University

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources: a Brief Introduction

This libguide will help students distinguoish between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. It includes examples and links to other libraries that provide clear instruction on the matter.

Resource Type(s):

Discipline(s): 
Not Discipline Specific
License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-NonCommercial License CC-BY-NC

Introduction to Tackling Complex Research Tasks

Because most research tasks are complex, they require more than one search strategy. Additionally, such tasks require students to organize and synthesize the results of those searchers into one cohesive document.  This handout intends to introduce students to that process.

Resource Type(s):

Discipline(s): 
Not Discipline Specific
License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-NonCommercial License CC-BY-NC

The Information Life Cycle

This handout informs students about the life cycle of information, directing them where to look based on when the even under research happened.  Additionally, a sample research plan is presented.

Information Literacy Frame(s) Addressed:

Discipline(s): 
Interdisciplinary
License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-NonCommercial License CC-BY-NC

Evaluating Online Information

This learning object is a visual rubric that students can use to evaluate materials they have found online including news, scholarly sources, and web content. It can be used as a handout or online image. A link to the Google Drawings version is also available if you'd like to remix this material with your own colors and branding or make edits. Choose File>Make a Copy to create your own editable version. This learning object is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. 

Resource Type(s):

Discipline(s): 
Not Discipline Specific

Type of Institution:

License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-NonCommercial License CC-BY-NC

Fake News, Bias, Framed News, False Balance and What to Do about It

This reading provides a broad overview of the topic of "fake news" and discusses the inherent difficulty of "fixing" the problem.

Resource Type(s):

Discipline(s): 
Interdisciplinary
License Assigned: 
All Rights Reserved

Avoiding Information Malpractice

This handout lists different ways that information may be incorrectly or unethically presented to audiences and offers suggestions for correctly using information.

Resource Type(s):

Information Literacy Frame(s) Addressed:

Discipline(s): 
Interdisciplinary
License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-ShareAlike License CC-BY-SA

Directed Research Scavenger Hunt

This exercise gives students a model for approaching a research task, beginning with general information and ending with more in-depth sources. Discussion can focus on research as inquiry, research as strategic exploration, and the context and construction of authority. Students are required to cite their sources using both MLA and APA.

Resource Type(s):

License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-ShareAlike License CC-BY-SA

Visual Literacy Lesson Plan - Comics and Culture

Second of two library sessions provided to a introductory writing course. This is a scaffolded session focuses on visual literacy skills through the analysis of infographics and comics.

Information Literacy Frame(s) Addressed:

Discipline(s): 
Multidisciplinary

Type of Institution:

License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-ShareAlike License CC-BY-SA

Scholarly Article Autopsy

This lesson is intended as a single session within a major’s research methods course. Rather than using a shorter “scholarly vs. non-scholarly” comparison worksheet, this activity asks students to work in groups to systematically examine a scholarly article in depth, identify and evaluate its various components visually and in writing, and then compare it to a non-scholarly article on the same topic. Groups then report back to the entire class. Discussion is guided so as to touch on the processes by which sources are created, what these methods say about their authority, and to consider contextually appropriate uses for them. Although the activity was developed for students taking two social science majors' research methods courses (SOC 323 and ANTH 305), it could be adapted to any setting that lends itself to in-depth examination of information creation processes, the construction of authority, and the contextual appropriateness of sources.
Discipline(s): 
Not Discipline Specific

Type of Institution:

License Assigned: 
All Rights Reserved

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