But I Read It On the Internet! Promoting Information Competency in Biological Psychology Laura Freberg California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

What Is Information Competency and Why Is It Important? The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) developed competency standards for higher education. These standards apply to all resources, not just electronic resources.

ACRL Standards The information literate student is able to: Determine the extent of information needed. Access the needed information effectively and efficiently. Evaluate information and its sources critically. Incorporate selected information into one ’ s knowledge base. Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose. Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally.

Evaluating Resources Relevance/appropriateness to your research topic Currency Authority/credibility Coverage Accuracy

Sample Assignments: The Challenge Article Assign a controversial reading (the crazier the better). Examine each point using other resources. Investigate the author, and comment on possible biases. Investigate sources quoted in the article and comment on possible biases. Rewrite the article in a manner you believe to be more objective (works better for advanced students).

The Literature Comparison Compare the literature on the same topic from today to 20 years ago. How has the terminology changed? What assumptions have been changed? How has the audience for this literature changed? What questions remain unanswered? Imagine what a reference list for this topic might look like ten years from now.

Comparing Bibliographies Compare the bibliographies from two current papers on the same topic. Which do you think is better and why? Create a quantitative grading scheme for bibliographies and see if your scheme gives you the same result as previously.

Pathfinder Choose a very limited field and produce a “pathfinder” or miniguide. Outline the topic and provide the very best resources for the field.

Budgeting Pick a research topic of interest to you. Now imagine that you have $2000 to spend on resources relevant to your topic. What do you choose? Why?

Teaching Pretend that you need to teach a topic to a group of people outside the field, such as children, students majoring in other fields, or senior citizens. Prepare a handout that includes the five best references for your topic for this audience.

Update Find a review article that is at least three years old. What references would you add to it? Why?

Ignorance Choose a narrow topic. Summarize what we DON’T know about your topic.

Experts Identify three experts in an area of interest. Compare and contrast their ideas. Who influences you the most and why?

Classic Sources Choose a “classic paper” on your topic. Follow the use of that paper by other researchers or by textbook authors. Have citations been true to the original conclusions of the paper?

Popular or Scholarly? Choose a topic that is widely covered by the popular press (e.g. ADHD). Compare and contrast the way the topic is covered by popular press articles and scholarly articles.

Reaction Papers Choose five resources on a narrow topic. Identify your opinion of the topic prior to reading the resources. Did your opinion change after your reading? Which article was most influential? Why? Which article was least influential? Why?

The Website Identify three websites that contain information relevant to your topic. Evaluate each site based on relevance, currency, accuracy, credibility, and coverage.

Comparing Journals Identify two journals covering the same material. Compare and contrast the journals regarding tone, audience, content, and style.

Some Really Helpful Websites Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html ules/index.html ules/index.html

For Further Information…. Snail mail: Laura Freberg Psychology and Child Development California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA (805)