Biological Orientation Linda Pye, Head of Technical Services (x7021) Orientation Spring 2010.htm

Information Literacy

 It is a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

Information Literacy Information literacy is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. Science, engineering and technology are rapidly changing and it is vital to the practicing scientist and engineer that they know how to keep up with new developments and new sources of experimental/research data.

Information Literacy “The level of trust that has characterized science and its relationship with society has contributed to a period of unparalleled scientific productivity. But this trust will endure only if the scientific community devotes itself to exemplifying and transmitting the values associated with ethical scientific conduct. It is therefore incumbent on all scientists and scientific institutions to create and nurture a research environment that promotes high ethical standards, contributes to ongoing professional development, and preserves public confidence in the scientific enterprise.” –National Academy of Sciences

Information Literacy

Scientific Research Cycle

Scientific Research Cycle: An Overview  Research & Development  Initial Reporting of Results  Author’s Finished Report  Peer-Reviewed Publication of Research Article  Studies of Previous Work  News Reports

Scientific Research Cycle: Research & Development  Academia  Industry  Government  Experimentation  Fieldwork  Literature Review  Library & Web Research  Informal Communications: Instant Messaging Discussion Lists Blogs Social Networking Conversations

Scientific Research Cycle: Initial Reporting of Results  Patents (or patent applications)  Conference Papers/Presentations If funding runs out or the work appears to be a “dead end,” this may be the only report ever generated.

Scientific Research Cycle: Author’s Finished Report  Preprints Often posted to a preprint server; author establishes priority and solicits comment prior to formal review  Technical Reports Reports of research performed by gov’t agencies, private industry, or academic departments  Dissertations/Theses A student’s final report of research performed for a graduate degree

Scientific Research Cycle: Peer-Reviewed Publication Completed paper is submitted to a journal; the editor(s) send the paper to another researcher in the same field of work for comment and verification of the quality of work; the paper may be returned to the author for corrections, elaboration, etc. before final acceptance.  Letters Journals Also known as “rapid communications” journals, publish shorter articles and offer authors faster publication than other research journals

Scientific Research Cycle: Studies of Previous Work  Review Articles An expert in a field reports on the “state of the art” of the area of research. May appear in a Review Journal (“Annual Reviews in…; Reviews of…”) or in a research journal.  Monographs (books) Encyclopedias Handbooks Textbooks

Scientific Research Cycle: News Reports May occur at any point in the research process  Newspapers  Magazines News and features, usually for a general or interested-amateur audience  Trade Journals News and features for professionals in a a particular field  Television

Timeframe for Info  Books  Articles  Newspapers  Web Pages  Once  Quarterly – Weekly  Daily – Multiple Ed.  Hourly – Anytime

Differences Between Informational Resources

Expectations of Students Information Literacy in Science and Engineering Undergraduate Education (1999), pp

Primary vs. Secondary Sources  Peer-Reviewed Research Articles Information is produced by the researcher  Conference Papers “original content”  Review Articles Information summarized by someone other than the researcher  Handbooks, Encyclopedias, etc. “study of the original”

Books and E-Books You can’t judge a book by its cover E-Books Just because its in a different format doesn’t disqualify it as a book resource

Periodicals  MAGAZINES Popular Info Audience:  General Public  Amateur Interest Purpose:  Hobby  Pleasure  Curiosity  JOURNALS Scholarly Info Audience:  Researcher  Professional Who Needs to Stay Up-to-Date Purpose:  Goal-Driven Research Paper Certification, Tenure Job Requirement

Difference Between Scholarly and Popular Literature Popular MagazinesScholarly Journals Overall appearance Glossy paper, advertisements, heavily illustrated, attractive in appearance Sober and serious, may contain graphs or charts, no glossy paper, specialized advertisements AudienceGeneral PublicScholars, professionals and students AuthorsReportersScholars in the field DocumentationSources sometimes cited for news articles, but rarely Cite sources in footnotes or bibliography PurposeProvide general information or summarize research Report on original research or experimentation Article Acceptance Procedure Articles written by hired reporters, edited by magazine editors, and published Often undergo a "peer- reviewed" process -- reviewed by other scholars in the field before being published. Sometimes these journals are called "refereed journals"

