Informed decision-making about spatial data selection and reliability is a fundamental part of spatial literacy. The proliferation of spatial data on the internet and the large quantity of user-generated data increases thechances of integrating unreliable data into research. This chapter focuses on evaluating spatial data using the Currency, Reliability, Authority, and Purpose (CRAAP) test with additional focus on the importance of Margins of Error (MOE) in American Community Survey (ACS) data. Reviews have shown that the ACS MOE is often overlooked during research or unreported in academic papers, resulting in misleading or invalid results that significantly impact policy and planning.The goals of the decision-making process in selecting existing data include: finding information that is most relevant to the research question; gaining a comprehensive understanding of available data and what it represents; comparing similar datasets; planning strategies for processing, integrating, and using data that are not a perfect match for project needs; and, ultimately, determining if a meaningful conclusion can be adequately derived from it.The CRAAP Test is a flexible and general framework for evaluating information resources in many disciplines and venues. To focus on specific concepts relevant to data capture in GIS using the CRAAP Test, we expand the basic concepts of the test and examine how they can be used to evaluate data sources in GIS.This activity is associated with a chapter in Spatial Literacy in Public Health: Faculty-Librarian Teaching Collaborations (ACRL, 2024).

This activity is faciliated for biology 1A students as a science literacy activity but it can be adapted to any discipline. Students are given a brief presentation on authority and objectivety. The slides has my notes. You can review them to see how I steer the conversation but it's completely up to you how you want to discuss certain points. Make any changes you'd like or add anything that is missing!After the presentation, students will be put into groups to work on an activity where they will have to evaluate the authority and objectivity of 3 different types of sources (scholarly article, news article, video). Students are instructed to input their answers on a Padlet but this can be done on a Google document or form.*Updated 6/11/2024 @12:54 PM with downloadable PPT of the slides and sources*

The worksheet, activity, slides, and library instruction session outline for this assignment are a methodology for integrating information literacy and library research into testimonio writing in a first-year undergraduate Introduction to Higher Education (IHE) course in the College of Education at California State University, Los Angeles. In the testimonio, students reflect upon and write about their educational experiences while integrating academic sources into their work.

Tips and Advice on using ChatGPT effectively and ethically (English & Spanish)

Thinking Outside the Box is an in-class research exercise designed to facilitate students' evaluation of information found in subscription databases and obtained through generative artificial intelligence tools by providing a series of questions for them to answer. For this exercise, the applicable frames from the Framework for Information Literacy include: "authority is constructed and contextual," "information creation as process," and "searching as strategic exploration."

Easier access to research data is changing the research landscape. Investigate the data available for your research topic through the library’s catalog and open-access sources. 

This lesson plan introduces students to lateral reading techniques using the SIFT method. Designed and implemented for a political science introduction to international relations course, this can easily be adapted to other media literacy contexts. Students will practice lateral reading with sample news articles. Worksheets, slides, and sample articles are linked in the lesson plan. Alternative news articles can be substituted.

This handout on business resources was designed in collaboration with the Ciocca Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Although the quips aren't exactly witty, the aim of each remark is to answer the simple question: Why would I use this resource anyway? Even though the handout is created with a specific audience in mind, the quips could be used to highlight any of these resources, anywhere information is needed.

Beginning college students often make assumptions that scholarly sources are inherently bias-free. Students may also hold the belief that if they find a source through a library database, it is automatically a useful and neutral viewpoint on a topic. These mindsets can limit students’ motivation to apply evaluation strategies beyond establishing credibility based on the author’s credentials.This lesson plan introduces the concept of positionality statements to help students understand that scholars do not leave their identities and life experiences behind when they conduct research. Students practice a new way to evaluate and understand the perspective–and limitations–that scholars bring to their research.The lesson plan is designed for first-year composition courses in which students are asked to develop a research topic based on their interests or experiences. It could be adapted for upper-level undergraduate courses in the social sciences.