scholarly journals Source discernment – the root of all information literacy?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Unger ◽  
Magdalena Svanberg ◽  
Miritt Zisser
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Popular Science ◽  
White Paper ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
First Year Student

Is source discernment at the root of all information literacy? In today’s media landscape, finding information is easy. Finding information that is scientifically correct and trustworthy is much more difficult. An added problem for students today is that all this available information come in similar formats. When all information is presented as a pdf on your screen, how do you know what you ́re reading? How is a first year student with no previous academic experience really supposed to discern between a scholarly article, a book chapter, a conference article, a white paper, a popular science article, a scientific report and a doctoral thesis? And yet the ability to do so is fundamental for the information evaluation process. If you are not sure what you are reading, how can you evaluate the quality of the information? To ease our students’way into academic writing we now start our information literacy teaching with identifying different sources of information. Reference writing and information searching are then taught from this angle. Student assignments and feedback from teachers show that this seems to improve the quality of the sources the students use in their work as well as their ability to write correct references. We would like to discuss this with colleagues from other universities with similar or other experiences. The questions we would like to focus on are: How a first year student with no previous academic experience is really supposed to discern between different types of scholarly and non-scholarly information materials and how we as library instructors can help our students with this? What are the experience of other librarians and are there any good examples of strategies or classroom exercises?

scholarly journals Source discernment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Unger ◽  
Miritt Zisser
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Popular Science ◽  
White Paper ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Information Materials ◽  
First Year Student

Is source discernment at the root of all information literacy? In today’s media landscape, finding information is easy. Finding information that is scientifically correct and trustworthy is much more difficult. An added problem for students today is that all this available information come in similar formats. When all information is presented as a pdf on the screen, how do you know what you´re reading? How is a first year student with no previous academic experience really supposed to discern between a scholarly article, a book chapter, a conference article, a white paper, a popular science article, a scientific report and a doctoral thesis? And yet the ability to do so is fundamental for the information evaluation process. If you are not sure what you are reading, how are you supposed to be able to evaluate the quality of the information?   In 2019 we switched our approach to information literacy teaching to start with identifying different sources of information and then teach reference writing and information searching from this angle. Preliminary results from student assignments and feedback from teachers show that this seems to improve the quality of the sources the students use in their work as well as their ability to write correct references.   We would like to discuss this with colleagues from other universities with similar or other experiences. The questions we would like to focus on are:  How a first year student with no previous academic experience is really supposed to discern between different types of scholarly and non-scholarly information materials and how we as library instructors can help our students with this?  What are the experience of other librarians and are there any good examples of strategies or classroom exercises?

scholarly journals The eARTISTS Media and Information Literacy Model for Managing Access to Quality Information

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-249
Author(s):  
Jagtar Singh ◽  
Alton Grizzle
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Quality Information ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Commercial Media ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Timely Access ◽  
Quality Decision ◽  
Information Providers

Information is necessary for eliminating uncertainty and facilitating decision-making. Quality of decisions depends upon the quality of information available to the stakeholders. But to manage access to quality information, information seekers have to depend upon different sources of information, media, and other information providers. Unfortunately, the commercial media is controlled by corporate tycoons, governments, politicians and various non-government organisations (NGOs). These information providers have some motive behind the stories flashed by them. Hence, media and information literacy (MIL) skills are necessary for ascertaining truth behind the story. Earlier, information literacy and media literacy were used as separate concepts but now UNESCO is using (MIL) as a composite concept, appreciating the symbiosis between media and information. This article gives an overview of a few MIL related developments and describes the e-ARTISTS MIL Model developed by Jagtar Singh and Alton Grizzle. Differentiating the e-ARTISTS Model from the Big6 Model and the Empowering 8 Model of Information Literacy, it justifies the need for e-ARTISTS MIL Model for managing timely access to quality information for facilitating quality decision-making.

Using Pseudoscience to Improve Introductory Psychology Students’ Information Literacy

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 220-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Lawson ◽  
Maria Brown
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Psychology Students ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Introductory Psychology ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Introductory Courses ◽  
Quality Of Information

We developed an assignment that required introductory psychology students to read and evaluate the quality of several sources of information about the causal link between vaccines and autism. To evaluate the effects of this assignment, students in several different introductory courses completed a pretest and posttest in which they evaluated the quality of information from a website promoting a pseudoscientific therapy. Students who completed the assignment decreased their ratings of the quality of the information from the website (from pretest to posttest), were better able to identify specific problems with the information, and were less likely to recommend the therapy to a friend. Students who did not complete the assignment exhibited no changes in the dependent measures.

scholarly journals A Novel Assessment Tool for Quantitative Evaluation of Science Literature Search Performance: Application to First-Year and Senior Undergraduate Biology Majors

