Information Literacy Tutorial

University of Wisconsin Parkside
http://www.uwp.edu/library/

Narrative || Tutorial Contents || Checklist



Narrative

This is a very clear and simple but thorough introduction to all that a beginning college student should know, from searching basics, to finding books and articles, to web searching and evaluating.

There is minimal interaction, but there is some; at certain points in the tutorial, you cannot proceed without making a choice, which is then shown as correct or incorrect with some explanations of why each is so.

There is a very handy review section with each module, which clearly presents the topics in outline form, with links to go back to the section and review specific parts. Anyone can proceed through the tutorials, but only students can login to take the quizzes.

A narrow and unobtrusive header follows throughout the tutorial, so that one can exit or change course at any point. The pages are clean looking and orderly, usually with few sentences per page, and occasional examples. One might wish for more examples throughout.


Tutorial Contents

Module 1
Beginning Your Search
Module 2
Building Research Skills
Module 3
Finding Books
  • Looking for topics
  • Why use books?
  • What are reference books for?
  • The Encyclopaedia Britannica online
  • How do you find out which books the Library owns?
  • What are periodicals?
  • Periodical indexes
  • Computer databases
  • The World Wide Web
  • Course reserves
  • Getting help: reference librarians
  • What can be checked out?
  • Printing Options
  • Where's the microfilm?
  • Identifying search concepts and terms
  • AND as a connector
  • OR as a connector
  • NOT as a connector
  • Using parentheses to clarify a search
  • Phrase searching
  • Truncation
  • Broadening and narrowing searches
  • Using subject headings to focus your search
  • Types of catalog searches
  • Keyword searches
  • Phrase searches in the Catalog
  • What does a catalog record include?
  • Title searches
  • Author searches
  • Searching for books ABOUT an author
  • Truncation in the Catalog
  • Boolean Connectors (AND, OR, NOT) in the Catalog
  • Using keywords to identify subject headings
  • Searching the Catalog live
  • Module 4
    Finding Periodical Articles
    Module 5
    Searching the WEB
    Module 6
    Evaluating Sources
  • What are periodicals?
  • Why use periodicals?
  • What's the difference between scholarly journals and magazines?
  • What are periodical indexes for?
  • Which periodical index should I use?
  • What's in a citation?
  • How can I tell what periodicals the Library owns (in paper)?
  • Where are they located?
  • What about periodicals on microfilm?
  • Can periodicals be checked out?
  • What is the Library doesn't own it?
  • Searching Academic Search live
  • What's on the Web: trash or treasure?
  • URLs
  • Web page categories
  • Three ways to find things on the Web
  • Subject directories
  • Search engines
  • Natural language searching
  • Relevancy ranking
  • Choosing a search engine
  • Meta search engines
  • How search engines work
  • Searchable Web databases
  • Web search tips
  • Subject directories, search engines, searchable databases: review
  • Searching the Web (live exercise)
  • Who reviews and selects books, articles, and Web pages?
  • What criteria are used to evaluate books, articles, and Web pages?
  • Currency
  • Scope
  • Authority
  • Objectivity
  • Accuracy
  • Supplementary tools used to evaluate sources
  • What is plagiarism and how can I avoid it?
  • How do I cite my sources?
  • What is copyright?



  • Checklist

    Topics Covered
    Understanding information needed ?
    Narrowing research topic Yes - Module 2
    Database definition Yes - Module 1
    Catalog Searching Yes - Module 3
    Article Searching Yes - Module 4
    Keyword searching Yes - Module 3
    Boolean searching Yes - Module 2
    Controlled vocabulary Yes - Module 3
    Primary vs. Secondary Resources ?
    Scholarly vs. Popular Materials Yes - Module 4
    Peer Review ?
    Evaluating Sources Yes - Module 6
    Locating Materials Yes - Module 1
    Organization of Library Materials ?
    LC Call Number System ?
    Citing Sources Yes - Module 4
    Plagiarism Yes - Module 6
    Reference Resources Yes - Module 1
    How to get Reference Help ?
    Web Searching
    Understanding the Internet/Web (what it does and doesn't do) No Yes
    Search Engines vs. Subject Directories No Yes
    Evaluating Internet Resources No Yes
    Web search operators (+/-) No Yes
    Web vs. other resources (content) No Yes
    Look
    Wordy vs. Terse Not too wordy
    Use of Graphics Just a few
    Interactivity
    Passive vs. Active User Some of both
    Ongoing Testing/Quiz Yes - within and at the end of each module
    Navigation
    Clear vs. Confusing Clear
    Technology
    Minimum Browser Requirements Yes
    Sound Card No
    Java No
    Shockwave No
    Assessment
    Pre-test Yes
    Post-test Yes
    Users Registered Yes
    Feedback
    Ongoing vs. At the end Both
    Printable Certificate Yes
    Credits
    In-house vs. licensed code "The Information Literacy Tutorial is based on the Information Success Tutorial developed by Nancy Steinhoff and Stefan Smith at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse's Murphy Library. The Instruction Team at the UW-Parkside Library is extremely grateful to Stefan and Nancy and to Murphy Library for granting us permission to adapt their fine tutorial."

    From http://www.uwp.edu/academic/mathematics/
    lindap/Infolit99b/welcome_page2.html#thanks



    Return to Tutorials Index