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Information Literacy

11 A Beginner’s Guide to Information Literacy

By emily metcalf.

Introduction

Welcome to “A Beginner’s Guide to Information Literacy,” a step-by-step guide to understanding information literacy concepts and practices.

This guide will cover each frame of the “ Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education ,” a document created by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) to help educators and librarians think about, teach, and practice information literacy (see Figure 11.1). The goal of this guide is to break down the basic concepts in the Framework and put them in accessible, digestible language so that we can think critically about the information we’re exposed to in our daily lives.

To start, let’s look at the ACRL definition of “information literacy,” so we have some context going forward:

Information Literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.

Boil that down and what you have are the essentials of information literacy: asking questions, finding information, evaluating information, creating information, and doing all of that responsibly and ethically.

We’ll be looking at each of the frames alphabetically, since that’s how they are presented in the framework. None of these frames is more important than another, and all need to be used in conjunction with the others, but we have to start somewhere, so alphabetical it is!

In order, the frames are

• Authority is constructed and contextual
• Information creation as a process
• Information has value
• Research as inquiry
• Scholarship as conversation
• Searching as strategic exploration

Just because we’re laying this out alphabetically does not mean you have to go through it in order. Some of the sections reference frames previously mentioned, but for the most part you can jump to wherever you like and use this guide however you see fit. You can also open up the framework using the link above or in the attached resources to read the framework in its original form and follow along with each section.

The following sections originally appeared as blog posts for the Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s library blog. Edits have been made to remove institutional context, but you can see the original posts in the Mary and Jeff Bell Library blog archives .

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

The first frame is “ Authority is Constructed and Contextual .” There’s a lot to unpack in that language, so let’s get started.

Start with the word “authority.”

At the root of “authority” is the word “author.” So start there: who wrote the piece of information you’re reading? Why are they writing? What stake do they have in the information they’re presenting? What are their credentials (You can straight up google their name to learn more about them)? Who are they affiliated with? A public organization? A university? A company trying to make a profit? Check it out.

Now let’s talk about how authority is “constructed.”

Have you ever heard the phrase “social construct”? Some people say gender is a social construct or language, written and spoken, is a construct. “Constructed” basically means humans made it up at some point to instill order in their communities. It’s not an observable, scientifically inevitable fact. When we say “authority” is constructed, we’re basically saying that we as individuals and as a society choose who we give authority to, and sometimes we might not be choosing based on facts.

A common way of assessing authority is by looking at an author’s education. We’re inclined to trust someone with a PhD over someone with a high school diploma because we think the person with a PhD is smarter. That’s a construct. We’re conditioned to think that someone with more education is smarter than people with less education, but we don’t know it for a fact.

There are a lot of reasons someone might not seek out higher education. They might have to work full time or take care of a family or maybe they just never wanted to go to college. None of these factors impact someone’s intelligence or ability to think critically.

If aliens land on South Padre Island, TX, there will be many voices contributing to the information collected about the event. Someone with a PhD in astrophysics might write an article about the mechanical workings of the aliens’ spaceship. Cool; they are an authority on that kind of stuff, so I trust them.

But the teenager who was on the island and watched the aliens land has first-hand experience of the event, so I trust them too. They have authority on the event even though they don’t have a PhD in astrophysics.

So, we cannot think someone with more education is inherently more trustworthy or smarter or has more authority than anyone else. Some people who are authorities on a subject are highly educated, some are not.

Likewise, let’s say I film the aliens landing and stream it live on Facebook. At the same time, a police officer gives an interview on the news that says something contradicting my video evidence. All of a sudden, I have more authority than the police officer. Many of us are raised to trust certain people automatically based on their jobs, but that’s also a construct. The great thing about critical thinking is that we can identify what is fact and fiction, and we can decide for ourselves who to trust.

The final word is “contextual.”

This one is a little simpler. If I go to the hospital and a medical doctor takes out my appendix, I’ll probably be pretty happy with the outcome. If I go to the hospital and Dr. Jill Biden, a professor of English, takes out my appendix, I’m probably going to be less happy with the results.

Medical doctors have authority in the context of medicine. Dr. Jill Biden has authority in the context of education. And Doctor Who has authority in the context of inter-galactic heroics and nice scarves.

This applies when we talk about experiential authority, too. If an eighth-grade teacher tells me what it’s like to be a fourth-grade teacher, I will not trust their authority. I will, however, trust a fourth-grade teacher to tell me about teaching fourth grade.

The Takeaway

Basically, when we think about authority, we need to ask ourselves, “Do I trust them? Why?” If they do not have experience with the subject (like witnessing an event or holding a job in the field) or subject expertise (like education or research), then maybe they aren’t an authority after all.

P.S. I’m sorry for the uncalled-for dig, Dr. Biden. I’m sure you’d do your best with an appendectomy.

Ask Yourself

• In what context are you an authority?
• If you needed to figure out how to do a kickflip on a skateboard, who would you ask? Who’s an authority in that situation?

Information Creation as a Process

The second frame is “ Information Creation as a Process .”

Information Creation

So first of all, let’s get this out of the way: everyone is a creator of information. When you write an essay, you’re creating information. When you log the temperature of the lizard tank, you’re creating information. Every Word Doc, Google Doc, survey, spreadsheet, Tweet, and PowerPoint that you’ve ever had a hand in? All information products. That YOU created. In some way or another, you created that information and put it out into the world.

One process you’re probably familiar with if you’re a student is the typical research paper. You know your professor wants about five to eight pages consisting of an introduction that ends in a thesis statement, a few paragraphs that each touch on a piece of evidence that supports your thesis, and then you end in a conclusion paragraph which starts with a rephrasing of your thesis statement. You save it to your hard drive or Google Drive and then you submit it to your professor.

This is one process for creating information. It’s a boring one, but it’s a process.

Outside of the classroom, the information-creation process looks different, and we have lots of choices to make.

One of the choices you’ll need to make is the mode or format in which you present information. The information I’m creating right now comes to you in the mode of an Open Educational Resource . Originally, I created these sections as blog posts. Those five-page essays I mentioned earlier are in the mode of essays.

When you create information (outside of a course assignment), it’s up to you how to package that information. It might feel like a simple or obvious choice, but some information is better suited to some forms of communication. And some forms of communication are received in a certain way, regardless of the information in them.

For example, if I tweet “Jon Snow knows nothing,” it won’t carry with it the authority of my peer-reviewed scholarly article that meticulously outlines every instance in which Jon Snow displays a lack of knowledge. Both pieces of information are accurate, but the processes I went through to create and disseminate the information have an effect on how the information is received by my audience.

And that is perhaps the biggest thing to consider when creating information: your audience.

The Audience Matters

If I just want my twitter followers to know Jon Snow knows nothing, then a tweet is the right way to reach them. If I want my tenured colleagues and other various scholars to know Jon Snow knows nothing, then I’m going to create a piece of information that will reach them, like a peer-reviewed journal article.

Often, we aren’t the ones creating information; we’re the audience members ourselves. When we’re scrolling on Twitter, reading a book, falling asleep during a PowerPoint presentation—we’re the audience observing the information being shared. When this is the case, we have to think carefully about the ways information was created.

Advertisements are a good example. Some are designed to reach a 20-year old woman in Corpus Christi through Facebook, while others are designed to reach a 60-year old man in Hoboken, NJ over the radio. They might both be selling the same car, and they’re going to put the same information (size, terrain, miles per gallon, etc.) in those ads, but their audiences are different, so their information-creation process is different, and we end up with two different ads for different audiences.

Be a Critical Audience Member

When we are the audience member, we might automatically trust something because it’s presented a certain way. I know that, personally, I’m more likely to trust something that is formatted as a scholarly article than I am something that is formatted as a blog. And I know that that’s biased thinking and it’s a mistake to make that assumption.

It’s risky to think like that for a couple of reasons:

• Looks can be deceiving. Just because someone is wearing a suit and tie doesn’t mean they’re not an axe murderer and just because something looks like a well-researched article, doesn’t mean it is one.
• Automatic trust unnecessarily limits the information we expose ourselves to. If I only ever allow myself to read peer-reviewed scholarly articles, think of all the encyclopedias and blogs and news articles I’m missing out on!

If I have a certain topic I’m really excited about, I’m going to try to expose myself to information regardless of the format and I’ll decide for myself (#criticalthinking) which pieces of information are authoritative and which pieces of information suit my needs.

Likewise, as I am conducting research and considering how best to share my new knowledge, I’m going to consider my options for distributing this newfound information and decide how best to reach my audience. Maybe it’s a tweet, maybe it’s a Buzzfeed quiz, or maybe it’s a presentation at a conference. But whatever mode I choose will also convey implications about me, my information creation process, and my audience.

You create information all of the time. The way you package and share it will have an effect on how others perceive it.

• Is there a form of information you’re likely to trust at first glance? Either a publication like a newspaper or a format like a scholarly article?
• Can you think of some voices that aren’t present in that source of information?
• Where might you look to find some other perspectives?
• If you read an article written by medical researchers that says chocolate is good for your health, would you trust the article?
• Would you still trust their authority if you found out that their research was funded by a company that sells chocolate bars? Funding and stakeholders have an impact on the creation process, and it’s worth thinking about how this can compromise someone’s authority.

Information Has Value

Onwards and upwards! We’re onto frame 3: “ Information Has Value .”

What Counts as Value?

There are a lot of different ways we value things. Some things, like money, are valuable to us because we can exchange them for goods and services. On the other hand, some things, like a skill, are valuable to us because we can exchange them for money (which we exchange for more goods and services). Some things are valuable to us for sentimental reasons, like a photograph or a letter. Some things, like our time, are valuable because they are finite.

The Value of Information

Information has all kinds of value.

One kind is monetary. If I write a book and it gets published, I’m probably going to make some money off of that (though not as much money as the publishing company will make). So that’s valuable to me.

But I’m also getting my name out into the world, and that’s valuable to me too. It means that when I apply for a job or apply for a grant, someone can google me and think, “Oh look! She wrote a book! That means she has follow-through and will probably work hard for us!” That kind of recognition is a sort of social value. That social value, by the way, can also become monetary value. If I’ve produced information, a university might give me a job, or an organization might fund my research. If I’ve invented a machine that will floss my teeth for me, the patent for my invention could be worth a lot of money (plus it’d be awesome. Cool factor can count as value.).

In a more altruistic slant, information is also valuable on a societal level. When we have more information about political candidates, for example, it influences how we vote, who we elect, and how our country is governed. That’s some really valuable information right there. That information has an effect on the whole world (plus outer space, if we elect someone who’s super into space exploration). If someone is trying to keep information hidden or secret, or if they’re spreading misinformation to confuse people, it’s probably a sign that the information they’re hiding is important, which is to say, valuable.

On a much smaller scale, think about the information on food packages. If you’re presented with calorie counts, you might make a different decision about the food you buy. If you’re presented with an item’s allergens, you might avoid that product and not end up in an Emergency Room with anaphylactic shock. You know what’s super valuable to me? NOT being in an Emergency Room!

But if you do end up in the Emergency Room, the information that doctors and nurses will use to treat your allergic reaction is extremely valuable. That value of that information is equal to the lives it’s saved.

Acting Like Information is Valuable

When we create our own information by writing papers and blog posts and giving presentations, it’s really important that we give credit to the information we’ve used to create our new information product for a couple of reasons.

First, someone worked really hard to create something, let’s say an article. And that article’s information is valuable enough to you to use in your own paper or presentation. By citing the author properly, you’re giving the author credit for their work, which is valuable to them. The more their article is cited, the more valuable it becomes because they’re more likely to get scholarly recognition and jobs and promotions.

Second, by showing where you’re getting your information, you’re boosting the value of your new information product. On the most basic level, you’ll get a higher grade on your paper, which is valuable to you. But you’re also telling your audience, whether it’s your professor or your boss or your YouTube subscribers, that you aren’t just making stuff up—you did the work of researching and citing, and that makes your audience trust you more. It makes the audience value your information more.

Remember early on when I said the frames all connect? “Information Has Value” ties into the other information literacy frames we’ve talked about, “Information Creation as a Process” and “Authority as Constructed and Contextual.” When I see you’ve cited your sources of information, then I, as the audience, think you’re more authoritative than someone who doesn’t cite their sources. I also can look at your information product and evaluate the effort you’ve put into it. If you wrote a tweet, which takes little time and effort, I’ll generally value it less than if you wrote a book, which took a lot of time and effort to create. I know that time is valuable, so seeing that you were willing to dedicate your time to create this information product makes me feel like it’s more valuable.

Information is valuable because of what goes into its creation (time and effort) and what comes from it (an informed society). If we didn’t value information, we wouldn’t be moving forward as a society, we’d probably have died out thousands of years ago as creatures who never figured out how to use tools or start a fire.

So continue to value information because it improves your life, your audiences’ lives, and the lives of other information creators. More importantly, if we stop valuing information a smarter species will eventually take over and it’ll be a whole Planet of the Apes thing and I just don’t have the energy for that right now.

• Can you think of some ways in which a YouTube video on dog training has value? Who values it? Who profits from it?
• Think of some information that would be valuable to someone applying to college. What does that person need to know?

Research as Inquiry

Easing on down the road, we’ve come to frame number 4: “ Research as Inquiry .”

“Inquiry” is another word for “curiosity” or “questioning.” I like to think of this frame as “Research as Curiosity,” because I think it more accurately captures the way our adorable human brains work.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

When you think to yourself, “How old is Madonna?” and you google it to find out she’s 62 (as of the creation of this resource), that’s research! You had a question (“how old is Madonna?”), you applied a search strategy (googling “Madonna age”) and you found an answer (62). That’s it! That’s all research has to be!

But it’s not all research can be. This example, like most research, is comprised of the same components we use in more complex situations. Those components are a question and an answer, inquiry and research, “how old is Madonna?” and “62.” But when we’re curious, we go back to the inquiry step again and ask more questions and seek more answers. We’re never really done, even when we’ve answered the initial question and written the paper and given the presentation and received accolades and awards for all our hard work. If it’s something we’re really curious about, we’ll keep asking and answering and asking again.

If you’re really curious about Madonna, you don’t just think, “How old is Madonna?” You think “How old is Madonna? Wait, really ? Her skin looks amazing! What’s her skincare routine? Seriously, what year was she born? Oh my god, she wrote children’s books! Does my library have any?” Your questions lead you to answers which, when you’re really interested in a topic, lead you to more and more questions. Humans are naturally curious ; we have this sort of instinct to be like, “huh, I wonder why that is?” and it’s propelled us to learn things and try things and fail and try again! It’s all research as inquiry.

And to satisfy your curiosity, yes, the library I currently work at does own one of Madonna’s children’s books. It’s called The Adventures of Abdi , and you can find it in our Juvenile Collection on the second floor at PZ8 M26 Adv 2004. And you can find a description of her skincare routine in this article from W Magazine: https://www.wmagazine.com/story/madonna-skin-care-routine-tips-mdna . You’re welcome.

Identifying an Information Need

One of the tricky parts of research as inquiry is determining a situation’s information need. It sounds simple to ask yourself, “What information do I need?” and sometimes we do it unconsciously. But it’s not always easy. Here are a few examples of information needs:

• You need to know what your niece’s favorite Paw Patrol character is so you can buy her a birthday present. Your research is texting your sister. She says, “Everest.” And now you’re done. You buy the present, you’re a rock star at the birthday party. Your information need was a short answer based on a three-year old’s opinion.
• You’re trying to convince someone on Twitter that Nazis are bad. You compile a list of opinion pieces from credible news publications like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times , gather first-hand narratives of Holocaust survivors and victims of hate crimes, find articles that debunk eugenics, etc. Your information need isn’t scholarly publications, it’s accessible news and testimonials. It’s articles a person might actually read in their free time, articles that aren’t too long and don’t require access to scholarly materials that are sometimes behind paywalls.
• You need to write a literature review for an assignment, but you don’t know what a literature review is. So first you google “literature review example.” You find out what it is, how one is created, and maybe skim a few examples. Next, you move to your library’s website and search tool and try “oceanography literature review,” and find some closer examples. Finally, you start conducting research for your own literature review. Your information need here is both broader and deeper. You need to learn what a literature review is, how one is compiled, and how one searches for relevant scholarly articles in the resources available to you.

