The Basileiad Library at Manor College. Information Literacy course. Introduction.

Information Literacy has been defined as the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze and use information.

This course will not only help you find material for your assignments now, but the techniques will work in any library and any college or university.

There are four basic steps to research:
         t Identify the information needed.
         t Find the information.
         t Evaluate the information.
         t Use the information.
These sound simplistic, but require attention. The first step is where inexperienced researchers spend the least time, but where experienced researchers spend the most time. This is the step which will smooth the way ahead if time is taken here. It is especially important to define all the terms embedded in your question so that there is no doubt about what you are looking for. You should use dictionaries and encyclopedias, not only to clarify meanings, but also to discover alternative keywords. These will help you a lot later on. You can find electronic dictionaries and encyclopedias under 'To Find Information on the Internet' on the library's web page.

Another place to find online encyclopedias and dictionaries is under 'To Find a Book'. Click on 'netLibrary', then scroll down to the 'Reference Center'. Browse down through the subjects, click on the + sign of your subject, then on the title you want.

Because information comes in many formats it is also useful to think about where the information you need might be published. For example, it is worth while considering what kind of an organization would publish the information you are looking for, and then finding resources about or from that organization.

Information is available in a variety of formats: books, periodicals, web sites, etc. Each format has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Books allow the author to expand fully on their ideas, so you will always find greater depth of analysis in a book. However, books take time to be published, so might not be up to date.

Periodicals (journals and newspapers) are good places to find short articles which can help you learn quickly about a subject. They can also provide updates on research areas covered by books.

The World Wide Web is probably the most used of all information resources, but can be the most misleading.

It might be useful to locate a pathfinder in your subject. Go to any search engine and key in the word Pathfinder followed by the broad subject term. For example, for computing subjects, try 'pathfinder "computer science"'.

From the beginning of your research, always keep a record of every resource you use. This record will help when you need to go back to check something, and can be used as your bibliography at the end of your assignment.

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