Information Literacy Commons^™

3 Simple Steps To Reading Scholarly Articles, Maureen Barry, Cheryl Lauricella

Instruction & Research Services Workshops

Are you dreading reading through those 8-20 page articles you found for your paper? Do they seem like they are written in a different language? Never fear! In this workshop, you will learn strategies for making sense of those long, and let’s face it, sometimes boring, articles.

How Do I Find This Reference?, Mary Lou Baker Jones

Instruction & Research Services Workshops

Do you feel a little confused when you are handed a reference or citation and expected to find the information source? Gain the skills that allow you to decipher a reference and then find the source. Feel like a detective who understands the clues!

Integrating Your Sources: Quotations, Paraphrasing, And Summarizing, Piper Martin, Samantha Jo Spitak

Instruction & Research Services Workshops

You've searched for articles and books and you have a list of sources that are on your topic. Now how are you supposed to use them in your paper? In this workshop, staff from the Writing Center and a librarian will take you through the process of integrating those sources in your paper. Learn how to quote and paraphrase while avoiding plagiarism and keeping your voice the focus of your paper.

Finding The "Perfect" Source, Maureen Barry

Instruction & Research Services Workshops

Does this scenario sound familiar? You've searched through many of the libraries’ databases using words that describe your subject, but nothing in your results list stands out to you as right on-topic. Luckily, you are not alone! We can help you locate sources that will be useful, and we’ll reveal that special perfect source that ties it all together.

Using A Train-The-Trainer Model And Active Learning To Reach Biology Freshmen, Valerie E. Perry, Beth Reeder, Melinda Borie

Library Presentations

Using the train-the-trainer model as our foundation, we created a new information literacy program in an introductory lab course. We will describe the program’s development, implementation, and evolution since first implemented in Spring Semester 2013.We also will share the advantages of using the train-the-trainer model in an information literacy program, particularly regarding its potential to reduce librarians’ time commitment and help librarians build lasting relationships with teaching faculty and graduate students.

Detecting Craap: Evaluating Information Sources, Mary Lou Baker Jones, Maureen Barry

Instruction & Research Services Workshops

How do you know if the article you found is good enough to use for your assignment? Learn strategies for evaluating sources whether you find them on the Internet, in the library, or in the library’s databases. Students practice applying the CRAAP Test criteria to information sources.

More Than Books: What The Library Can Do For You, Mandy Shannon

Instruction & Research Services Workshops

Helpful, friendly people. Convenient online articles and books. A multimedia lab. Places to study for groups and for individuals. Coffee. Games. Current print books. Where can you find all of this great stuff? In the Dunbar Library! If you still think all libraries have to offer are dusty old books then come discover all the cool things the library offers you for work and for fun!

Engaging Non-Science Majors In The Chemistry Around Us Through Information Literacy, Theresa M. Nawalaniec, Reiko M. Simmons

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

Everyone knows that teaching chemistry to non-science majors can be a special challenge! In “Chemistry in Context”, published by ACS, a heavy emphasis is placed on helping students to appreciate “chemistry” in every part of their daily lives. In our attempts to find a balance between teaching the typical basic chemistry topics and related societal issues, a program was developed to involve students in group, mini-research projects. The major purpose of this “project” was to: encourage students to search out chemistry-related information in their areas of interest, recognize the connections between scientific knowledge and our modern everyday lives, and to …

What Do Students Learn From Participation In An Undergraduate Research Journal? Results Of An Assessment, Sharon A. Weiner

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Like an increasing number of academic libraries, Purdue University Libraries provides publishing support services to the Purdue community. In 2009, Purdue University Press had recently been moved into the Libraries, and there was enthusiasm about exploring new relationships which could combine the publishing skills of the Press with use of Purdue e-Pubs, the institutional repository platform that also featured powerful publishing features. Publishing an undergraduate research journal was particularly appealing because it connected the scholarly communication program of the Libraries with strategic goals around information literacy. There is evidence that undergraduate students benefit from engaging in research experiences, and writing …

Integrating Il Skills Into The Curriculum: The Smu Experience With Academic Writing, Priyanka Sharma

Research Collection Library

The Li Ka Shing Library at SMU has been collaborating with SMU’s Centre for English Communication (CEC) to deliver a 1.5 hour long hands-on training for students enrolled in the Academic Writing course.

The programme has evolved from a somewhat generic library skills training programme to one that addresses the specific research and library skills needs of Academic Writing students. The programme curriculum has been gradually enhanced based primarily on an analysis of the feedback received from the students themselves, as well as from Academic Writing instructors at the CEC and the research librarians involved in the library training programme. …

Instruction @ The Uri Libraries - August 2014, Mary C. Macdonald, Amanda Izenstark

Instruction @ the URI Libraries

No abstract provided.