Sometimes it helps to break down big information needs into smaller ones. Take the last example, for instance: you need to write a literature review. What are the smaller parts?

• Information Need 1: Find out what a literature review is
• Information Need 2: Find out how people go about writing literature reviews
• Information Need 3: Find relevant articles on your topic for your own literature review

It feels better to break it into smaller bits and accomplish those one at a time. And it highlights an important part of this frame that’s surprisingly difficult to learn: ask questions. You can’t write a literature review if you don’t know what it is, so ask. You can’t write a literature review if you don’t know how to find articles, so ask. The quickest way to learn is to ask questions. Once you stop caring if you look stupid, and once you realized no one thinks poorly of people who ask questions, life gets a lot easier.

So, let’s add this to our components of research: ask a question, determine what you need in order to thoroughly answer the question, and seek out your answers. Not too painful, and when you’re in love with whatever you’re researching, it might even be fun.

• When you have a question, ask it.
• When you’re genuinely interested in something, keep asking questions and finding answers.
• When you have a task at hand, take a second to think realistically about the information you’ll need to accomplish that task. You don’t need a peer-reviewed article to find out if praying mantises eat their mates, but you might if you want to find out why.
• What’s the last thing you looked up on Wikipedia? Did you stop when you found an answer, or did you click on another link and another link until you learned about something completely different?
• If you can’t remember, try it now! Search for something (like a favorite book or tv show) and click on linked words and phrases within Wikipedia until you learn something new!
• What was the last thing you researched that you were really excited about? Do you struggle when teachers and professors tell you to “research something that interests you”? Instead, try asking yourself, “What makes me really angry?” You might find you have more interests than you realized!

Scholarship as Conversation

We’ve made it friends! My favorite frame: “ Scholarship as Conversation .” Is it weird to have a favorite frame of information literacy? Probably. Am I going to talk about it anyway? You betcha!

What does “Scholarship as Conversation” mean?

Scholarship as conversation refers to the way scholars reference each other and build off of one another’s work, just like in a conversation. Have you ever had a conversation that started when you asked someone what they did last weekend and ended with you telling a story about how someone (definitely not you) ruined the cake at your mom’s dog’s birthday party? And then someone says, “but like I was saying earlier…” and they take the conversation back to a point in the conversation where they were reminded of a different point or story? Conversations aren’t linear, they aren’t a clear line to a clear destination, and neither is research. When we respond to the ideas and thoughts of scholars, we’re responding to the scholars themselves and engaging them in conversation.

Why do I Love this Frame so Much?

Let me count the ways.

I really enjoy the imagery of scholarship as a conversation among peers. Just a bunch of well-informed curious people coming together to talk about something they all love and find interesting. I imagine people literally sitting around a big round table talking about things they’re all excited about and want to share with each other. It’s a really lovely image in my head. Eventually the image kind of reshapes and devolves into that painting of dogs playing poker, but I love that image too!

It harkens back to pre-internet scholarship, which sounds excruciating and exhausting, but it was all done for the love of a subject. Scholars used to literally mail each other manuscripts seeking feedback. Then, when they got an article published in a journal, scholars interested in the subject would seek out and read the article in the physical journal it was published in. Then they’d write reviews of the article, praising or criticizing the author’s research or theories or style. As the field grew, more and more people would write and contribute more articles to criticize and praise and build off of one another.

So, for example, if I wrote an article that was about Big Foot and then Joe wrote an article saying, “Emily’s article on Big Foot is garbage; here’s what I think about Big Foot,” Sam and I are now having a conversation. It’s not always a fun one, but we’re writing in response to one another about something we’re both passionate about. Later, Jaiden comes along and disagrees with Joe and agrees with me (because I’m right) and they cite both me and Joe. Now we’re all three in a conversation. And it just grows and grows and more people show up at the table to talk and contribute, or maybe just to listen.

Reason Three

You can roll up to the table and just listen if you want to. Sometimes we’re just listening to the conversation. We’re at the table, but we’re not there to talk. We’re just hoping to get some questions answered and learn from some people. When we’re reading books and articles or listening to podcasts or watching movies, we’re listening to the conversation. You don’t have to do groundbreaking research to be part of a conversation. You can just be there and appreciate what everyone’s talking about. You’re still there in the conversation.

Reason Four

You can contribute to the conversation at any time. The imagery of a conversation is nice because it’s approachable: just pull up a chair and start talking. With any new subject, you should probably listen a little at first, ask some questions, and then start giving your own opinion or theories, but you can contribute at any time. Since we do live in the age of internet research, we can contribute in ways people 50 years ago never dreamed of. Besides writing essays in class (which totally counts because you’re examining the conversation and pulling in the bits you like and citing them to give credit to other scholars), you can talk to your professors and friends about a topic, you can blog about it, you can write articles about it, you can even tweet about it (have you ever seen Humanities folk on Twitter? They go nuts on there having actual, literal scholarly conversations). Your ways for engaging are kind of endless!

Reason Five

Yep, I’m listing reasons.

Conversations are cyclical. Like I said above, they’re not always a straight path and that’s true of research too. You don’t have to engage with who spoke most recently; you can engage with someone who spoke ten years ago, someone who spoke 100 years ago, you can even respond to the person who started the conversation! Jump in wherever you want. And wherever you do jump in, you might just change the course of the conversation. Because sometimes we think we have an answer, but then something new is discovered or a person who hadn’t been at the table or who had been overlooked says something that drastically impacts what we knew, so now we have to reexamine it all over again and continue the conversation in a trajectory we hadn’t realized was available before.

Lastly, this frame is about sharing and responding and valuing one another’s work. If Joe, my Big Foot nemesis, responds to my article, they’re going to cite me. If Jaiden then publishes a rebuttal, they’re going to cite both Joe and me, because fair is fair. This is for a few reasons: 1) even if Jaiden disagrees with Joe’s work, they respect that Joe put effort into it and it’s valuable to them. 2) When Jaiden cites Joe, it means anyone who jumps into the conversation at the point of Jaiden’s article will be able to backtrack and catch up using Jaiden’s citations. A newcomer can trace it back to Joe’s article and trace that back to mine. They can basically see a transcript of the whole conversation so they can read Jaiden’s article with all of the context, and they can write their own well-informed piece on Big Foot.

There’s a lot to take away from this frame, but here’s what I think is most important:

• Be respectful of other scholars’ work and their part in the conversation by citing them.
• Start talking whenever you feel ready, in whatever platform you feel comfortable.
• Make sure everyone who wants to be at the table is at the table. This means making sure information is available to those who want to listen and making sure we lift up the voices that are at risk of being drowned out.
• What scholarly conversations have you participated in recently? Is there a Reddit forum you look in on periodically to learn what’s new in the world of cats wearing hats? Or a Facebook group on roller skating? Do you contribute or just listen?
• Think of a scholarly conversation surrounding a topic—sharks, ballet, Game of Thrones. Who’s not at the table? Whose voice is missing from the conversation? Why do you think that is?

Searching as Strategic Exploration

You’ve made it! We’ve reached the last frame: Searching as Strategic Exploration .

“Searching as Strategic Exploration” addresses the part of information literacy that we think of as “Research.” It deals with the actual task of searching for information, and the word “Exploration” is a really good word choice, because it’s evocative of the kind of struggle we sometimes feel when we approach research. I imagine people exploring a jungle, facing obstacles and navigating an uncertain path towards an ultimate goal (Note: the goal is love and it was inside of us all along). I also kind of imagine all the different Northwest Passage explorations, which were cool in theory, but didn’t super-duper work out as expected.

But research is like that! Sometimes we don’t get where we thought we were headed. But the good news is this: You probably won’t die from exposure or resort to cannibalism in your research. Fun, right?

Step 1: Identify a Goal

The first part of any good exploration is identifying a goal. Maybe it’s a direct passage to Asia or the diamond the old lady threw into the ocean at the end of Titanic. More likely, the goal is to satisfy an information need. Remember when we talked about “Research as Inquiry?” All that stuff about paw patrol and Madonna’s skin care regimen? Those were examples of information needs. We’re just trying to find an answer or learn something new.

So great! Our goal is to learn something new. Now we make a strategy.

Step 2: Make a Strategy

For many of your information needs you might just need to Google a question. There’s your strategy: throw your question into Google and comb through the results. You might limit your search to just websites ending in .org, .gov, or .edu. You might also take it a step further and, rather than type in an entire question fully formed, you just type in keywords. So “Who is the guy who invented mayonnaise?” becomes “mayonnaise inventor.” Identifying keywords is part of your strategy and so is using a search engine and limiting the results you’re interested in.

Step 3: Start Exploring

Googling “mayonnaise inventor” probably brings you to Wikipedia where we often learn that our goals don’t have a single, clearly defined answer. For example, we learn that mayonnaise might have gotten its name after the French won a battle in Port Mahon, but that doesn’t tell us who actually made the mayonnaise, just when it was named. Prior to being named, the sauce was called “aioli bo” and was apparently in a Menorcan recipe book from 1745 by Juan de Altimiras. That’s great for Altimiras, but the most likely answer is that mayonnaise was invented way before him and he just had the foresight to write down the recipe. Not having a single definite answer is an unforeseen obstacle tossed into our path that now affects our strategy.  We know we have a trickier question than when we first set sail.

But we have a lot to work with! We now have more keywords like “Port Mahon,” “the French,” and Wikipedia taught us that the earliest known mention of “mayonnaise” was in 1804, so we have “1804” as a keyword too.

Let’s see if we can find that original mention. Let’s take our keywords out of Wikipedia where we found them and voyage to a library’s website! At my library we have a tool that searches through all of our resources. We call it the “Quick Search.” You might have a library available to you, either at school, on a university’s campus, or a local public library. You can do research in any of these places!

So into the Quick Search tool (or whatever you have available to you) go our keywords: “1804,” “mayonnaise,” and “France.” The first result I see is an e-book by a guy who traveled to Paris in 1804, so that might be what we’re looking for. I search through the text and I do, in fact, find a reference to mayonnaise on page 99! The author (August von Kotzebue) is talking about how it’s hard to understand menus at French restaurants, for “What foreigner, for instance, would at first know what is meant by a mayonnaise de poulet, a galatine de volaille, a cotelette a la minute, or even an epigramme d’agneau?” He then goes on to recommend just ordering the fish, since you’ll know what you’ll get (Kotzebue 99).

So that doesn’t tell us who invented mayonnaise, but I think it’s pretty funny! So I’d call that detour a win.

Step 4: Reevaluate

When we hit ends that we don’t think are successful, we can always retrace our steps and reevaluate our question. Dead ends are a part of exploration! We’ve learned a lot, but we’ve also learned that maybe “who invented mayonnaise?” isn’t the right question. Maybe we should ask questions about the evolution of French cuisine or about ownership of culinary experimentation.

I’m going to stick with the history of mayonnaise, for just a little while longer, but my “1804 mayonnaise France” search wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped, so I’ll try something new. Let’s try looking at encyclopedias.

I searched in a database called Credo Reference (which is a database filled with encyclopedia entries) and just searching “mayonnaise.” I can see that the first entry, “Minorca or Menorca” from The Companion to British History , doesn’t initially look helpful, but we’re exploring, so let’s click on it. It tells us that mayonnaise was invented in 1756 by a French commander’s cook and its name comes from Port Mahon where the French fended off the British during a siege ( Arnold-Baker, 2001 ). That’s awesome! It’s what Wikipedia told us! But let’s corroborate that fact. I click on The Hutchinson Chronology of World History entry for 1756, which says mayonnaise was invented in France in 1756 by the duc de Richelieu ( Helicon, 2018 ). I’m not sure I buy it. I could see a duke’s cook inventing mayonnaise, but I have a hard time imagining a duke and military commander taking the time to create a condiment.

But now I can go on to research the duc de Richelieu and his military campaigns and his culinary successes. Just typing “Duke de Richelieu” into the library’s Quick Search shows me a TON of books (16,742 as of writing this) on his life and he influence on France. So maybe now we’re actually exploring Richelieu or the intertwined history of French cuisine and the lives of nobility.

What Did We Just Do?

Our strategy for exploring this topic has had a lot of steps, but they weren’t random. It was a wild ride, but it was a strategic one. Let’s break the steps down real quick:

• We asked a question or identified a goal
• We identified keywords and googled them
• We learned some background information and got new keywords from Wikipedia and had to reevaluate our question
• We followed a lead to a book but hit a dead end when it wasn’t as useful as we’d hoped
• We identified an encyclopedia database and found several entries that support the theory we learned in Wikipedia, which forced us to reevaluate our question again
• We identified a key player in our topic and searched for him in the library’s Quick Search tool and the resources we found made us reevaluate our question yet again

Other strategies could include looking through an article’s reference list, working through a mind map , outlining your questions, or recording your steps in a research log so you don’t get lost—whatever works for you!

Exploration is tricky. Sometimes you circle back and ask different questions as new obstacles arise. Sometimes you have a clear path and you reach your goal instantly. But you can always retrace your steps, try new routes, discover new information, and maybe you’ll get to your destination in the end. Even if you don’t, you’ve learned something.

For instance, today we learned that if you can’t understand a menu in French, you should just order the fish.

• Where do you start a search for information? Do you start in different places when you have different information needs?
• If your research question was “What is the impact of fast fashion on carbon emissions?” What keywords would you use to start searching?

The Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education is one heck of a document. It’s complicated, its frames intertwine, it’s written in a way that can be tricky to understand. But essentially, it’s just trying to get us to understand that the ways we interact with information are complicated and we need to think about our interactions to make sure we’re behaving in an ethical and responsible way.

Why do your professors make you cite things? Because those citations are valuable to the original author, and they prove your engagement with the scholarly conversation. Why do we need to hold space in the conversation for voices that we haven’t heard from before? Because maybe no one recognized the authority in those voices before. The old process for creating information shut out lots of voices while prioritizing others. It’s important for us to recognize these nuances when we see what information is available to us and important for us to ask, “Whose voice isn’t here? Why? Am I looking hard enough for those voices? Can I help amplify them?” And it’s important for us to ask, “Why is the loudest voice being so loud? What motivates them? Why should I trust them over others?”

When we think critically about the information we access and the information we create and share, we’re engaging as citizens in one big global conversation. Making sure voices are heard, including your own voice, is what moves us all towards a more intelligent and understanding society.

Of course, part of thinking critically about information means thinking critically about both this guide and the framework. Lots of people have criticized the framework for including too much library jargon. Other folks think the framework needs to be rewritten to explicitly address how information seeking systems and publishing platforms have arisen from racist, sexist institutions. We won’t get into the criticisms here, but they’re important to think about. You can learn more about the criticism of the framework in a blog post by Ian Beilin , or you can do your own search for criticism on the framework to see what else is out there and form your own opinions.

The Final Takeaway

Ask questions, find information, and ask questions about that information.

Attributions

“A Beginner’s Guide to Introduction to Information Literacy” by Emily Metcalf is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Writing Arguments in STEM Copyright © by Jason Peters; Jennifer Bates; Erin Martin-Elston; Sadie Johann; Rebekah Maples; Anne Regan; and Morgan White is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Information Literacy: Concepts and Teaching Strategies

Are your students drowning in information? Can they spot misinformation and "fake news?" With a plethora of information available at their fingertips, information literacy skills have never been more critical.

You have likely heard of information literacy but may be unsure how to define it. You may have questions such as: Is information literacy important for my students? What learning bottlenecks might students experience related to information literacy? How can I effectively help my students to develop their information literacy?  

This guide defines information literacy, outlines core information literacy concepts, identifies common information literacy-related challenges that students may face, and provides teaching strategies and activities aimed at helping you to incorporate information literacy into your courses.  

Defining Information Literacy 

The term information literacy has been used for over 40 years, with various definitions proposed during this period. In 2016, the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) published the  Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education  and included the following definition:  

Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning. 

