Information literacy training Sven Cerulus – sven.cerulus@ucll.be

Table of contents Some basic concepts Research plan Information sources Research outcome Weblinks

Some basic concepts

Desk and field research What is desk research? = involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research secondary information advantage: quicker and cheaper probably better quality disadvantage: might be unavailable What is field research? = involves the collection of information through experiments primary information

Collecting information Three ways of collecting information Observation = through senses (hearing, seeing, etc.) Conversation = asking questions (face-to-face, telephone, email, letter, chat, etc.) Consultation = using documented information (on paper, cd-rom, dvd, etc.) which has been made systematically accessible through information management (libraries, archives, museums, companies, etc.) DOCUMENTARY INFORMATION = information that has been documented and published by others

High and low complexity Two types of search instructions Low complexity Basic questions: Where can I find correct information? What is the quality of the information? Is this information reliable? High complexity What literature is important? What is known at this point? Are there different theories?

Information sources grow more specific Different information sources Primary sources = contain original information (e.g. book) concrete contents proof in argumentation Secondary sources = refer to original information (e.g. search engine) discussing primary sources overview of information Tertiary sources = refer to secondary information (e.g. list of search engines) discussing primary and secondary sources useful for quick information research grow more specific

Putting into practice How important is desk research in a research project? Literature review = basis for a good research project What is known about the topic? How was previous research carried out? How are concepts defined and measured? + other relevant information: Who has been doing research on this topic? What websites, books and journals contain important information? How should the data be processed? Are there any recommendations for this type of research? What could be a good methodology?

RESEARCH PLAN

Overview How do I write an effective research plan? A research plan consists of: Element 1: defining the research question e.g. state your topic as a question Element 2: defining keywords e.g. take into account synonyms Element 3: defining research methods e.g. citation indices Element 4: defining information sources to be used e.g. social media

Step 1: Research question How do I write an effective research plan? Element 1: defining the research question definition of the problem > research question a specific definition of the problem as a research question = questions posed will be answered in the research project defines the topic; defines the scope of the topic defines in place and time; puts theory into practice; puts forward a personal or specific idea.

Example How do I write an effective research plan? Definition of the problem: topic: advertising scope: advertising and children time and place: children between 4 and 8 years old in the UK practice: advertising strategies personal idea: effective advertising strategies Research question: What are effective advertising strategies with children between 4 and 8 years old in the UK?

Step 2: Keywords How do I write an effective research plan? Element 2: defining keywords research question > keywords words or phrases you use to retrieve information = important links to the information available in search engines synonyms, homonyms, translations and abbreviations Boolean operators keyword-based and concept-based search engines

Example How do I write an effective research plan? Research question: What are effective advertising strategies with children between 4 and 8 years old in the UK? Keywords: effective, advertising, advert, ad, strategy, children, toddler

Step 3: Research methods How do I write an effective research plan? Element 3: defining research methods keywords > research methods Snowball method Citation indices Keyword expansion Keyword refinement Building block method Pearl growing Interactive scanning

Different methods How do I write an effective research plan? Element 3: defining research methods Snowball method source > references > source > references disadvantage: older information Citation indices overview of articles which refer to other articles advantage: recent information Keyword expansion keyword > + keyword > + keyword advantage: specific information

Different methods ctd. How do I write an effective research plan? Element 3: defining research methods Keyword refinement keyword > - keyword > - keyword disadvantage: time-consuming Building block method AND, OR, NOT, proximity search, truncation, nesting, etc. advantage: effective Pearl growing trial and error disadvantage: less structured

Different methods ctd. How do I write an effective research plan? Element 3: defining research methods Interactive scanning use of web directories advantage: serendipity

Example How do I write an effective research plan? Keywords: effective, advertising, advert, ad, strategy, children, toddler, UK Research method: ((‘ad’ OR ‘advert’ OR ‘advertising’) AND ‘strategy’ AND ‘toddler’) NOT ‘US’

Step 4: Information sources How do I write an effective research plan? Element 4: defining information sources to be used research methods > information sources a broad range of possibly valid information sources = research question has an impact on choice of source free and deep web social media libraries, multimedia centres and archives government agencies, research bureaux and specialists scientific information sources

Example How do I write an effective research plan? Research method: ((‘ad’ OR ‘advert’ OR ‘advertising’) AND ‘strategy’ AND ‘toddler’) NOT ‘US’ Information sources: EbscoHost, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Google Books

INFORMATION SOURCES

Overview

Free web Free web The free web contains lots of low-quality information, so: use different search engines (not just Google) use advanced search options use Boolean operators browse weblogs and forums use RSS-feeds or alerts Examples: Google Yahoo! online dictionaries

Deep web Deep web The deep web contains lots of high-quality information, but: information is often not public information is not free retrieved via databases, e.g. MD Info host organisations, e.g. EbscoHost Examples: market information sales figures LibriLinks

Different possibilities Deep web Consider the following sources: Google Scholar and Google Books social media, e.g. LinkedIn classification codes, e.g. NAICS government agencies, e.g. Eurostat scholarly journals, e.g. Journal of Applied Psychology trade magazines, e.g. Industry Week popular magazines, e.g. Discover

SEARCH OUTCOME

Check credibility Assessing search outcome Questions: Does the website contain information on the author? Can you ask the author any questions? Has the author won his spurs? Does the author work for an organisation? Is this organisation well-known and reputable? Have the contents been peer reviewed? Don’ts: Anonymity, lack of quality control, bad reviews, spelling or grammar mistakes

Check accuracy Assessing search outcome Questions: Is the information correct? Is it a clear comprehensible document? Does it provide its readers with much detail? Is the information up-to-date? Does the author withhold any information? Don’ts: No date, vague assumptions, old information in a dynamic field of research, one point of view, etc.

Check reasonableness Assessing search outcome Questions: Does the author mention both arguments and counterarguments? Does the author write in an objective way? Could the author be a webrep? Does the information come from an annual report? Does the information come from a weblog or forum? Does the information come from a review site? Don’ts: Unsuitable tone and attitude, exaggeration, contradictions, conflict of interest, tone of voice, etc.

Check support Assessing search outcome Questions: Is there a clear reference list? Can you ask the author any questions? Can you find any contact information on the website? Can the information be confirmed? Don’ts: No reference list, lack of information, no contact information, information cannot be confirmed, etc.

WEBLINKS

Interesting weblinks http://bib.kuleuven.be/apps/cba/tutorial_en/ http://www.vtstutorials.ac.uk/detective/index.html http://guides.library.uwm.edu/infolit https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/index.html http://www.clipinfolit.org/

Thank you for your attention! Do you have any questions?