2017 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason M. Blank ◽  
Karen J. McGaughey ◽  
Elena L. Keeling ◽  
Kristen L. Thorp ◽  
Conor C. Shannon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
First Year ◽  
Search Performance ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Literature Searching ◽  
Biology Majors

Expertise in searching and evaluating scientific literature is a requisite skill of trained scientists and science students, yet information literacy instruction varies greatly among institutions and programs. To ensure that science students acquire information literacy skills, robust methods of assessment are needed. Here, we describe a novel tool for longitudinal, crossover assessment of literature-searching skills in science students and apply it to a cross-sectional assessment of literature-searching performance in 145 first-year and 43 senior biology majors. Subjects were given an open-ended prompt requiring them to find multiple sources of information addressing a particular scientific topic. A blinded scorer used a rubric to score the resources identified by the subjects and generate numerical scores for source quality, source relevance, and citation quality. Two versions of the assessment prompt were given to facilitate eventual longitudinal study of individual students in a crossover design. Seniors were significantly more likely to find relevant, peer-reviewed journal articles, provide appropriate citations, and provide correct answers to other questions about scientific literature. This assessment tool accommodates large numbers of students and can be modified easily for use in other disciplines or at other levels of education.

scholarly journals Classroom-Produced Journals: Integrating Undergraduate Research into the Curriculum and Publishing Scholarship through the Institutional Repository

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-161
Author(s):  
A. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Institutional Repository

Writing skills are an important part of a student’s academic success. Literature suggests that incorporating research into the undergraduate curriculum will not only strengthen their academic writing, but also the quality of the academic experience (Ho, 2011). Thus, allowing students to be active participants through an entire research lifecycle will not only enhance the curriculum but increase student engagement. The research lifecycle, including publication, requires both individual and group based efforts and both are essential to producing a classroom-produced journal.

scholarly journals Analiza możliwości wykorzystania poszerzonej rzeczywistości do prezentacji projektów studenckich na przykładzie projektów z pierwszego roku

2020 ◽  
pp. 125-143
Author(s):  
Wojciech Sumlet
Keyword(s):  
Augmented Reality ◽  
First Year ◽  
Housing Environment ◽  
Application Potential ◽  
Student Projects ◽  
First Year Student

Analysis of the application potential of augmented reality to present student projects on the example of first-year student assignments This paper discusses the experiences of the Housing Environment Amendment Laboratory of the CUT FA in the area of generating visualisations in an augmented reality (AR) environment, based on module assignments prepared by students. The objective of the study was to verify the quality of the application of the tool for the purposes of evaluating student projects. As a part of the study, AR visualisations of five selected student projects were developed and compared with the original project sheets prepared by students. As a result, the author obtained material for discussion on the potential of the technology and the conditions of its use in education.

scholarly journals Subject and generic skills in unity - Information literacy in collaboration for enhanced learning

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Grandsjö ◽  
Ann-Sofie Zettergren
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
Bologna Process ◽  
Generic Skills ◽  
Constructive Alignment ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Bologna Process ◽  
Faculty Teachers

Our aim is to highlight and exemplify the value of collaboration across professional borders concerning information literacy and academic writing. We believe that by supporting our students in their development of information literacy, we also contribute to a deeper subject learning. There is no conflict between the two, an integration of IL benefits both areas and above all, the students' learning. Collaboration between faculty teachers and liaison librarians enable a learning environment that can take advantage of the interaction between the use of generic skills and subject skills. There is also the importance of constructive alignment within in the syllabus, which the Social Science Faculty at Lund University has been working on since the Bologna Process. When learning outcomes on information literacy where added to the syllabi at courses at the faculty in autumn 2007, a platform for collaboration between teachers and librarians was staged. In this presentation we would like to highlight two examples of information literacy sessions for students, both developed in cooperation with teachers and both designed to meet a special need in the course at present. Example 1 On a second term course in political science the teacher noticed problems with the quality of the assignments handed in concerning the use of scholarly articles. Through collaboration and dialogue the IL class was integrated as a natural part within the subject course. A cross-fertilization came to be in working integrated with the assignment in IL class, through searching and critically evaluating sources subject learning was also boosted and the other way around. The assignments improved and motivation was raised. Example 2 First term students at a course in sociology were to write a paper as a part of their examination. The main problem for several students was addressed as plagiarism including several variables: lack of knowledge, progression and information. The aim was to demystify academic writing and make it as transparent as possible. The solution was to take off in the texts and the writing process together with the students, and to use the different competences from teacher and librarian. Through cross professional collaboration, multiple aspects of academic writing originating from the diverse competences were clarified and addressed the topic from different angles. Results of collaboration The quality of the assignments increased The questions asked by the students where more focused and better addressed Increased motivation to attend IL class with subject relevant context and clear connection to the examination (constructive alignment) Deepened subject learning within the active search process The information literacy sessions as an integrated part of the ordinary schedule Decoding of the academic thought-search-writing process

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document