In other words, information literacy involves an understanding of how information is created, accessed, shared, and valued  and the abilities and mindset necessary to be able to  locate, evaluate, use, and create information sources ethically and effectively . 

Information literacy includes:  

Conceptual understandings , such as a recognition of how and why information has value or what makes a source authoritative   

Habits of mind , or dispositions such as persistence and flexibility when searching  

Skills or practices , such as the ability to effectively use a database  

As you review the teaching strategies, remember that a single assignment or instruction session cannot fully teach students to become information literate. You are not expected to teach every information literacy concept or skill in one course. However, you can take steps in almost any course to support students' developing information literacy, even if the course does not include a traditional research paper.   

Core Information Literacy Concepts 

The  Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education  (Association of College & Research Libraries, 2016) highlights six core information literacy concepts:  

• Authority is Constructed and Contextual 
• Information Creation as a Process 
• Information Has Value 
• Research as Inquiry 
• Scholarship as Conversation 
• Searching as Strategic Exploration 

These core concepts describe understandings about the purpose and process of research and scholarship broadly shared among scholars, but that novice learners may not yet fully grasp. However, without understanding these concepts, many common academic or professional research practices may not make sense. Each core concept is briefly described below.  

Expert researchers understand that information sources have different levels of authority or credibility, and authority is related to the  expertise or credibility of the information creator . Many factors contribute to expertise, including education, experience, and social position. However, having expertise in one area does not imply expertise in others.

Experts also recognize the context in which information is needed, and will be used, can impact the level of authority needed or what would be considered authoritative. An information source that may be appropriate to use in one situation may not be considered authoritative in another situation.  

Students who grasp this concept can examine information sources and ask relevant questions about origins, context, and suitability for the information need to identify credible and relevant information sources in multiple contexts.   (ACRL, 2016) 

For additional information view the Authority is Constructed and Contextual  video. 

Experts know that information products are created by different processes and come in many formats , which reflect the differences in the creation process . Some information formats may be better suited for conveying certain types of information or meeting specific information needs. Understanding how and why an information product was created can help to determine how that information can be used. Experts recognize that the creation process for an information source and the format can influence that source's actual or perceived value.

Understanding different formats of information and the related creation processes can help students determine when and how to use a specific information source and help them make informed decisions regarding the appropriate format(s) for their own information creations. (ACRL, 2016)

For additional information view the Information Creation as a Process  video. 

Experts know that information has many types of value (financial, personal, social). Because information is valuable, several factors (political, economic, legal) influence the creation, access, distribution, and use of information. Novice learners may struggle to understand the value of information, especially as nearly all information appears to be available for free online.

Experts, however, understand their responsibilities as information consumers and creators, including making deliberate choices about how they access and share information and when to comply with—or when to contest—current legal and socioeconomic restrictions on information. Additionally, experts recognize that not everyone has equal access to information or the equal ability to make their voice heard.

Understanding this concept will help students make sense of the legal and ethical guidelines surrounding information (and the reasons they exist) and make informed decisions both as information consumers and as information creators. (ACRL, 2016) 

For additional information view the Information Has Value video. 

Experts usually consider research a process focused on problems or questions, within or between disciplines, which are unanswered or unresolved and recognize research as part of an ongoing and collaborative effort to extend knowledge .  They understand research is rarely a simple, straightforward search for one "perfect" answer or source; instead, it is an iterative, open-ended, and messy process in which finding answers often lead to new questions. Expert researchers accept ambiguity as part of the research process and recognize the need for adaptability and flexibility when they search.

Understanding this concept will help students recognize that research requires patience, persistence, and flexibility and will prepare them to make sense of the ambiguous nature of their search results rather than seeking a single "right" answer . (ACRL, 2016)

For additional information view the Research as Inquiry video. 

Scholars, researchers, and professionals within a field engage in ongoing discussions where new ideas and research findings are continually debated . In most cases, there are often multiple competing perspectives on a topic. Experts can locate, navigate, and contribute to the conversations within their discipline or field. They recognize that providing appropriate attribution to relevant previous research is considered an obligation of participating in this conversation. As they develop their information literacy, students should learn to see themselves as contributors to these conversations. However, they may first need to learn the "language" of the discipline, such as accepted research methods, standards for evidence, and forms of attribution, before they can fully participate. 

Understanding this concept will help students better evaluate the relevance of specific information sources, to make sense of many of the requirements of scholarly practice, and better understand the expectations around their own role in the conversation . (ACRL, 2016)

For additional information view the Scholarship as Conversation video. 

Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative , requiring evaluating a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate directions. The information searching process is a complex process influenced by cognitive, affective, and social factors. While novice learners may only use a limited number of search tools and strategies, experts understand the properties of various information search systems and make informed choices when determining search strategy and search language. Expert searchers shape their search to fit the information need, rather than relying on the same strategies, search systems, and search language without regard for the context of the search.

Students who understand this concept will be able to make appropriate decisions about where and how they search for information in different contexts . (ACRL, 2016)

For additional information view the Searching as Strategic Exploration video. 

Information Literacy Learning Bottlenecks

Bottlenecks are where some students in a course may struggle, get stuck, be unable to complete required tasks, or move forward in their learning ( Decoding the Disciplines ; Middendorf & Baer, 2019 ). Information literacy-related bottlenecks can come in many forms. Some of the most common are outlined below and emphasize core concepts. 

Research or inquiry-based assignments are those in which students are required to find, analyze, and use various information sources to explore an issue, answer a question, or solve a problem. Although they are common assignments, they can be sources of frustration for both you and your students.

You are likely expecting students to:

• Approach research as an open-ended and inquiry-driven process (Research as Inquiry)
• Be an active participant (provide an argument, make an interpretation) in the ongoing conversations related to their topic (Scholarship as Conversation)

However, these expectations may be unfamiliar to students who are more accustomed to the idea of research as a process of compiling and summarizing information on a topic. Additionally, effectively completing research assignments requires a wide range of knowledge and skills that novice learners may not yet have developed.

Students who can effectively complete these assignments :

• Are familiar with academic jargon (e.g., scholarly journal, literature review) and understand the meaning of the various actions often required as part of these assignments (e.g., analyze, illustrate, interpret)
• Can distinguish between expectations for different types of research or inquiry-based assignments (i.e., can recognize the different goals of an empirical research paper, a literature review, or an annotated bibliography)
• Can formulate research questions by considering missing or conflicting information from the existing conversation  
• Possess the necessary background knowledge or disciplinary knowledge that allows them to navigate ongoing scholarly or professional conversations related to their topic
• Think of themselves as capable of contributing to academic or professional conversations

Related core concepts

• Research as Inquiry
• Scholarship as Conversation

Related teaching strategies

• Clarifying Expectations for Research Assignments

With so many different search tools and resources available, determining where to search for information and executing an effective search can be difficult. Identifying an appropriate search tool, crafting an effective search statement, and using initial results to guide search revisions takes significant knowledge of the properties and functions of various search tools.

Effective searching also requires students to understand the complex nature of the search process. Novice learners may, for example, approach searching as a linear process intended to find a specific number of sources as quickly as possible, rather than a strategic and complicated process for finding relevant information ( Middendorf & Baer, 2019 ).

Students who can search effectively:

• Understand how various information system, such as search engines and databases, are organized and function
• Determine when to use a search engine or a more specialized or academic database or search resource  
• Are familiar with the databases or search tools that are most relevant for their specific discipline or information need
• Use different types of search language and search options as needed  
• Revise their search strategy as needed, based on initial results, and seek assistance from information professionals
• Demonstrate flexibility and persistence, and understand that initial attempts do not always produce adequate results  

Related core concepts 

• Searching as Strategic Exploration

Related teaching strategies 

• Teaching Information Searching 

Evaluating information to identify credible sources that are relevant to their topic or research question and are appropriate for their information need is one of the most difficult challenges students face. It requires significant knowledge of various types of information sources and their characteristics, the processes by which information sources are produced and disseminated, the factors that provide or temper authority or credibility, and an understanding of how context can impact these other factors.

Students who can evaluate information effectively:

• Are motivated to find credible and relevant information sources ; m aintain an open mind when considering information from multiple perspectives  
• Can identify/distinguish different types (e.g., journal articles, news articles, book chapters, blog posts) and categories (e.g., scholarly, popular, professional) of information sources
• Can define different types of authority, such as subject expertise (e.g., scholarship), societal position (e.g., public office or title), or special experience (e.g., participating in a historic event) 
• Understand how the creation processes for various information sources can impact the way the source may be valued
• Assess information with a critical stance
• Use indicators of authority to help determine the credibility of sources while recognizing the factors that can temper authority
• Have an awareness of how their own worldview may impact how they perceive information 
• Recognize that information sources may be perceived or valued differently depending on the context
• Authority is Constructed and Contextual
• Information Creation as a Process
• Teaching Source Evaluation

Using information sources ethically is one of the most crucial habits that students need to develop, but it can also be one of the most challenging that students face. More than being able to master the basics of citations, students need to understand why information is valuable and learn to navigate the complex rules, regulations, and expectations around information use.

Students who use information ethically:

• Recognize the various ways in which information can be valuable (e.g. financial, political, personal)
• Demonstrate respect for the time, effort, and skill needed to create knowledge; give credit to the ideas of others through appropriate attribution
• Demonstrate understanding of and the ability to use of the methods of attribution that are appropriate to their discipline or field
• Are familiar with concepts such as intellectual property, copyright, fair use, plagiarism, the public domain, and open access
• Critically consider what personal information they share online and make careful decisions about how they publish or share their own information products  
• Understand that everyone does not have equal access to information or the equal ability to share information   
• Recognize how citations are used as part of ongoing scholarly or professional conversations ​​​​​​
• Information Has Value
•  Teaching Ethical Information Use 

Leverage Library Resources

Instructor Resources at University Libraries  provides guidance on incorporating library resources to support student learning in your course. Explore topics such as information literacy, academic research skills, and affordable course content, and access “ready-to-share” instructional materials including videos, Carmen content, and handouts. 

Teaching Strategies and Activities

Information literacy cannot be taught in a single instruction session or even a single course. Instead, it develops throughout a student's academic career. No instructor is expected to incorporate all the core information literacy concepts or address every potential learning bottleneck in a single course. However, there are many small steps that you can take to support students' developing information literacy.

The following approaches provide an overview of some helpful strategies that you can use to help your students overcome information literacy-related learning bottlenecks.

You can take several steps as you (re)design your research or inquiry-based assignments to support increased student learning and reduce the misunderstandings that are common between students and instructors.

• List all of the steps that students will need to take to complete the assignment. You may be surprised at how many there actually are! This can help you to identify steps that may be challenging for students but you may have initially overlooked because of your own familiarity with the research process.
• Identify the core concepts, such as Scholarship as Conversation or Research as Inquiry , that may be behind your expectations for the assignment.
• Question your purpose for including certain requirements, such as requiring a specific citation style or that students use specific types of sources. What are your requirements contributing to student learning in the course?
• Discuss the purpose of academic research and the goals of your specific research assignment with students.
• Define any academic jargon (such as "scholarly" or "peer-reviewed") and your action words (analyze, trace, illustrate).
• Clarify the distinctions between different types of research or inquiry-based assignments, such as the difference between a literature review and an annotated bibliography.
• Describe the types of sources that you consider to be appropriate or inappropriate for the assignment and explain why.
• Be sure that any requirements you have for sources align with the purpose and context of the assignment. For example, be careful not to expect students to use scholarly sources for topics where scholarly research may not exist.
• Provide step-by-step instructions and model the steps of the research process.
• Scaffold large research assignments by breaking them down into more manageable chunks and providing feedback after each part.
• Have a colleague or student review your assignment instructions, note anything that seems unclear, and highlight any jargon that may need to be explained. This can be even more helpful if it is a colleague outside of your discipline.

Sample Activity

Have students complete a quick activity in which they a nalyze the assignment instructions. Have them:

• Summarize what they must do  
• Identify any unclear terms
• Highlight key requirements
• Discuss their responses together to identify any initial misconceptions about the purpose or process for the assignment

There are many things you can do to help students become more adept at information searching:

• Identify the core concepts, such as Searching as Strategic Exploration , Research as Inquiry , and Information Creation as a Process , that may be contributing to students challenges with information searching
• The difference between a search engine and a database, and when it is appropriate to use one or the other
• The databases or search tools that are most commonly used in the discipline
• How to create an effective search statement or use databases options and limiters (advanced search, Boolean operators); how to revise a search when needed
• Recommend specific search tools. With so many tools available, including hundreds of research databases available through University Libraries, students may need guidance for where to go to start their search.
• Recommend that students use the Subject Guides available through University Libraries to identify relevant search tools and resources.
• Provide analogies or examples to help students enhance their understanding of the search process ( Middendorf & Baer, 2019).
• Model the search process by showing how you would go about searching for information on a topic or question relevant to the course.
• Build reflection on or discussion of the search process into the assignment.

As part of a research assignment, have students complete an outline or screencast video in which they describe or demonstrate how they would go about searching for information on their topic and use the results to guide a discussion of effective search strategies.

 For an example of how you can address bottlenecks related to information searching, see:

• Middendorf, J., & Baer, A., (2019). Bottlenecks of Information Literacy .  In  C. Gibson & S. Mader (Eds.), Building Teaching and Learning Communities: Creating Shared Meaning and Purpose , pp. 51-68

To help students with source evaluation, steps you can take include:

• Identify the core concepts, such as Authority is Constructed and Contextual or Information Creation as a Process , that may be contributing to challenges students experience when evaluating information
• The various factors that contribute to, or temper, source authority or credibility (many students have erroneously been taught to use surface factors, such as domain name or the look of the site, to make decisions about source credibility)
• How to differentiate between types (e.g. news articles, websites, scholarly journal articles, social media sources) and categories of information sources (scholarly, professional, popular)
• The role context plays in determining the authority needed
• The types of information sources that are considered authoritative or credible in your field
• Consider why you might require specific types of sources. If students can or cannot use specific sources types, is there a clear reason why?
• Clearly outline your expectations for appropriate sources for your assignments and explain your reasons for these requirements
• Clarify the distinction between terms such as credible, relevant, and scholarly
• Model the process that you take to determine whether or not you find a source to be credible and appropriate
• Provide evaluation criteria and outline steps that students can take or questions they need to consider as part of the source evaluation process
• The domain name (.com, .edu)
• The professionalism of the site
• The information provided in the About Us page
• Encourage students to consider factors such as the authority of the author or publisher,  motivation for publishing the source,  relevance of the source to the research question or topic, and the appropriateness of the source for the context
• Encourage your students to practice lateral reading, where they read across multiple sites as part of the source evaluation process—for example, searching for the author or publisher or site sponsor via a search engine to learn more about them rather than remaining on the same site. For more information, see What Reading Laterally Means (Caulfield, 2017).
• After receiving instructions for a research assignment, have students work together to develop class guidelines for evaluating sources, with recommendations for the types of sources that would or would not be considered appropriate to use

Other resources to support lateral reading include:

• Teaching Lateral Reading (Civic Online Reasoning)
• Evaluating Online Sources: A Toolkit (Baer & Kipnis, Rowan University)
• Lateral Reading (University of Louisville Libraries)
• Identify the core concepts, such as Information Has Value or Scholarship as Conversation , that may be contributing to challenges students experience when using information ethically
• The expectations for when and why attribution is required in academic research
• The expectations for attribution in your discipline or field
• Locating the information needed to include in a citation
• Reading a citation to identify relevant information
• The distinctions between plagiarism and copyright infringement
• Consider your purpose for requiring a specific citation style. While there can be good reasons for insisting on specific styles, doing so can also create an unnecessary burden, especially for students outside of your discipline.
• Identify the key aspect(s) of the citation process that you want to emphasize when it comes to grading (i.e. is it more important that students have the citation format perfect, or that they are using their sources effectively?)
• Provide resources, such as the University Libraries' Citation Help Guide , to help students develop their citation skills, especially if requiring a discipline-specific citation style
• Practice "reading" citations with your students—many students may struggle to identify the different parts of a citation
• Teach students to use sources/citations to locate additional citations (forward and backward citation tracing)
• Talk with your students about the ways that scholars and researchers use sources and citations to document and engage with the conversation(s) on their topic and establish their own credibility. Emphasize citation as part of the process of engaging in scholarly and professional conversations.