Peer Reviewed or Refereed Scholarly sources are concerned with academic study, especially research for individuals such as, students, teachers, professors, or any other professional who need current information to stay informed of changes to their profession or area of expertise. Many scholarly journals are peer reviewed or refereed, that is, these articles have been subjected to a rigorous approval and editing process by other scholars in that discipline. This process doesn’t apply to popular magazines.  Science Peer Review in a Nut Shell Science Peer Review in a Nut Shell

Examples of Peer-Review Journal of Economic Entomology Biological Reviews Journal of Parasitology

Biology Databases Orientation.htm

Types of Searching: Keyword vs. Subject  Keyword Flexible Less accurate Affected by Boolean Operators, Truncation Symbols and punctuation  Subject Rigid Very Precise Predetermined vocabulary established by the Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine, and other groups

Indexing vs. Full-text  Indexing Indicates the only information available about the article is the citation. Additional searching will be necessary using the Periodicals List.Periodicals List  Full-text Indicates the entire article can be found within the database, no physical searching is necessary Standard formats are: HTML & PDF

World Wide Web: Pros & Cons

Strengths: Web vs. Library  Web Current events and news Statistics and Other Information by Gov.’t Full-text Resources (expired copyright) Pop Culture  TV  Movies  Music Opinion Information about Organizations & Groups  Library Research Based Books & Articles Works Cited/ Bibliographies Full-text Resources Authoritative & Peer-reviewed Materials Information about People & Cultures Easier to Search  Library Catalog  Databases

Why Can’t I Get this Info on the Web?  Humanities American History $29.95 / yr Journal of Teacher Education $30 / yr College English $75 / yr  Nursing & Allied Health Applied Nursing Research $224 / yr Nursing Science Quarterly $280 / yr Journal of Community Health Nursing $475 / yr  Sciences Journal of the Optical Society of America $1,760 / yr Journal of the American Chemical Society $3,589 / yr Journal of Physics $7,115 / yr This doesn’t include pricing for electronic access or database subscriptions.

Surface Web Ever wonder what you might be missing? Google 2.7 billion searches per month Indexes 16% of the SW Indexes 0.03% of the WWW

Deep Web NO SEARCH ENGINES ALLOWED 54% of DW is databases DW is 500 times larger than SW And a 1,000 times higher in quality too

Diving into the Deep Web There’s nothing wrong with Google. But have you tried one of these? EntrezEntrez ( Life Sciences Search Engine ) SCIRUS SCIRUS (Science-Specific Web Portal) InfomineInfomine ( Scholarly Internet Resource Collections) BioMetaClusterBioMetaCluster ( Life Sciences Metasearch Engine) INTUTE INTUTE (Educational Research Portal) NSDL NSDL (National Science Digital Library) Echo Echo (History of Science Directory) eNature Field Guides DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals

What the Net is Generating  RSS Feeds (Annual Reviews) RSS FeedsAnnual Reviews  Blogs (Biology-Blog) BlogsBiology-Blog Top 100 Liberal Arts Professor Blogs  Wikis  Social Networking Jove (Wired article) JoveWired article Lab Action (YouTube for Scientists) Lab Action ScientificCommons (New Science Consortia) ScientificCommons PeerClip (bookmarking for physicians) PeerClip Public Library of Science (open access literature) Public Library of Science SciLink (online network of scientists & authors) SciLink SciVee (sync tools & resources to connect science publications to online video) SciVee

Evaluation Evaluating Print vs. Electronic Publication Process Authorship & Affiliations Sources & Quotations Bias & Special Interests Author Qualifications Publication Information

Remember to Evaluate!  Authority Who created it? Who is responsible? What credentials do they hold? What makes them qualified to discuss the topic?  Accuracy Can the information be verified? Check the facts!  Objectivity How is the information being presented? Is it objective or biased? What’s the point of view?  Currency (important based on subject) When was it published? When was it last updated?

End of Session Thank You for listening!