Improving Instruction: Metaliteracy Through Crowdsourcing In The Classroom, Chris Gibson, Ilana R. Stonebraker

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Crowdsourcing is cooperation between individuals to create content. This allows for multiple insights into a problem to reach a more complete answer. Metaliteracy is “a unified construct that supports the acquisition, production, and sharing of knowledge in collaborative online communities.” (Mackey & Jacobson, Reframing Information as a Metaliteracy, 2011, 62-62) By using crowdsourced information in tandem with metaliteracy, questions can be answered more rapidly and correctly than before. Academic institutions are in the early phases of implementing crowdsourced answer systems. Crowdsourcing is already commonplace among top academic and research institutions. Projects like CERN are proof that combining resources and non-traditional …

Information Outlook, July/August 2014, Special Libraries Association

Information Outlook, 2014

Volume 18, Issue 4

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Tools For Online Database Instruction, Yvonne Mery, Erica Defrain, Elizabeth Kline, Leslie Sult

Communications in Information Literacy

The intent of this study was to evaluate the Guide on the Side (Gots), an online learning tool developed by the University of Arizona Libraries, and a screencast tutorial for teaching information literacy and database searching skills. Ninety undergraduate students were randomly assigned into three groups: group 1 completed a GotS tutorial; group 2 viewed a screencast presenting identical content; and a control group. Each group completed an identical 16-item post-test. An analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences between the control group and both treatment groups, however there was no statistical difference between treatment groups. Limitations of the study …

Content Analysis Of Papers Submitted To Communications In Information Literacy, 2007-2013, Christopher V. Hollister

Communications in Information Literacy

The author conducted a content analysis of papers submitted to the journal, Communications in Information Literacy, from the years 2007-2013. The purpose was to investigate and report on the overall quality characteristics of a statistically significant sample of papers submitted to a single-topic, open access, library and information science (LIS) journal. Characteristics of manuscript submissions, authorship, reviewer evaluations, and editorial decisions were illuminated to provide context; particular emphasis was given to the analysis of major criticisms found in reviewer evaluations of rejected papers. Overall results were compared to previously published research. The findings suggest a trend in favor of collaborative …

Analyzing Archival Intelligence: A Collaboration Between Library Instruction And Archives, Merinda Kaye Hensley, Benjamin Murphy, Ellen D. Swain

Communications in Information Literacy

Although recent archival scholarship promotes the use of primary sources for developing students' analytical research skills, few studies focus on standards or protocols for teaching or assessing archival instruction. Librarians have designed and tested standards and learning assessment strategies for library instruction and archivists would do well to collaborate with and learn from their experience. This study examines lessons learned from one such collaboration between an instructional services librarian and archivist to evaluate and enhance archival instruction in the University Archives' Student Life and Culture Archival Program (SLC Archives) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library. Based on evaluative …

Potential Ramifications Of Common Core State Standards Adoption On Information Literacy, Jacob Paul Eubanks

Communications in Information Literacy

In the United States, the decline in jobs for high school educated workers and the proliferation of jobs for post-secondary educated workers is driving the development of the Common Core State Standards. The Common Core State Standards theoretically shift K-12 pedagogy towards ability development of critical and extended thinking skills, preparing high school graduates for college and career readiness. This literature review explores the reasoning behind the shift to the Common Core State Standards and asks questions regarding the potential ramifications their adoption might have on post-secondary information literacy instruction.

Integrating An Information Literacy Quiz Into The Learning Management System, M. Sara Lowe, Char Booth, Natalie Tagge, Sean Stone

Communications in Information Literacy

The Claremont Colleges Library Instruction Services Department developed a Quiz that could be integrated into the consortial learning management software to accompany a local online, open-source IL tutorial. The Quiz is integrated into individual course pages, allowing students to receive a grade for completion and improving buy-in at the faculty and student level. Piloted in nine first-year classes in Fall 2012 then revised and launched in Spring 2013, the Quiz has given the Library valuable assessment data on first-year student IL skills and enhanced the ability of teaching librarians to tailor their instruction to student performance.

Same Song, Different Verse: Developing Research Skills With Low Stakes Assignments, Amy E. Stewart-Mailhiot

Communications in Information Literacy

The research component of college writing and composition courses is often only practiced as part of high stakes assignments. This paper proposes a collaborative approach to helping students develop foundational research skills that builds on the success of the low stakes writing movement. Using Elbow's 1997 article "High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing" as a framework, the low stakes research model centers around providing students multiple opportunities to practice research skills in a manner that alleviates library research anxiety and increases research quality. Key to the success of this model is a collaborative relationship between …

Wikipedia And The Wisdom Of Crowds: A Student Project, Greg Barnhisel, Marcia Rapchak

Communications in Information Literacy

Students examined the question of whether the 'wisdom of experts' or 'the wisdom of crowds' is more reliable and useful in a writing course by engaging in a parallel Wikipedia project. Each student either created a new entry or made significant changes to an existing Wikipedia entry, tracked changes to their contributions, and then wrote a paper and gave a presentation reflecting on what they learned; simultaneously, the class as a whole collaborated on a Wikipedia entry about a local landmarks controversy. Background readings familiarizing students with Wikipedia's procedures, as well as critical and philosophical interpretations of Wikipedia's significance, provided …