Provide students with a relevant sample article from which all citations have been removed or redacted. Discuss how the lack of citations contributes to their ability to evaluate the article's credibility and use the article effectively to answer a question or learn more about the topic.

Comparing Search Tools Activity

Evaluating sources using lateral reading, interpreting a research or inquiry-based activity.

• Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (website)
• Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research (e-book)
• Choosing & Using Sources: Instructor Resources (e-book)
• Transforming information literacy instruction: Threshold concepts in theory and…
• University Libraries Information Literacy Virtual Workshop Series (videos)
• University Libraries Subject Guides (website)
• University Libraries Subject Librarians (website)

Learning Opportunities

Association of College & Research Libraries. (2016). Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Retrieved from  http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework .

Baer, A., & Kipnis, D. (2020). Evaluating Online Sources: A Toolkit. https://libguides.rowan.edu/EvaluatingOnlineSources .

Caulfield, M. (2017). Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers . Pressbooks.

Stanford University. (n.d.) Civic Online Reasoning.  https://cor.stanford.edu/curriculum/collections/teaching-lateral-reading/ .

Decoding the Discipline. (n.d.)  http://decodingthedisciplines.org/ .

Middendorf, J., & Baer, A., (2019). Bottlenecks of Information Literacy . In C. Gibson & S. Mader (Eds.), Building Teaching and Learning Communities: Creating Shared Meaning and Purpose , pp. 51-68.

Ohio State University Libraries.(n.d.) Citation Help. Retrieved from https://guides.osu.edu/citation .

TILT Higher Ed. (n.d.). Retrieved from  https://tilthighered.com/ .

Related Teaching Topics

Supporting student learning and metacognition, designing research or inquiry-based assignments, search for resources.

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

Ways to Strengthen Students’ Information-Literacy Skills

• Share article

(This is the final post in a two-part series. You can see Part One here .)

The new question-of-the-week is:

What are the best ways teachers can help students combat “fake news” and develop information-literacy skills?

In Part One, we heard responses from Carla Truttman, Josh Perlman, Jennifer Casa-Todd, Bryan Goodwin, and Frank W. Baker.

Today, this series will finish up with suggestions from Elliott Rebhun, Michael Fisher, Dr. Barbara R. Blackburn, Dr. Laura Greenstein, and Douglas Reeves. I also include comments from readers.

Response From Elliott Rebhun

Elliott Rebhun is the editor-in-chief of Scholastic’s Classroom Magazine Group. He started at Scholastic in 2003 as the editor of The New York Times UPFRONT®, the company’s high school social studies news magazine. Prior to Scholastic, he worked at The Times, both in print and digital, and at Newsweek . He has a B.A. from the College of Arts and Sciences and a B.S. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania:

Media literacy has become a focus of instruction nationwide, and while teaching our students that staying informed is important, we also have a responsibility to make sure that kids know how and where to obtain accurate, unbiased information and think critically about that information. P-12 teachers find themselves addressing this daily as they share with their students the skills needed to problem solve and empathize when thinking about issues within our global society, as well as to discern whether the information they obtain is factual or fictional.

Teachers may ask themselves what they can do to weave media literacy into their daily classroom instruction so that students learn how to seek credible information. Students should know the value of reading the news, and facilitating regular classroom discussions about current events is a wonderful way to enhance the culture of literacy within a classroom. News articles written specifically for students across different grade levels and free online resources with civics and media-literacy content such as We the People provide a context for talking about current events and media literacy as an important part of citizenry.

We should also encourage students to seek information on topics of interest, providing kids with opportunities to learn about the world around them and engage in their communities. As part of this, it’s important for educators to explain to their students what fake news is and demonstrate how they should responsibly analyze facts and interpret news to discern what is true and what is false. We cover this topic extensively in Scholastic Classroom Magazines across genres, including news, science, and health. To start, there are four simple strategies that educators of all grade levels can utilize to help their students become conscious and thoughtful consumers of news.

• Be critical. You can’t trust all of the content that you find online, even when someone you know sends it to you. It’s important to think critically about what you read on the internet.
• Search for indicators. Analyze the sources that a news piece cites and be observant of advertisements that can reveal a lot about any hidden goals of an outlet.
• Corroborate. Spend time doing research of your own. Make sure that the source is credible and see if you can verify other sources of the same news.
• Check to be sure. Nonpartisan fact-checking sites such as Factcheck.org and Politifact.com are tools that can help you verify what is true and uncover what is false.

Media-literacy lessons are valuable for students across grade levels, and age-appropriate news content is a wonderful resource to begin these conversations in classrooms. It’s never too late to make media literacy a priority so that our students become good citizens who are knowledgeable, who participate in society, and who work to make it better, because the future belongs to them, and they deserve a great one.

Response From Michael Fisher

Michael Fisher is a former teacher who is now a full-time author and instructional coach. He works with schools around the country, helping to sustain curriculum upgrades, design curriculum, and modernize instruction in immersive technology. His latest book is The Quest for Learning: How to Maximize Student Engagement , published by Solution Tree. For more information, visit The Digigogy Collaborative ( digigogy.com ) or find Michael on Twitter ( @fisher1000 ):

In our book, The Quest for Learning , Marie Alcock, Allison Zmuda, and I discuss concerns with working so openly on the web with networks, resources, and multimedia. We use the acronym VIA to think about information literacy and source validity. The V in VIA stands for “Verifiable Details.” The I stands for “Intuition,” and the A stands for “Authoritative Connection.”

Verifiable Details: Students should get into the habit of comparing resources and corroborating information. For instance, it’s interesting to look at how different news sources handle breaking news. Students can look for similarities in the different sources to determine what information is the most believable. Students can use tools like NewsPaperMap.com to see news sources from all over the world. This gives them the opportunity to look at other countries’ perspectives on the news that our domestic sources are reporting on. They should also be noticing whether or not the sources have links to additional information, references for their claims, citations, and quotes from verifiable sources.

Intuition : If a source sounds salacious or outlandish or too good to be true—then it probably isn’t true. Beyond verifiable details, students should also learn to go with their gut—if a resource seems to be off or misleading, then it probably is. If the resource is demonstratively different from other sources on the same topic, then it is likely questionable. If the source was paid for by a special-interest group, then that might also be a red flag.

Authoritative Connection: What is the affiliation of the creator of the source? What is the parent source of the material? Students should be able to recognize known credible sources. They should also know something about the author that is creating material that is shared online and in print. Does the author have knowledge of the subject matter or topic? What else has the author written or experienced around the topic? Does the author or the parent source have any dubious actions in their background? What is the domain of the source? If it ends in an unfamiliar domain like .biz, .coop, .info, or .club, then the authoritative connection may be thin or nonexistent.

Trustworthy work comes from critical thinking VIA students’ thinking about validity and truth. Students need these cues to prevent them from “researching” and reporting on whatever the first five results in a Google search are.

Also, students could benefit from learning how to use Snopes.com or websites like Politifact to verify the claims that an entity or author might make.

Response From Dr. Barbara R. Blackburn

Dr. Barbara R. Blackburn, ranked #4 in the Top 30 Global Gurus in Education, is the author of 18 books on rigor, motivation, instruction, and leadership. She regularly collaborates with schools and districts for professional development. She can be reached through her website, www.barbarablackburnonline.com :

Years ago, prior to the “fake news” environment of today, I taught my students the difference between fact and opinion. This was important because I used USA Today instead of a textbook for my struggling students and I wanted them to move beyond taking articles at face value. First, we analyzed news stories and identified key facts, which we tried to confirm from another source. Next, we moved into opinions/perspective columns. I particularly liked (and still do) USA Today because they always publish an opposing view to their editorial. In small groups, students read both sides of the issues, listed the facts that supported the author’s opinions, chose the side they agreed with, completed additional research, and then debated another group. This forced them to see the differences between what is news and what is a person’s perspective. I believe this is foundational as students try to determine what is actually fact-based news, whether it comes from a newspaper, website, podcast, talk show, or TV.

Once students know the basic differences between factual news stories and opinions, we need to address whether factual news is really factual. What do I mean? I recently talked with a student who said that the moon landing never occurred. That’s an example of “fake news.” The student showed me the website he used to find that information, but he simply assumed that, since it was on the internet, it was true.

Our next step is to teach students how to evaluate the credibility of the source providing the “facts.” After leading a discussion on how to determine if a source is credible, show two examples of stories, one fake, one real. Work together to identify the source, research information about the source, and determine its credibility. Next, students, working in small groups, are assigned a fake-news topic or story that has been shared on the internet, either via Facebook, Twitter, or via a Google search. Students must research the source, determine if it is fake or real, and write their opinion of the credibility of the source, using at least three pieces of valid evidence to support their opinion. As an extension, after further discussion, students can write blog entries to rebut the fake-news claims.

Response From Dr. Laura Greenstein

A lifelong educator, Dr. Laura Greenstein has served as a teacher and school leader, professor and professional-development specialist. Her passion for excellence in assessment is evident in her numerous books, articles, and blogs on the topic:

ASSESSING INFORMATION LITERACY

Is all the news really bogus? If it’s hard for adults to sort through all of it, imagine how hard it is for students to grasp the idea that people they are told to respect and admire are trying to fill their minds with untruths.

Rather than fretting over all the news that’s not fit to print, it is more important that our students are able to evaluate information and sources. Assessment of what one sees, hears, reads, and views requires an understanding of its origin and intent.

Distinguishing truth from lies, accuracy from misrepresentation, and the full facts from distortion is difficult for even the most media-savvy adults. The goal of information literacy is for students to acquire, analyze, and use information. Rubrics and annotated checklists can accompany this RAP.

R eliability : How does the author support, defend, and further her statements, claims, or position? Can it be verified? Do other sources have similar or contradictory information?

A uthority : Who is the source/author, and what are the individuals’ or organizations’ credentials?

P urpose : What is the author trying to convince me to believe, do, or think? Does he seem to have a preference or bias in his writing?

There are numerous teacher resources on developing student’s information literacy. Equally, if not more important, is assessing student’s information literacy. One option is FACTITIOUS that presents headlines and stories for students to analyze and swipe either real or fake. However, it is more relevant for students to evaluate material related to their current learning goals: a specific period of history, scientific research, healthy-living advice, or biographical information. This may begin with a whole-class review of source material using the RAP model, followed by individual or small-group review of references and further research.

Follow-up with individual or small-group projects on selected subtopics of their interest. Students can accompany their presentations with statements for the audience to evaluate as real or fake.

A. Using e-cigarettes can be just as dangerous as smoking. B. Vitamin cigarettes will add years to your life. C. Robassia is now selling a natural product to counteract the toxic effects of tobacco.

As time and learning intentions allow, students can develop their own fake-news site using low or high tech. Here are some professionally designed examples: All About Explorers , Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus , and DHMO: Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division . Students present their work and their audience, peers, teacher, or larger community evaluates the sites.

Extend learning beyond content knowledge by asking students to make recommendations, compare divergent ideas, synthesize ideas from multiple sources, and present and defend informed arguments. Fortify information literacy by weaving it directly into teaching, learning, and assessing rather than setting it apart.

Exit Slip: In the era of “fake news,” choosing the right answer is still a basic tenet of assessment. Which answer is correct?

A. The more you study, the higher your test scores. B. Assessment derives from the Latin, “Assidere.” C. Test scores in the United States continue to rise.

The correct answer is B. Assidere, meaning to sit beside and guide another. A. Review, drill, and practice may raise specific test scores, but assessment is intended to reliably gauge a student’s progress and inform educational responses. C. It depends which test scores and for what purpose.

Response From Douglas Reeves

Douglas Reeves is the author of more than 30 books and 100 articles on educational leadership, teaching, and student achievement. His videos and articles are all free downloads at CreativeLeadership.net . Doug Tweets @DouglasReees and can be reached at [email protected] :

My rule is that the internet is a hypothesis, not a conclusion. Students may start with a source that takes a point of view and makes claims about a political, educational, economic, or other issue. They then have the obligation to find at least two additional sources, one of which opposes the original claim and another one which either supports the original claim or perhaps offers an alternative claim. The student’s job is to evaluate the credibility of each source and make an argument about which sources are more and less credible. Primary-grade students can sniff out misleading claims in advertisements, and I think the same approach should be at the heart of graduate-level classes in research and statistics, particularly those classes taken by educators and administrators.

Responses From Readers

Jeff Norris:

I teach Higher Level IB Biology. During the students’ first year, I have them write a Literature Review, despite it not really being directly related to the syllabus or their exam scores.

HOWEVER, the ability to research sources, synthesize ideas, and write about them is a fundamental skill that I PREACH to them. These skills will help them with their Internal Assessments (practicals) in science classes, and their Extended Essays which are diploma requirements. More importantly, these are skills they’ll need at the next level and beyond when having to prepare “papers” or “reports.”

The task: anywhere between 500-1250 words on any topic they can relate back to biology or specifically the syllabus, sources (at least 5 or more primary) need to be fully and properly cited in text and listed in the lit. cited section at the end. We go over these and look at students statements, perspectives, and the sources used to support their claims. We differentiate between primary and secondary or even tertiary sources (i.e., blogs written by people only reading news outlets). We also delve into which sources are more reliable or even just “sound” more believable in the context of the Lit Review. It’s one of my favorite tasks, assignments despite not being required or directly related to their exams. We all learn new things (i.e., facts/knowledge/information) and whether or not such things are believable, supported, or just personal opinions, ideas, or beliefs.

Thanks to Elliott, Laura, Michael, Barbara, and Doug, and to readers, for their contributions.

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

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Information Literacy

Information Literacy empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goal.

Information literacy and lifelong learning have been described as the beacons of the information society, illuminating the courses to development, prosperity and freedom.

Information literacy empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals. Information-literate people are able to access information about their health, their environment, their education and work, and to make critical decisions about their lives. 

In a digital world, information literacy requires users to have the skills to use information and communication technologies and their applications to access and create information. Closely linked are two other related literacies: computer literacy (ICT skills) and media literacy (understanding of various kinds of mediums and formats by which information is transmitted). For example, the ability to navigate in cyberspace and negotiate hypertext multimedia documents requires both the technical skills to use the Internet and the literacy skills to interpret the information. 

IFAP is promoting actions aimed at raising awareness of the importance of information literacy and supporting projects that build the literacy skills of users.

Information Literacy and Media Literacy for Students and Teachers

A Teacher’s Guide to Media and Information Literacy

What is literacy.

Up until fairly recently, when we used the term ‘literacy’ in a discussion, it would most likely be in reference to the reading and writing of texts.

These days, however, the definition of literacy extends well beyond its once conventional use in reference to words on pages. Today, we commonly talk of various types of literacies, such as financial literacy , digital literacy , or even emotional literacy .

Rather than speak of literacy as exclusively referring to the ability to read and write, it is now more accurate to think of literacy as an ability in a specific area of knowledge.

It’s in this context that we will use the term here. In this article, we will explore media and information literacy , what they are, how they intersect, and how you can approach teaching them in your classroom – either as discrete subjects, or interwoven with other areas of the curriculum.

A Complete Teaching Unit on Fake News

Digital and social media have completely redefined the media landscape, making it difficult for students to identify FACTS AND OPINIONS covering:

Teach them to FIGHT FAKE NEWS with this COMPLETE 42 PAGE UNIT. No preparation is required,

The Importance of Media and Information Literacy

The importance of literacy has been well recognized by governments around the world for a for a considerable length of time. Literacy rates have long been used as an indicator of a nation’s development – such is the importance of being able to read and write for a citizen to fully engage as a functioning member of society.

Undoubtedly, we now live in an information age. Daily, we take in huge amounts of information through a vast array of largely digital media. It is essential that our students are empowered to access, organize, analyze, evaluate, and create in this context. To do this successfully, we must help them to become information and media literate.

Media and Information Literacy

If media literacy refers to the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in all its forms, then information literacy refers to the ability to recognize when information is required, how to locate and evaluate it, as well as the ability to effectively communicate that information in all its forms, both traditional and modern.

