into the parameters of the research assignment
explores and refines a topic using appropriate library and Internet sources
explores general information sources (e.g., encyclopedias) to increase familiarity with the topic
recognizes various types and formats of information and understands their value and differences

Choosing and Refining a Topic
Worksheet from SCC Library on methods for selecting and narrowing a research topic

Students need to be able to (outcomes)

recognize various types of information resources and understand their value and differences

Students need to know (curriculum)

advantages of using a variety of sources
what the different information types are (Web/search engines, library databases, reference books, popular magazines, scholarly journals)
where to find each type of information
how to use criteria for comparison (appropriateness, authority, currency, bias)

Learning activities (pedagogy)

lecture about different types of information and why it's important to have a variety of tools available (each tool is appropriate for a particular job)
in-class exercise:
- students, working in groups, are given a research topic
- students compare and contrast two different types of information resource (subject encyclopedia vs. Web, ProQuest vs. Google, Opposing Viewpoints database vs. Web, journal vs. magazine, two different databases)
- each group must indicate strengths and weaknesses for each source
- each group reports their findings to the larger class

Assignment (assessment)

students research a topic and are required to use at least five sources
students create an annotated bibliography
in the annotations, students reflect on these evaluation questions:
- who created the information?
- when was the information created?
- is the information biased?
- how did this source add to your knowledge of the topic?

Grading/Scoring (criteria)