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Library Instruction: Information Literacy Resources

This guide provides assistance for faculty members who want to include library research tools in their courses.

Frameworks for Information Literacy in Higher Education Suggested Reading

Framework related tutorials

Research is a process which is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex questions.

Learning Goals:

  • Understand that a new researcher must develop a foundational knowledge base
  • Understand that research questions are formed where there are gaps in the current information or research topics are often based on societal, personal, and professional needs.
  • Develop a basic, researchable, question.

Frames:
Research as Inquiry

Scholarship as Conversation

This tutorial was created at University of Washington Libraries. We thank them for their generosity in sharing their work.

Scholarship is like a conversation where ideas are created, debated, and weighed against one anther over time. Information users and creators come together to discuss meaning, with the effective research adding his or her voice to the conversation.

Learning Goals:

  • Recognize that a given scholarly work may not represent the only, or even the majority, perspective on the issue at hand.
  • Understand that students are entering the middle of the scholarly conversation, not the end.
  • Critically evaluate the contributions made by others, and see self as a producer, as well as a consumer of information.

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

An information source's context - where it came from, its audience, format, and how it is used- help determine is authority and appropriateness.

Learning Goals:

  • Students recognize that credibility may vary by context and information need.
  • Students understand the importance of critically assessing a source's credibility.
  • Students are able to identify how a credible source could be used for a particular need.

Searching as Strategic Exploration

Locating information requires a combination of inquiry, discovery, and serendipity. There is no one size fits all source to find the needed information. Information discovery is nonlinear and iterative, requiring the use of a broad range of information sources and flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding is developed.

Learning Goals:

  • Select an appropriate search tool based on discipline and task at hand.

  • Construct a search based on keywords and use basic search strategies

  • Condense or expand as necessary using search string and facets.

  • Remain persistent!

Information Creation is a Process

Information in any format is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences.

Learning Goals:

  • Articulate the capabilities and constraints of information developed through various creation processes
  • Assess the fit between an information product’s creation process and a particular information need
  • Articulate the traditional and emerging processes of information creation and dissemination in a particular discipline
  • Recognize that information may be perceived differently based on the format in which it is packaged
  • Recognize the implications of information formats that contain static or dynamic information
  • Monitor the value that is placed upon different types of information products in varying contexts

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