We can see here that there is already a significant crossover between the two terms. Not surprisingly, for the sake of convenience, they are often used almost interchangeably.

To help disentangle the concepts, it can be useful to think of information as being the content, with media being the tools by which that content is delivered.

We can also combine these various aspects under the umbrella term Media and Information Literacy , or MIL , though they may also appear as separate disciplines in many syllabuses and curriculum.

Developing the essential abilities listed above, enables our students to engage fully as active citizens by developing their critical thinking and communication abilities. This process begins by grasping the basic concepts of the subject. Let’s take a look at some of the most important of these.

Media and Information Literacy: Basic Concepts

It’s true to say we live in an increasingly connected world and spend more time than ever before exposed to media in all its myriad shapes and forms.

From traditional media formats such as newspapers, printed books, TV, and radio to more recent developments such as email, ebooks, online games, and apps, we have never been more inundated by the media and its messages in our day-to-day lives.

Understanding the basic concepts of media and information literacy will help students to navigate the complexities of this ever-encroaching world.

1. Types of Media

For students to begin thinking seriously about media, they first need to be able to classify media into its various types. Broadly speaking, there are 3 types of media:

i. Print Media

ii. Broadcast Media

iii. New Media

i. Print Media refers, unsurprisingly, to the printed word, that is, media reproduced mechanically via the printing process which is then physically distributed.

ii. Broadcast Media refers to media that is distributed or transmitted to its audience via the airwaves, such as TV and radio.

iii. New Media refers to media that is organized and distributed via the various digital platforms.

A good explainer video on Information literacy for students and teachers

Types of Media: Reinforcement Activity

This is an effective exercise to help students learn to distinguish between these different forms of media. First, brainstorm with the class the different specific examples of media they can think of, for example, newspapers , radio , podcasts, etc. List these on the whiteboard. Then, have students sort the items listed on the whiteboard into one of 3 columns printed on a worksheet as follows:

Media Convergence

As well as understanding these 3 main types of media as defined above, it may arise during discussion that some examples don’t easily fit into one single category. The term media convergence refers to media that coexists in traditional and new media forms.

We can see this clearly in the existence of print and online versions of newspapers, for example, where content can exist in both paper and digital forms. The underlying concept of media convergence is that the various media platforms become more similar over time.

2. The Purpose of Information

Before students begin to do the deeper level work of evaluating information, they should learn to give some thought to the purpose of various forms of information. Drawing out the purpose of the information in the first place will help enormously when it comes to assessing its credibility at a later stage.

There are a number of legitimate reasons for information to be held by media and other information providers such as museums, archives, the internet, and libraries.

These reasons include to:

●     Inform

●     Educate

●     Entertain

●     Gather together

●     Provide access

●     Facilitate teaching and learning

●     Promote values and rights

●     Preserve cultural heritage

Purpose of Information: Reinforcement Activity

This exercise is best undertaken as a group project over a period of time such as a week or two.

Instruct students to gather together a broad range of information and media and perform a survey of each sample to assess the reason behind its creation and/or existence. The reasons listed above as bullet points will provide a good starting point, though also allow for the possibility the students may uncover reasons other than those listed above.

Opening each item to a whole class discussion can be a rewarding way to encourage the sharing of different perspectives on the purpose of each sample.

For higher-level students, on completion of this activity you may wish to engage in a discussion on what restrictions, if any, could justifiably be placed on media and information and in what contexts those would be.

COMPLETE TEACHING UNIT ON INTERNET RESEARCH SKILLS USING GOOGLE SEARCH

Teach your students ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF THE INFORMATION ERA to become expert DIGITAL RESEARCHERS.

⭐How to correctly ask questions to search engines on all devices.

⭐ How to filter and refine your results to find exactly what you want every time.

⭐ Essential Research and critical thinking skills for students.

⭐ Plagiarism, Citing and acknowledging other people’s work.

⭐ How to query, synthesize and record your findings logically.

3. Mass Media and Critical Thinking

With video streaming sites, social platforms, digital billboards, and podcasts, electronic media infiltrates many of our waking hours. And, though we have benefited from this mass and instant communication in our personal and business lives, it poses many challenges for us as individuals.

With 4.2 billion people inhabiting the online world, all sending and receiving innumerable messages, our students need to develop specific strategies to navigate and filter this potentially overwhelming sea of information.

The 5 Filter Questions

Students need to exercise their critical faculties when engaging with media to avoid passively accepting the views and opinions embedded there.

They can begin this process by routinely examining new media in the light of 5 key filtering questions:

1. WHO created this message?

2. WHAT techniques were used to capture the attention?

3. HOW could this message be interpreted by different people?

4. WHY is this message being communicated?

5. WHAT values, views, lifestyles are being expressed or omitted in this message?

These 5 filter questions will help students develop a firm foundation for critically engaging with the various media they are exposed to. They will help students to distinguish between factual reporting and fake news and clickbait from measured critique.

If you are searching for an excellent article on critical thinking be sure to check out this great guide from edgalaxy.com

Mass Media and Critical Thinking: Reinforcement Activity

Be sure to offer students ample opportunities to use the 5 filter questions in the classroom. You can easily achieve this by asking one or more of these questions when discussing a text or viewing a film, for example.

You could also organize the students into small groups and assign them a media item to analyze in reference to the above 5 questions. With lots of practice, students will begin to consider all new information and media in light of these important questions, becoming in the process active rather than passive consumers of information.

4. Representation in the Media

In media and information literacy, the ways in which various groups, communities, thoughts, and ideas are portrayed form an important area of study within the subject.

Investigations into this area will quickly rid students of the idea that media merely reflects the reality of the world around them. Any examination of representation in media quickly reveals that the media re -presents the reality around us as much as reflects it. This examination reveals much about the media and ourselves in the process.

By examining what is presented, what is omitted, and how things are framed, students delve deeper into the attitudes, values, politics, and psychology of the media-makers. They will also shine a spotlight on some of their own perceptions, perspectives, and biases too.

Representation in the Media: Reinforcement Activity

Though examining representation in media can spark classroom discussions on some quite sensitive and even contentious topics, it can be extremely engaging and valuable for students.

While you can explore representation in any number of media, music works very well for many of our young people.

Music is central to much of youth culture. It can inform everything from young people’s attitudes to politics and sex, to the clothes they wear and the way they speak. It can also serve as fertile ground for the examination of how various groups, communities, values etc are represented.

In this activity, allow students to choose a music video to explore. This will usually be best done in small groups to keep the ideas flowing and to allow for some passionate discussion. Students should watch the video, listen to the song, read the lyrics and analyze representations of gender, race, and sexuality etc.

The 5 filter questions mentioned in the previous section can work well here to get the process started. Just be sure students maintain their focus on the central idea of representation as they ask each question.

5. Analyzing Advertising

Advertisements are pretty ubiquitous. Whether we consume old or new media, advertising will likely play a large part in what we engage with.

Indeed, advertisements often serve as the main revenue stream to fund the production of many forms of media. In this regard, they can even be considered to perform a valuable function in assisting in the dissemination of information.

No doubt about it, advertising has come a long way since the early 20th century with the obviousness of its radio jingles and roadside billboards.

Today, advertising comes in ever more subtle and sophisticated guises. At times these can be so understated or indirect that we may not even realise we are being sold to.

From sponsored content masquerading as impartial articles to cleverly placed products attempting to sneak in through the backdoor of our subconscious, the omnipresence and complexity of advertising make this is an important area of study within the subject.

Analyzing Advertising: Reinforcement Activity

With advertising intruding on so much of our lives, finding samples to use for this activity will be like shooting those proverbial barrel-dwelling fish.

For this activity, organise students into small work groups, distribute an advertisement to each group, and then encourage them to analyze how the advertisement works.

Regardless of the media used, encourage the students to look at the advertisement in terms of its emotional appeal, the technical and design components, and who the advertisement is targeted at.

When the groups have had a chance to dissect their advertisements, have them make a brief presentation to the class on what they have learned about how it works.

Video Lesson: How to analyze print media?

In this article, we have provided an introduction to some of the main concepts and ideas that form the core concerns of the subject of Media and Information Literacy. It is, however, by no means an exhaustive list.

Further reflection on some of the topics raised will open up a rich seam of interesting and important issues to explore in the classroom, whether in the form of discrete MIL lessons, or woven into other areas of the curriculum.

The fodder for lessons and learning opportunities within this area, much like media and information themselves, is practically inexhaustible.

A Complete Visual Text Teaching Unit

Make  MOVIES A MEANINGFUL PART OF YOUR CURRICULUM  with this engaging collection of tasks and tools your students will love. NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (49 Reviews)

This collection of  21 INDEPENDENT TASKS  and  GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS  takes students beyond the hype, special effects, and trailers to look at visual literacy from several perspectives, offering DEEP LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES watching a series, documentary, film, or even video game.

ARTICLES RELATED TO INFORMATION LITERACY

6 Ways To Identify Fake News: A Complete Guide for Educators

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Top Research strategies for Students

5 Ways to Teach Critical Thinking in Media Literacy to Fight Fake News

a complete guide to teaching critical thinking and fake news to students

Teaching Information Literacy at Oxford

• Select one of the following:
• Research Skills
• Source Credibility
• Using Information Responsibly
• Engaging with Scholarship

Icons are from the Noun Project and under Creative Commons license  ( CCBY ) unless otherwise specified: Research   by Graphic Tigers,  final   by Sonja Grapemind, Creative Commons Data by Five by Five (public domain), and Conversation by Paulina Szatanik.

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• Last Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:35 PM
• URL: https://guides.libraries.emory.edu/oxford/teaching-information-literacy

The Concept and Importance of Information Literacy Essay

Importance of information literacy, where is information literacy needed, components of information literacy.

Basically there are many definitions available for Information Literacy but as far as the most comprehensive and best definition is concerned, it can be defined as the whole set of skills and capabilities which are required in a person in order to recognize the possibilities from a variety of sources which are available to the person, archive them, categorize them, analyze them and then utilize them in ethical manner. The present era of 21 st Century has been proudly named as the Information Age, which has seen unforgettable and remarkable development because of the proper enhancement and exploration of information output and information resources. Since that time, the use of information has been expanded with enormous growth in the technology aspects (ALA, 1989).

Information literacy has a very strong relationship with the concepts of computer literacy and library literacy. In fact, Information Literacy is far much better than these concepts because it stands ahead, gives the ability to think outside the box and not only gives the access to the knowledge but also the skills how to use the information in ethical manner.

(ala.org) Information literacy is of great importance for every well being in the world. There are several examples of opportunities available around us which are neglected or regretfully missed by people who are not aware of the golden chances normally or even misguided by unaware people. These opportunities could be related to education, cultural, professional, business, corporate or normal in nature but for everyone, it is important in real life. Proper use of information literacy helps people is identifying their skills and the opportunities present around them.

Information literacy can be exchanged with people and can increase their know-how on every field. Information provided to people through schools, broadcasting systems, and print news media enables people to have multiple opinions and opportunities regarding every matter they are concerned with in their daily life. Previously, people used to obey their “expert” opinions, but with the help of information literacy, people are free to seek the information they required and make their own decisions.

The main concept of Information Literacy is far beyond the way it seems. When the question arises that who needs Information Literacy? Then the answer is obvious than its question. The answer is Information Literacy is required for everybody. Every human being either a student, common man, teacher, working professional, businessman, politician, or any other person who wants to live his personal life. Information Literacy is the need for every human. It improves the overall quality and standard of our lives (Andretta, 2008, p152).

(ala.org) The overall cycle of Information Literacy can be understood in six different stages. These stages are listed as under:

• Understanding the scenario by researching basic questions.
• Identifying the available sources of information.
• Recognizing and analyzing the found resources.
• Organizing and processing the information found.
• Presenting the information to the appropriate spectators.
• Doing critical evaluation of the whole work.

After the overall evaluation and study of Information literacy, we have come across a point where we know where the world is standing right now having all the information found since the old era till this advanced information age. We have many concepts of computer literacy, cultural literacy, global literacy, civic literacy and library literacy. But the common point on which everybody agrees and understands is that the most common goal of life is to live a free life where people could judge what’s going around them, evaluate the situations and make their own decisions to live a healthy and happy life.

American Library Association (ALA), 1989, Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report ; Washington, D.C.

Association of College Research Libraries, 2000, Information literacy competency standards for higher education . Web.

Susie Andretta, 2008, Promoting reflective information literacy practice through Facilitating Information Literacy Education (FILE), health information & Libraries Journal from EBSCOHost Research Database, Vol. 25 Issue 2, p150-153.

• Visual Literacy: Definition and Impact
• Defining Literacy Concept
• Literacy and Numeracy Across the Curriculum
• Institution of Family Analysis
• Information Acquisition Strategies
• What Are the Benefits of Good Manners?
• Sampling and Survey Design Pre 2001
• Corporate Social Responsibility: Ethical and Legal Issues
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, October 30). The Concept and Importance of Information Literacy. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-concept-and-importance-of-information-literacy/

"The Concept and Importance of Information Literacy." IvyPanda , 30 Oct. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/the-concept-and-importance-of-information-literacy/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'The Concept and Importance of Information Literacy'. 30 October.

IvyPanda . 2021. "The Concept and Importance of Information Literacy." October 30, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-concept-and-importance-of-information-literacy/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Concept and Importance of Information Literacy." October 30, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-concept-and-importance-of-information-literacy/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Concept and Importance of Information Literacy." October 30, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-concept-and-importance-of-information-literacy/.

Principled Uncertainty: Why Learning to Ask Good Questions Matters More than Finding Answers

The way we introduce college students to research fails to encourage the ethical practice of open-ended curiosity so desperately needed in today’s complex information environment.

Drawing from a decade of Project Information Literacy ’s rigorous research studies , one surprising finding is especially concerning: A large majority of recent graduates from top U.S. universities and colleges reported that they felt that college failed to prepare them to ask questions of their own. Clearly, something important is missing.

What will it take for students to develop the creativity and confident curiosity needed to pose questions in a world that doesn’t always have ready-made and clear-cut answers, especially as opportunists rush to flood spaces of uncertainty with torrents of misinformation and ill-informed conjecture?

The past two years have provided a dramatic illustration of why this learning gap matters more than ever. As the Covid-19 pandemic began to spread across the globe, people turned for guidance to familiar information systems — news organizations, public officials, and the search and sharing platforms that have become invisibly embedded in our everyday lives. But in those early weeks as a frightening novel virus flooded the news, nobody — not even experienced public health officials or expert virologists — knew how it spread, what its long-term clinical effects would be, or what we should do to stay safe and well.

We collectively faced a deadly threat, exacerbated by a worrying lack of solid information. The public tuned into daily news conferences and doomscrolled their Covid-cluttered newsfeeds, hungry for the latest advice. Deep anxiety was fed by an overload of information , a politically divided response to the emergency, and inaccurate facts and figures from usually trustworthy sources. Almost two years later, as a new variant drives up case numbers, we face new sets of unanswered questions : Will a booster shot keep me safe? Will Omicron overwhelm hospitals? Will life ever return to normal?

While such high levels of anxious uncertainty are rarely experienced by entire populations simultaneously, this moment highlights a critical need: Coping with our information landscape requires that we are comfortable with what we cannot know for sure, able to approach uncertainty with curiosity, and have a toolkit of ethical practices for exploration.

What can we do as educators to encourage the ethical practice of curiosity , not just for times of uncertainty but as an everyday habit? What are we doing that inhibits curiosity? How can we pair curiosity with robust ethical practices that lead to creating, evaluating, and sharing information with integrity? And, in an already deeply divided society with a fractured media landscape, how can we be prepared for the ways these ambiguous moments of not knowing can be weaponized to cause confusion and undermine democracy itself?

No Question About It

The way we learn how to explore uncertainties has a profound impact on how we practice curiosity because these two things are deeply and richly interconnected. College instructors are likely to say they assign inquiry to encourage creativity and original thought. In practice many research assignments are designed primarily to expose students to preexisting scholarship and to promote familiarity with library resources and academic writing conventions. Writing and research instruction is often focused on preparation to be successful as students without connecting those skills to what happens beyond the classroom.

In the U.S. , writing courses taken in the first year of an undergraduate education, most typically taught through English departments, are the primary platform for information literacy instruction; some 85 percent of librarians involved in information literacy instruction focus their efforts on the first year, according to a national survey . Beyond the first year, instruction about information is less systematic and tends to focus on disciplinary discourse conventions and the specialized resources used in the field.

The information literacy component of a first year writing course is anchored in a task that asks students to write a thesis-driven essay drawing on sources they choose themselves. The first-year “research paper” as a genre and a pedagogy has been roundly criticized by writing instructors since as early as the 1980s , and yet, it remains a standard feature of the vast majority of these writing courses: a recent study found 97 percent of composition courses taught at public comprehensive universities include a research paper.

This research task introduces first year college students to their library’s resources and to academic forms of expression, including the proper use of sources and their formal documentation. Students tend to see this exercise as a test of their ability to find and quote from a required number of sources while avoiding plagiarism. Because the authority located in sources is paramount, students may retreat from writing about original questions that can’t be clearly answered in the materials they find. This early misstep sets up a faulty understanding of what “research” means in an academic sense and how it engages with the unknown.

A majority of these writing assignments ask students to write about sources in the form of an argument . (In fact, a popular textbook for composition courses, first published in 1988 and now in its ninth edition, is titled Everything’s an Argument .) While the word ‘argument’ has formal meaning in the study of rhetoric, in the vernacular it carries the connotation of getting the upper hand in a disagreement through persuasion.

Students have long gravitated to manageable and familiar topics like gun control and capital punishment that take a distinct pro/con shape. Sources are not consulted to learn more about a question, but rather to be mined for evidence to support claims. Students new to the university are largely unfamiliar with the academic understanding of argument, but they have plenty of experience with the gladiatorial version performed on talk shows, YouTube videos, in social media, and through the blurring of news reporting, opinion, and entertainment in mainstream media.

If winning an argument is the goal, and evidence is material used to support your side, there isn’t much need for ethical practice — apart from evading plagiarism penalties. More importantly, there also isn’t space for questions that don’t have ready answers. No wonder so few college graduates reported they’d learned to ask questions of their own.

Can You Put That in the Form of a Question?

This confusion is reflected in that troubling finding in the 2016 Lifelong Learning study, Staying Smart: How College Students Continue to Learn Once They Complete College . The national survey of 1,651 recent graduates found that, while most respondents felt college had helped them learn how to find, evaluate, and analyze information, only a minority, less than a third, believed their education had prepared them to formulate questions of their own, an essential step for engaging in authentic inquiry. (Graduates who majored in physical and life sciences and students who attended liberal arts colleges were somewhat more likely to feel their education promoted questioning, but even in these categories a majority did not.)

Why did so many college graduates feel their education did so little to help them raise their own questions? Some have argued that asking questions is a skill that must be taught and practiced. While most instructors would claim they encourage questioning, the scope of what sort of questions can be raised in a classroom situation is usually conscribed by specific curricular goals set by the teacher and disciplinary culture. In these situations, students often assume the instructor already knows the answer. As a result, learning to ask questions becomes a Socratic form of enculturation to sociology or history — these are the kinds of questions we talk about here — rather than a transferable habit that can be used in novel settings.

An earlier PIL study provides additional context. In interviews, employers in a range of industries reported that recent graduates lacked a tolerance for ambiguity and the ability to make use of the iterative process of letting new questions flow out of an initial question, rather than hurrying to find an answer. In the same study, recent grads contrasted their school experiences with the challenges of the workplace, where tasks were not accompanied by a structured set of guidelines and clear markers of completion. As one graduate put it, “my job is literally about finding information that does not exist” (p. 16).

The implication is that this employee’s previous research experiences, constrained by the academic calendar and the specific criteria of an assignment, abounded in finding and analyzing information produced by others, but not in finding a novel route for investigation with an unpredictable endpoint. Yet employers were more interested in their bright new hires working collaboratively to solve complex problems than in coming up with definitive answers.

Ask the Algorithm

Another factor may be at work, too: Though college students use scholarly sources found in library databases as well as the web to complete research assignments, the rise of Google Search as a feature of our daily lives may have conditioned us to think that the point of asking a question is to find answers as efficiently as possible rather than to dig into issues and explore their complexity. In its early years, the search engine’s lack of intrusive advertising, comparatively effective page rank system for surfacing relevant links, and vast scale, announced by the metric of retrieved links that appeared prominently above results, promised clarity and abundance.

But with the 2014 addition of knowledge cards — snippets of information, most often drawn from Wikipedia — abundance took a back seat to efficiency. You no longer had to browse through links on the front page to get an answer. By 2017 the answer could be read aloud to you in a helpful woman’s voice, thanks to Siri, Alexa, or Google’s own Home virtual assistant.

Google Search is not only ubiquitous , the concept of search has supplanted the process of organizing the information in our emails and documents into self-chosen categories. We increasingly surrender the organization of meaning to a corporation and its preferred invisible processes. And though the answers to a web search will vary widely depending on the keywords you use and are, in turn, manipulated by people who use specific keywords to push their pages higher into the results, the display of links appears to be entirely neutral, unbiased, just the facts. In a sense, the distinction between Google, the platform, and the documents it retrieves are dissolved; the snippets of documents are severed from their context . Search becomes a highly efficient consumer experience.

This conception of search treats Google as a convenient function you use on a daily basis to find a bus schedule, an address, or to learn about current events. Its results list does little to distinguish between easily ascertained facts and complex or controversial topics. It welcomes all kinds of questions and treats them in essentially the same way. Functions once available , such as the “advanced search” option that prompted users to create more targeted searches, were removed by the company, and sophisticated search parameters were no longer supported. Inquiry, rather than being open-ended, is transformed into an act of selecting the answer you want based on an algorithmically selected set of options .

In response to Google’s cultural dominance, and to web design trends that position searchers as consumers, library websites have largely adopted the simple “one search box” design to hide the messiness of research. This privileging of simplicity and efficiency implies that if your search doesn’t lead to satisfying results quickly, you must be doing it wrong. In reality, authentic and open-ended research is messy and complex, as is the media landscape that Google indexes.

The Weaponization of Uncertainty

Given the way Google and other algorithmic information systems have changed the way we encounter and seek information, all in the service of displaying targeted advertising, it is unsurprising that deciding what information to believe has become a matter of consumer choice. Those who want to influence beliefs can use these advertising platforms and their affordances to shape public opinion , selling ideas just as effectively as selling a pair of shoes. But it’s not only a matter of direct persuasion. Our psychological responses to uncertainty can also play into the acceptance and spread of dubious information.

Uncertainty can cause so much cognitive and emotional discomfort that people seek explanations that provide structure and someone to blame. Conspiracy theories provide epistemic coherence, a sense of control due to being in the know, and the social affirmation of belonging to a group that is under attack by sinister forces but is working together to fight back. It may be entertaining because it provides a dramatic narrative with heroes and villains. Ironically though, it may also heighten anxiety .

Belief in one or more conspiracy theories is widespread, with half of Americans believing at least one of them according to a 2014 study. The authors didn’t tie this proclivity to a particular political alignment so much as to the disposition to believe malevolent hidden forces shape events, that mainstream institutions are involved in a cover-up, and that world events can be understood as a Manichean struggle between good and evil. (Some conspiracy theories appeal to people across the political spectrum, but when a conspiracy theory is tied to public policy, uptake is stronger among Republicans .)

In any event, conspiracy theories offer an explanation of ambiguous or unexplained phenomena, and so can be used as a vehicle for division in times of uncertainty. From the early days of the pandemic, conspiracy theories have been used to assign blame, promote distrust of authorities, and build in-group solidarity. And they have the advantage of moving faster than science , as alternative narratives that promise definitive information are propagated widely while scientists are still in the lab, investigating new variants.

Uncertainty can also be weaponized to challenge the consensus of experts or generally-held beliefs, undermining trust without having to provide an alternative narrative. Anyone who has interacted on social media has encountered this at some point when an antagonist undermines a position with the seemingly anodyne phrase “just asking questions.” This “sealioning” approach has been institutionalized by RT , the Russian state propaganda network, which adopted the slogan “question more.”

It has also been brilliantly exploited to defend tobacco companies from scientific consensus that smoking causes cancer and to protect the fossil fuel industry from regulation to slow climate change. Rather than provide a coherent alternative, this strategy seeks to undermine certainty and introduce doubt about matters that are settled by consensus. Launching election “audits” and claiming stricter voting laws are needed to soothe widespread doubt about the 2020 presidential election (after systematically sowing and nurturing doubt) are current examples of this strategy.

A third way in which uncertainty is exploited is through concealing serious intent behind raunchy playfulness. Though anthropologist Gabriella Coleman and media studies scholars Whitney Phillips and Ryan Millner have traced this kind of intentional ambivalence to folklore and the figure of the trickster, it has blossomed online, from its roots in the anything-goes image boards of 4chan and 8chan to insurgent political movements and to mainstream political communication. A recent example of this exploit roiled the U.S. legislature when a Republican representative Paul Gosar adapted a meme based on the anime series Attack on Titan to show him and members of his party slaying another member of congress and attacking the president. Though he was ultimately censured by the House, he was unrepentant and retweeted the meme, which he said was a “cartoon” intended to symbolize a policy dispute; others felt it clearly was coded speech intended to intimidate his opponents and encourage violence .

By utilizing popular culture references and outrageous excess, messages can be dismissed and reactions disarmed by framing antagonists as humorless and out of touch, unable to take a joke. These messages also perform the work of social bonding — those who are in on the joke (such as embracing the phrase “ let’s go Brandon ” arising from a sportscaster misunderstanding an obscenity aimed at the president) circulate it widely to signal their group identity.

Though many writing instructors and librarians have tried to address this complicated media landscape with lessons on disinformation and “fake news,” the high-stakes writing assignments that are the focus of most college information literacy instruction do little to address how information works in this media landscape of deliberately fractured meaning — and fail to draw connections between ethical behavior in scholarly inquiry and information ethics in everyday life.

Curiosity devoid of integrity can lead questioners down a rabbit hole of disinformation. Developing the ability to ask meaningful questions in the face of uncertainty requires both a disposition toward open-ended curiosity and an understanding of the ethical practices that support inquiry with integrity. When information-seeking is cast as a matter of making personal choices or winning arguments, social responsibility can seem to be in conflict with self-interest (which, in late capitalism, has become the definition of “freedom”). That conflict is ripe for exploitation and in-group/out-group antagonism.

Individualism Versus Expertise

While political machinations have played a role in generating conflicting responses to the pandemic, there is still another factor at work. As Anita Sreedhar and Anand Gopal have pointed out, one reason widely different groups resist vaccines is tied to the ways the social safety net has been deliberately unraveled over the past 40 years, reducing the state’s role in collective wellbeing. If one’s health and welfare are presumed to be the result of one’s life choices, if responsibility is shouldered alone, people have little reason to believe the government suddenly has their interests at heart.

If higher education is seen as a luxury good for those privileged enough to afford it, those left out are unlikely to feel its experts take their needs seriously. If healthcare is unaffordable, medical professionals must be in it for the money. When we are all suddenly faced with life-and-death decisions at a global scale after decades of being told “you’re on your own,” asking people to trust the experts will not work.

Likewise, our current predicament calls for a different approach to information literacy. Telling students to trust sources based on the credentials of the author and the prestige of a publication turns information seeking into an individual consumer choice reliant on an academic branding scheme. Despite this all-too-common practice in classrooms, academic credentialing can mislead us.

In a notorious example, men who worked with tobacco companies and fossil fuel interests to undermine the public’s understanding of cancer risks and climate change were highly-credentialed scientists, but they were motivated by political beliefs to weigh in on areas of science outside their area of expertise. They used their “brand” to hoodwink legislators and the general public. And it worked. We can’t understand information purely in terms of personal responsibility and savvy consumerism, and we shouldn’t teach it that way.

One of the challenges faced by people in traditional information-seeking social institutions (journalism, science, academia) is that they are bound by their Enlightenment-influenced training to attempt to erase themselves in the pursuit of objectivity. It depersonalizes knowledge-creation, as if it is an inert substance produced by machines at an information factory. “Trust the science” was a phrase often used by those who supported public health mandates, but that simplistic appeal replaces uncertainty with uncritical trust in a remote group of people doing things that ordinary people should not question. (It calls to mind Hillaire Belloc’s satirical verse which describes a lifeform too small to be seen and concludes “Oh let us never, never doubt what nobody is sure about.”)

In contrast, internet influencers and political talkshow hosts cultivate parasocial relationships with their audience that blend the personal and the political and appear relatively unrehearsed, genuine, and authentic compared to institutions that they fault for being all part of a snobbish liberal elite . Both positions — science is good; science is corrupt — are overly simplistic and ignore the human processes and self-regulation that lead to legitimate expertise.

Knowledge is a social project. It’s a collective effort to understand the unknown by continually probing the edges of what we believe to be true, weighing new evidence to decide whether it adds to our understanding or if it somehow challenges what we thought we knew. While every academic discipline has its own methods and practices, there are some underlying commonalities that apply across the board — and they can be learned , even by first-year college students.

Pursuing knowledge with integrity involves caring for the advancement of understanding, not personal or in-group benefit. This pursuit should strive for fairness and avoid adopting or rejecting evidence merely to strengthen an argument. It should ask questions that are open-ended rather than start an inquiry with a predetermined goal in mind. It should seek out a diversity of approaches and voices without succumbing to simple binaries that give fringe or self-serving ideas equal time. It should minimize the risk of an investigator influencing the outcome of research; though objectivity is a chimera , care must be taken to step back from one’s perspective to see a broader picture. Seek the truth, not the win.

These are principles students can learn and practice, but it means turning away from writing assignments that frame success as using rhetorical skill and well-branded source material to compose winning arguments. It means helping students focus on finding out rather than finding a specified number of sources. It means redirecting our discussion of how information works from a narrow focus on rehearsing academic discourse practices to seeing it as an ongoing social activity in which one’s curiosity and integrity are essential. It means learning how to craft good questions rather than locating and describing other people’s answers to bolster a preconceived thesis.

Werner Heisenberg famously discovered the “uncertainty principle”: The laws of cause and effect found in classical physics don’t adhere in the quantum realm, where it’s impossible to measure both the position and trajectory of a photon with certainty. The best you can manage is probabilities. In a sense, this is true of knowledge in general. Rather than being a body of facts, knowledge is a collective effort of trial and error guided by a common set of methods and ethical standards. As science writer, Ed Yong, puts it , it’s “a slow, erratic stumble toward ever less uncertainty.” This doesn’t mean we can’t act until we have complete knowledge. As Zeynep Tufekci pointed out , when the new and worrying Omicron variant was identified we knew next to nothing about it, but that didn’t matter; we already knew what we should do immediately to protect public health.

The job of information literacy is to help students embrace their role in the collective effort of stumbling toward understanding, to have the confidence to ask questions that may not have easy answers, and to have ready to hand the ethical tools to inquire with integrity.

What Could We Do Differently?

It may be that today’s students, used to a certain kind of learning that provides clear roadmaps and defined boundaries, find open-ended inquiry disorienting. Early adults growing up under the oppression of an educational testing regime have had little practice in diving deeply into making assessments of what can be known and what their role in knowing is, at least in an academic setting. Student development theories, including Perry ’s scheme of moral and intellectual development, King & Kitchener ’s concept of reflective judgment, Belenky et al.’s Women’s Ways of Knowing , and Baxter Magolda ’s theory of self-authorship, posit that students develop from believing knowledge is certain and external to them to a more nuanced approach toward accepting complexity and understanding their own role in making meaning.

Though the 2016 Framework for Information Literacy highlights the concept that authority is constructed and contextual, many students’ school experiences will have emphasized that authority lies in the teacher and the textbook. If their previous school experience has primarily focused on finding correct answers, they may have had little incentive to treat knowledge in the classroom as something that is negotiated, or that it is a creative process they are allowed to participate in. That sense of permission is especially tricky for new undergraduates trying to cross the bridge from high school into college, faced with reading, composing, and discussing ideas in the context of an unfamiliar academic culture where the stakes are higher.

That said, it may be that students are further along in their ability to weigh claims and make critical judgments than it appears. To tap into what students already know about negotiating meaning, we can start with students’ lived experiences . Thanks to their social media engagement, they often have a sophisticated understanding of how rhetorical moves and platform infrastructures are shaped to influence audiences. They may well have developed their own sense of what meaning-making behavior online is ethical or not.

Before asking them to decode an academic library’s systems and compose texts that mimic unfamiliar academic discourse practices, have them discuss how they create, share, and process information in their own lives and how they make decisions about the truth-value of the things they encounter or seek in everyday life. After surfacing their own implicit beliefs about what makes for a good ethical practice in online communication, they can compare those approaches to meaning-making in academic work and, with guidance, see how much they already know that will help them in this strange new world.

Long before asking students to choose a topic to research, give them practice asking questions — not the kind of questioning that is limited to critiquing someone else’s ideas, looking for faults, but genuinely curious and open-ended questions. Why is this? Where did it come from? How is it connected to other things? What are the implications? This practice of intellectual curiosity, named as a disposition in the Framework , could start with course readings or events on campus or in the world, and could take the form of crowd-sourced curiosity, building on one another’s insights, moving out from a source rather than breaking it down into small pieces. This models curiosity as community-based questioning and promotes a sense that scholarship is a conversation.

Once ready to embark on a project, think about asking students to find out rather than find sources . That changes the role of information sources and encourages making sense of multiple texts rather than mining individual sources for usable quotes. As an example, one instructor cultivated curiosity about a place in an urban park, the site of a late 19th century World’s Fair. Rather than begin by explaining how to use the library or how to make sure sources were acceptable (and how many were required), he focused on helping them generate questions. Students then figured out on their own how to find out what they could and shared what they found, making connections and drawing on one another’s ideas. This process tapped into their existing knowledge about how to find information (rather than implying their usual methods were deficient) and made the process of understanding something unfamiliar social by pooling their discoveries and insights. Moreover, it shifted the locus of authority from other people’s writing to their own discoveries and interpretations. The writing task that followed was to add material and documentation to an existing Wikipedia page about the World’s Fair rather than each student writing a separate argument based on what they found with only the instructor as an audience.

As students begin to find and weigh evidence, rethink how source evaluation is discussed . Alaina Bull, Margy McMillan, and Alison Head argue that we should deemphasize the consumerist position of the individual information seeker making a selection among options and instead help students consider the ways information is networked and, in many cases, algorithmically turbocharged to find an audience.

This change in thinking allows us to move from reactive evaluation, that is , “Here is what I found, what do I think of it?” to proactive evaluation, “Because I understand where this information came from and why I’m seeing it, I can trust it for this kind of information, and for this purpose.”

This approach gives students a more creative role to play in situating themselves as participants in networks that make meaning together, rather than seeing themselves as individuals acquiring a set of prefab materials to assemble into a product, as if building a piece of Ikea furniture, anxiously consulting a confusing set of instructions with the expectation that they mustn’t add any pieces of their own.

For librarians who work with first year students but don’t teach credit-bearing courses of their own, reimagining the ways information literacy is taught may seem impossible if they have to work within the constraints of an assignment someone else created and are simply asked to explain how to find and select sources in an academic library. Consider ways to host conversations with those instructors, open-ended and curious discussions about what students need and what barriers might inhibit assignment design that promotes curiosity.

In most cases, librarians and writing instructors have similar goals and face common challenges . They are teaching at the service of others. They have only so much time to develop complex skills and insights in students who may feel it’s all a waste of time. Those who do this work are often taken for granted and given little power or respect, even though both communities of practice, librarianship and writing instruction, have deep wells of professional expertise cultivated through academic conferences and extensive bodies of literature. Having the opportunity to spend time in conversation to share what we know and what we hope to accomplish would produce better learning opportunities for students and instructors alike.

An approach to uncertainty grounded in curiosity invites students to claim their own authority as they formulate their understanding. If we support them when they venture into the unknown and give them the tools to move forward with integrity, they will be able to explore territories their teachers haven’t already mapped.

Redesigning instruction to equip students to ask better questions must itself start with good questions. What can we do to encourage genuine curiosity? What classroom activities could provide students with experience in framing questions? What do students already know, and how can we give them permission to bring themselves into the process of making meaning as a social act? How can we talk about the ethics of good inquiry? How may assumptions students have absorbed through schooling that inhibit their creativity and curiosity be overcome? How can we address students’ anxieties and insecurities as we connect this scaffolding for inquiry not just for college, but in the world?

In the end, there’s one simple question we must ask ourselves: How can we do better? Answers may be elusive, but we need to make a start.

Read the author’s reflections on what inspired this essay Discussion questions for reading groups

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• Virginia M.Tucker, and Sylvia L. Edwards (December, 2021), “Search evolution for ease and speed: A call to action for what’s been lost,” Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 53 (4), 668—85. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620980827 ; https://eprints.qut.edu.au/208176/1/SearchEvolution_2021_acceptedversion.pdf
• Alison J. Head, Barbara Fister, and Margy MacMillan (January 15, 2020), Information literacy in the age of algorithms , Project Information Literacy Research Institute, https://projectinfolit.org/publications/algorithm-study
• Maura Seale, Alison Hicks, and Karen P. Nicholson (2022), "Toward a critical turn in library UX," College & Research Libraries 83 (1), 6-24, https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.83.1.6
• Matthew Reidsma (2019), Masked by trust: Bias in library discovery , Library Juice Press, https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/library_books/30/
• Brian Friedberg and Joan Donovan (December 11, 2019), The platform is the problem , The Centre for International Governance Innovation, https://www.cigionline.org/articles/platform-problem/
• Karen M. Douglas, Robbie M. Sutton, and Aleksandra Cichocka, (2017), "The psychology of conspiracy theories," Current Directions in Psychological Science 26 (6), 538-542, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0963721417718261
• Emma Young (August 20, 2021), “Conspiracy theories are more ‘entertaining’ than the truth — And this helps explain why people believe them,” Research Digest , The British Psychological Society, https://digest.bps.org.uk/2021/08/20/conspiracy-theories-are-more-entertaining-than-the-truth-and-this-helps-explain-why-people-believe-them/
• Talia Leibovitz, Amanda L. Shamblaw, Rachel Rumas, and Michael W. Best (2021), "COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: Relations with anxiety, quality of life, and schemas," Personality and Individual Differences 175 , 110704, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110704
• J. Eric Oliver, and Thomas J. Wood (2014), "Conspiracy theories and the paranoid style(s) of mass opinion," American Journal of Political Science 58 (4), 952-966, https://www.jstor.org/stable/24363536
• Irfan Ullah, Kiran Shafiq Khan, Muhammad Junaid Tahir, Ali Ahmed, and Harapan Harapan (2021), "Myths and conspiracy theories on vaccines and COVID-19: Potential effect on global vaccine refusals," Vacunas 22 (2), 93-97, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacun.2021.01.001
• Gerrit De Vynck (December 10, 2021), “As scientists race to understand the omicron variant, misinformation has already sprinted ahead,” The Washington Post , https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/12/10/omicron-misinformation/
• Simon van Zuylen-Wood (May 4, 2017), “At RT, news breaks you,” Bloomberg Businessweek , https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2017-rt-media/
• Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway (2011), Merchants of doubt: How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming , Bloomsbury, https://www.worldcat.org/title/merchants-of-doubt-how-a-handful-of-scientists-obscured-the-truth-on-issues-from-tobacco-smoke-to-global-warming/oclc/1028455612
• Anthony Essaye and Ralph Neas (December 1, 2021), “The first anniversary of Donald Trump’s big lie: Still a lie, but not going away,” The Century Foundation, https://tcf.org/content/commentary/first-anniversary-donald-trumps-big-lie-still-lie-not-going-away/
• Gabriella Coleman (2014), Hacker, hoaxer, whistleblower, spy: The many faces of Anonymous , Verso, https://www.worldcat.org/title/hacker-hoaxer-whistleblower-spy-the-many-faces-of-anonymous/oclc/1003247664
• Whitney Phillips and Ryan M. Milner (2018), The ambivalent Internet: Mischief, oddity, and antagonism online , John Wiley & Sons, https://www.worldcat.org/title/the-ambivalent-internet-mischief-oddity-and-antagonism-online/oclc/1113872564
• Adam Downer (November 18, 2021), “Rep. Paul Gosar censured for posting anime cringe,” Know Your Meme News , https://news.knowyourmeme.com/news/rep-paul-gosar-censured-for-posting-anime-cringe
• Catie Edmondson (November 21, 2021), “The politics of menace,” The New York Times , https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/22/briefing/paul-gosar-censure-violence.html
• Colleen Long (October 30, 2021), “How ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ became code for insulting Joe Biden,” AP News , https://apnews.com/article/lets-go-brandon-what-does-it-mean-republicans-joe-biden-ab13db212067928455a3dba07756a160
• Anita Sreedhar and Anand Gopal (December 3, 2021), “Behind low vaccination rates lurks a more profound social weakness,” The New York Times , https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/03/opinion/vaccine-hesitancy-covid.html
• Steve Stecklow and Andrew MacAskill (March 18, 2021), “The ex-Pfizer scientist who became an anti-vax hero,” Reuters , https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-coronavirus-vaccines-skeptic/
• Oreskes and Conway, Merchants of doubt , op. cit.
• Hillaire Belloc [1897], “The microbe,” in More beasts (for worse children) , https://archive.org/details/morebeastsforwor00belluoft/page/n47/mode/2up
• Anthony Nadler, Doron Taussig, Natacha Yazbeck, and Andrea Wenzel (December 7, 2021), “Unmasking polarization: How conservatives make sense of Covid19 coverage,” Tow Center Reports , https://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/polarization-covid-conservative.php
• Jennifer Clary-Lemon, Derek Mueller, and Kate Pantelides (2022), “Making research ethical,” Try this: Research methods for writers , The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado, https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/books/try/chapter2.pdf
• Paul Rosenberg (July 31, 2021), “‘Both sides’ journalism isn't even journalism — at this point, it's Republican propaganda,” Salon , https://www.salon.com/2021/07/31/both-sides-journalism-isnt-even-journalism--at-this-point-its-republican-propaganda/
• Jay Rosen (November 10, 2010), “The view from nowhere: Questions and answers,” PressThink , https://pressthink.org/2010/11/the-view-from-nowhere-questions-and-answers/
• Wendy Holliday and Jim Rogers (2013), "Talking about information literacy: The mediating role of discourse in a college writing classroom," portal: Libraries and the Academy 13 (30), 257-271, https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1203&context=lpsc_facpub
• Mike Caulfield (December 14, 2021), “Information literacy for mortals,” PIL Provocation Series 1 (5), Project Information Literacy Research Institute, https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/essays/information-literacy-for-mortals.html
• Ed Yong (April 29, 2020), “Why the coronavirus is so confusing,” The Atlantic , https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/pandemic-confusing-uncertainty/610819/
• Zeynep Tufekci (November 8, 2021), “Omicron Is coming. The U.S. must act now,” The New York Times , https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/28/opinion/covid-omicron-travel-ban-testing.html
• William G. Perry Jr. (1999), Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme , Jossey-Bass, 1999, https://www.worldcat.org/title/forms-of-intellectual-and-ethical-development-in-the-college-years-a-scheme/oclc/318167419
• Patricia M. King and Karen Strohm Kitchener (1994), Developing reflective judgment: Understanding and promoting intellectual growth and critical thinking in adolescents and adults , Jossey-Bass, https://www.worldcat.org/title/developing-reflective-judgment-understanding-and-promoting-intellectual-growth-and-critical-thinking-in-adolescents-and-adults/oclc/456509265
• Mary Field Belenky, Blythe M. Clinchy, Nancy Rule Goldberger, and Jill Mattuck Tarule (1986), Women's ways of knowing: The development of self, voice, and mind , Basic Books, https://www.worldcat.org/title/womens-ways-of-knowing-the-development-of-self-voice-and-mind/oclc/959370508
• Marcia B. Baxter Magolda (1999), Creating contexts for learning and self-authorship: Constructive-developmental pedagogy , Vanderbilt University Press, https://www.worldcat.org/title/creating-contexts-for-learning-and-self-authorship-constructive-developmental-pedagogy/oclc/41326876
• Fabian Lang, Yvonne Kammerer, Kathleen Stürmer, and Peter Gerjets (2021), “Investigating professed and enacted epistemic beliefs about the uncertainty of scientific knowledge when students evaluate scientific controversies,” European Journal of Psychology of Education 36 (1), 125-146, https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10212-020-00471-8.pdf
• The Association of College and Research Libraries (January 11, 2016), Framework for information literacy for higher education , http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework
• Caulfield (2021), “Information literacy for mortals,” op. cit.
• Dietering and Rempel (2017), “Sparking curiosity,” op. cit.
• ACRL (2016), Framework for information literacy , op. cit.
• Holliday and Rogers (2013), “Talking about information literacy,” op. cit.
• Barbara Fister (October 6, 2015), Thursday in the park with students, in Babel Fish Bouillabaisse II , https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/babelfish/chapter/thursday-in-the-park-with-students/
• Bull, MacMillan, and Head (2021), “Dismantling the evaluation framework,” op. cit.
• Jaena Alabi, James C. W. Truman, Bridget Farrell, and Jennifer Price Mahoney (2020), "Embrace the messiness: Libraries, writing centers, and encouraging research as inquiry across the curriculum," in Lesley Erin Bartlett, Sandra L. Tarabochia, Andrea R. Olinger, and Margaret J. Marshall (Eds.), Diverse approaches to teaching, learning, and writing across the curriculum: IWAC at 25 , The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado, 209-223, https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/books/iwac2018/chapter12.pdf

• How it works

What is Information Literacy – A Complete Student Guide with Examples

Published by Olive Robin at October 17th, 2023 , Revised On October 17, 2023

Information literacy is more than just the ability to find information; it encompasses the skills to recognise when information is needed and the competence to locate, evaluate, use, and ethically disseminate it. Part of this skill includes understanding paraphrasing in sources and knowing how to integrate sources seamlessly into one’s work.

It is about discerning between reliable and dubious sources, understanding context, and using information to create knowledge and make informed decisions.

Importance of Information Literacy in the Digital Age

In today’s digital age, we are bombarded with vast amounts of information at an unprecedented rate. From the articles we read online and the news we consume to the social media posts we encounter daily, there’s a constant flow of information. This massive influx makes the need for information literacy paramount for several reasons:

Combating Misinformation

With the surge of the internet, misinformation, fake news, and biased content have become rampant. Information literacy skills ensure that individuals can discern credible sources from unreliable ones, thus preventing the spread of falsehoods.

Empowering Decision-Making

Whether it is making health decisions based on an online article, purchasing a product after reading reviews, or forming opinions on socio-political matters, information literacy ensures decisions are grounded in well-researched and credible facts.

Nurturing Lifelong Learning

In an ever-evolving digital landscape, information literacy fosters a sense of curiosity, encouraging individuals to seek out reliable information, continually expand their knowledge base, and adapt to the changing world.

Ethical Consumption and Sharing

Information literacy is not just about consumption; it’s also about dissemination. Being information literate means sharing and using information ethically, respecting copyrights, and acknowledging original sources.

Staying Safe Online

With the rise of digital scams, phishing attempts, and misleading websites, information literacy can act as a first line of defence, helping individuals recognise suspicious sources and protect themselves from potential harm.

History and Evolution of Information Data and Media Literacies

Here is how information literacy evolved.

Pre-Digital Era Information Management

Long before the digital era, information was primarily disseminated through oral traditions, manuscripts, and later, printed material. The concept of information literacy, although not named as such, existed in various forms:

Libraries And Cataloguing

With the creation of libraries, such as the famous Library of Alexandria, there was a need to organise and catalogue vast amounts of knowledge. Librarians became gatekeepers and guides, assisting scholars and the public in pursuing knowledge.

The Printing Press

Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in the 15th century democratised information access. As books became more accessible, so did the need to critically assess and discern their content quality.

Educational Evolution

As education became more widespread, curricula began emphasising critical thinking, source evaluation, and proper research methodologies, laying the groundwork for modern information literacy principles.

The Rise of the Internet and Digital Sources

The advent of the internet brought about a seismic shift in how information was accessed, shared, and understood:

Information Overload

Suddenly, vast amounts of information were available at the click of a button. While this opened up unparalleled access to knowledge, it also led to an overwhelming amount of data, making discernment crucial.

Digital Libraries and Databases

Libraries transitioned online, offering digital catalogues, e-books, and academic databases, requiring users to adapt and learn new search techniques.

Search Engines

Google, Yahoo, and others revolutionised information access. However, with their algorithmic operations, the challenge of understanding how results were ranked and the potential biases therein arose.

Modern-Day Importance in an Era of Fake News and Misinformation

In the current digital landscape, information literacy is not just a valuable skill; it is a necessity for responsible citizenship:

The Misinformation Epidemic

The speed at which information spreads online, combined with algorithms that prioritise sensational content, has made fake news a global concern. Information literacy provides the tools to assess and verify the authenticity of news and articles critically.

Social Media’s Role

Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have transformed into major news sources for many. With the rise of user-generated content, understanding biases, source credibility, and the potential for echo chambers becomes vital.

Critical Thinking in the Digital Age

With so much data at our fingertips, the ability to analyse, synthesise, and draw independent conclusions is paramount. Information literacy goes beyond just finding information — it is about understanding context implications and making informed judgments.

Educational Shifts

Institutions now emphasise digital literacy and information literacy as core competencies, preparing students not just for academia but for responsible digital citizenship.

Key Components of Information Literacy

Some of the key components of information literacy include the following. 

Recognising The Need for Information

Before diving into research or seeking answers, one must first identify the information gap that exists:

Understanding the Question

Whether it is a research question, a task at work, or personal curiosity, it is essential to clarify what you are seeking. This clarity aids in focused and effective research.

Gauging Current Knowledge

Reflect on what you already know about the topic, and identify the areas that require further exploration.

Identifying Sources of Information

With a clear understanding of what is needed, the next step involves knowing where to look:

Traditional Sources

These include books, journals, newspapers, and other printed materials.

Digital Databases

Online academic databases like JSTOR, PubMed, and Google Scholar offer a wealth of scholarly articles and publications.

Online Platforms

Websites, blogs, forums, and even social media can be valuable, depending on the topic, but require a keen eye for credibility.

Experts and Practitioners

Sometimes, the best information source is someone with expertise in the field of interest.

How to Evaluate the Credibility and Relevance of Sources

Not all sources are created equal. Source evaluation is paramount, and ensuring that the information you rely on is both credible and relevant is crucial:

Check the qualifications and background of the author or the publishing body.

Publication Date

Especially for rapidly evolving fields, the timeliness of the information is essential.

Citations and References

Quality sources usually refer to or are referenced by other credible works.

Bias and Objectivity

Every source has a perspective. Identifying potential biases helps evaluate the objectivity of the information.

Relevance to The Research Question

Ensure the information directly addresses your initial need or question.

Organising, Synthesising, and Using the Information Effectively

Once credible sources are identified, the next step is to derive meaningful insights:

Note-Taking

Highlighting key points, annotating, or using digital tools can help consolidate information.

Combining information from multiple sources provides a well-rounded understanding, allowing for fresh insights and connections.

Application

Use the gathered information to answer your research question, make decisions, or inform others. The true test of information literacy is not just gathering data, but effectively employing it.

Ethical Considerations and Information Use

Using information comes with a responsibility to respect intellectual property and avoid misrepresentation:

Citing Sources

Whenever borrowing ideas, quotes, or data, always provide appropriate citations. Source citing is crucial not only to acknowledge the original creators but also to add credibility to your work.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Using someone else’s work without proper credit is not only unethical but can also have legal implications.

Understanding Copyright

Different sources have different copyright restrictions. Always ensure you have the right to use, reproduce, or share the information, especially in public or commercial settings.

Sharing Responsibly

In this digital age, information spreads rapidly. Ensure that what you share is accurate, and when in doubt, verify before disseminating.

Real-Life Examples Of Information Literacy

To understand this better, here are a few real-life information literacy examples. 

Academic Research

Research forms the cornerstone of academic endeavours. Information literacy ensures that the research is thorough, credible, and based on strong evidence.

1. Determining the credibility of a research paper

• The journal in which it was published – is it peer-reviewed?
• The author’s qualifications and affiliations.
• Citations within the paper – are they from credible sources?
• Any potential biases or conflicts of interest mentioned in the paper.

2. Differentiating primary and secondary sources

• Primary sources might include letters from soldiers, official documents, or photographs from the era.
• Secondary sources would be books or articles written about World War II, often using primary sources as references.

Every Day Decision-Making

In our day-to-day lives, we constantly make choices based on the information we consume.

1. Fact-checking a news article

• Check the article’s source – is it a reputable news outlet?
• Searches for the same news on other trusted platforms to corroborate the story.
• Look for expert opinions or official statements within the article.

2. Deciphering product reviews and making informed purchases

• Reads reviews on multiple platforms, not just the product’s official page.
• Differentiates genuine user reviews from potential fake ones by observing patterns or checking review verification.
• Balances out overly positive and overly negative reviews to get a comprehensive understanding.

Digital And Social Media

The digital world, especially social media, presents both a boon and a bane regarding information consumption.

1. Recognizing biased content or sponsored posts

• Checks for tags or mentions indicating if the post is sponsored.
• Reads comments to see if other users had genuine experiences with the product.
• Look for more reviews online before making a decision.

2. Avoiding online scams and understanding online privacy

• Checks the sender’s email address for any discrepancies.
• Doesn’t provide personal or financial information without verifying the authenticity of the email.
• Stays informed about common online scams and always errs on the side of caution.

The research done by our experts have:

• Precision and Clarity
• Zero Plagiarism
• Authentic Sources

Information Literacy Skills for Students

A. research strategies and tools.

As students embark on academic journeys, harnessing effective research tools and strategies is essential to navigate the vast sea of information.

1. Using academic databases and search engines effectively

• She accesses academic databases like JSTOR, PubMed, and Google Scholar to find peer-reviewed articles.
• Uses advanced search features to narrow down results, filtering by date, relevance, or specific journals.
• Saves and organises her findings using reference management tools like Zotero or Mendeley.

2. Understanding how algorithms impact search results

• Search engines use personalised algorithms based on user data, browsing history, and location.
• Incognito or private browsing can provide more neutral results.
• Cross-checking information across multiple platforms ensures diverse perspectives.

B. Critical Thinking and Questioning

Students must cultivate an analytical mindset and embrace a curious spirit to distil valuable insights from information.

1. Asking the right questions

• Formulating specific questions: “How does a Mediterranean diet impact depression rates?”
• Considering potential biases in studies, such as funding sources or sample sizes.
• Being open to revising her questions as she learns more.

2. Looking for corroborative sources

• Searching for other studies or experts that confirm or refute the findings.
• Analysing the methodologies used in the study for potential flaws.
• Considering the broader consensus in the scientific community on the topic.

C. Communication in Information Literacy and Collaboration

Sharing knowledge and collaborating on projects amplifies the learning experience, but it also comes with the responsibility of ensuring accurate and respectful information exchange.

1. Sharing information responsibly

• Citing the original source and giving credit to the author.
• Summarising the article in her own words and avoiding plagiarism.
• Encouraging peers to read the original article and form their own opinions.

2. Collaborating with peers in group research

• They divide topics among themselves to avoid overlapping research.
• Share resources using digital tools like Google Drive or Dropbox.
• Regularly meet to discuss findings, ensuring everyone’s on the same page and synthesising information cohesively.

Tips for Enhancing Information Literacy

Navigating the modern world requires a high degree of information literacy. As the digital realm continues to grow and evolve, so too does the importance of cultivating and refining these skills. Here are some actionable tips to enhance information literacy:

Attend Workshops or Training Sessions

Workshops and training sessions, often organised by libraries, educational institutions, or professional organisations, offer hands-on learning experiences.

• Exposure to a structured curriculum tailored to improving research and information analysis skills.
• Opportunity to learn from experts in the field.
• Networking with like-minded individuals can lead to collaborative learning.

Implementation:

• Look for local workshops at community centres, libraries, or universities.
• Explore online platforms like Coursera, Udemy, or edX for courses on information literacy and related subjects.
• Attend conferences or seminars, which often feature sessions on the latest in research methodologies.

Stay Updated with Evolving Research Tools

Staying abreast of the latest research tools is paramount with the digital landscape continuously changing.

• Efficiently locate and access information.
• Stay competitive in academic or professional settings by using the latest tools.
• Ensure the quality and credibility of the information you gather.
• Subscribe to newsletters or blogs focusing on research methodologies or academic resources.
• Participate in webinars or online demos when new tools or platforms are released.
• Join online forums or groups where members share and discuss their favourite tools.

Engage in Regular Discussions and Debates

Engaging in discussions helps refine your understanding and challenges your preconceptions.

• Enhance critical thinking skills.
• Expose yourself to diverse viewpoints and sources.
• Develop the ability to defend your research or change your stance based on new information.
• Join debate clubs or discussion groups in your community or institution.
• Participate in online forums or social media groups that focus on topics of interest.
• Organise or attend regular meetups or discussion sessions with peers.

Be Proactive in Seeking Feedback on Research Techniques

Continuous improvement is a cornerstone of information literacy. Seeking feedback ensures your methods stay rigorous and effective.

• Identify areas of improvement in your research approach.
• Learn from the expertise and experience of others.
• Build confidence in your research abilities by validating your methods.
• After completing a research project, ask peers, mentors, or experts to review your methodology.
• Use platforms like ResearchGate to share your work and gather feedback from the global academic community.
• Reflect on feedback, and actively incorporate suggestions into future research endeavours.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is information literacy with example.

Information literacy is the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively. For example, when researching climate change, an information literate person can distinguish between reputable scientific sources and biased or unreliable content, ensuring the information they use is accurate and trustworthy.

What are the 5 information literacy skills?

• Identifying the need for information.
• Locating and accessing the information.
• Evaluating the quality and relevance of the information.
• Using the information effectively for a specific purpose.
• Understanding and applying ethical and legal aspects of using information.

What is the main point of information literacy?

The main point of information literacy is to empower individuals to effectively find, evaluate, and use information. This skill set helps in making informed decisions, both in academic pursuits and everyday life, fostering critical thinking, informed citizenship, and lifelong learning in an ever-evolving information landscape.

You May Also Like

When researching or exploring a new topic, the distinction between primary and secondary sources is paramount. The validity, reliability, and relevance of the information you gather will heavily depend on the type of source you consult. 

Academic sources, also known as scholarly sources or academic references, are materials used by researchers, scholars, and students to support their academic work. These sources are specifically created for use in academic contexts and contribute to the body of knowledge in a particular field of study.

USEFUL LINKS

LEARNING RESOURCES

COMPANY DETAILS

• How It Works

Forced-choice Tests (e.g., multiple-choice, true/false)

Information Competency Proficiency Exam - Gavilan College - "Use or modification is permitted as long as acknowledgement is made to the Bay Area Community Colleges Information Competency Assessment Project." Information Literacy Survey - from Worcester Polytechnic Institute - The assessment begins on p. 70 of the document. Information Competency Assessment Instrument -- developed by Rodney Marshall, Eastern Illinois University -- a 40-item scale assessing information users' attitudes and practices -- see paper describing instrument's development Skills Assessment -- from Stanford University -- each of six modules includes 10 multiple-choice questions as a final skills assessment for the module Information Literacy Skills Assessment -- from Millikin University -- 15 multiple-choice questions -- scroll down to Appendix A Information Literacy Survey - from San Jose State University -- 11 multiple-choice questions -- scroll down to Appendix A to view assessment Student Information Literacy Survey - from Texas Lutheran University -- 25 multiple-choice questions Sports Medicine Information Literacy Test -- from West Chester University -- 12 multiple-choice questions Beile Test of Information Literacy -- developed by Penny Beile Information Literacy Assessment -- from Madonna University Library, pre- and post-tests Research Practices Survey - from the HEDS (Higher Education Data Sharing) Consortium - 37 sample items from its survey TRAILS (Tools for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) -- from Kent State University -- "There are two general assessments (30 items each), as well as two 10-item assessments in each of the five categories (Develop Topic; Identify Potential Sources; Develop, Use, and Revise Search Strategies; Evaluate Sources and Information; Recognize How to Use Information Responsibly, Ethically, and Legally). The assessment pairs are parallel in terms of concepts addressed and may be used as pre- and post-tests." -- Free for use by library media specialists and teachers SAILS (Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) -- also from Kent State University -- SAILS is a 45-item multiple-choice, college-level test aligned with the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. "Students are directed to the SAILS web site to take the web-based test. Each student may take the test once per administration. Responses are sent to a central database where data are analyzed and reports are generated and made available for download in PDF." "The SAILS test asks students questions about research strategies; selecting sources; understanding and using finding tools; developing and revising search strategies; evaluating results; retrieving materials; documenting sources; and legal and social issues related to ethical and effective use of information. The test identifies areas where students have strong information literacy skills and where skills need to be strengthened." There is a per-student fee for participation.  

Authentic Assessments (see Authentic Assessment Toolbox )

Portfolio Assessment -- from Teesside University -- description of portfolio assignments can be found in the appendix of this article, beginning on p. 32 Information Literacy Skills Survey -- from the Plano (Texas) Independent School District -- a series of fill-in-the-blank and short essay questions for the middle school level LILO (Learning Information Literacy Online) Tutorial plus Rubrics -- from the University of Hawai'i Libraries -- The first link takes you to an online tutorial that can be used as part of a course or completed independently. A nice feature of the tutorial is that you can have students complete journal entries associated with specific information literacy skills in response to specific prompts. Those journal entries can then be evaluated with the rubrics found at the second link.

Information Literacy Rubric - from McKendree College Technology and Information Literacy Rubric - from Palm Beach State College Information Literacy Rubric - adapted by Palm Beach State College Information Literacy Assessment Rubric - from Rivier University Information Literacy Rubrics - from the University of Pittsburgh Information Literacy Rubric - from the University of New Orleans Information LIteracy Rubric - from Southwest Minnesota State University Information Literacy Assessment Rubric -- from the University of Houston -- scroll down the article to the end to see the final rubric Information Literacy Rubric -- very detailed rubric from University of California-Irvine Libraries Information Literacy VALUE Rubric -- from AAC&U Information Literacy Rubric -- from Southern Oregon University Information Literacy Rubrics -- from West Chester University Information Literacy Rubric -- from the New Jersey City University Cited References Rubric -- from the University of Central Florida Information Literacy Rubric -- from Utah State University - adapted from AAC&U  

The Libraries at Washington State University has a list of internally-developed information literacy tutorials. Texas Lutheran University also has a long list of tutorials, collected by Mark Dibble.      

Last updated: 03/14/2019

Compiled by Jon Mueller ( http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/ ), Professor of Psychology at North Central College , and author of the Authentic Assessment Toolbox .

Please let me know of any other assessments not listed above or of any changes in the above assessments or links. E-mail me at [email protected] . Thanks.

Essay on Information Literacy

Students are often asked to write an essay on Information Literacy in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Information Literacy

What is information literacy.

Information literacy means knowing how to find, understand, and use information. It’s like being a detective, searching for clues to solve a mystery. But instead of a mystery, you’re looking for facts and ideas that help you learn and make good choices.

Why It’s Important

Being information literate is important because we live in a world full of information. There’s so much out there on the internet, in books, and on TV. Knowing which information is true and useful helps you with school work and everyday decisions.

Learning the Skills

To be information literate, you need to learn certain skills. These include asking good questions, using tools like libraries and search engines, and thinking critically about what you find. It’s like having a toolbox that helps you build your knowledge.

Using Information Wisely

Once you find information, it’s important to use it well. This means creating your own ideas and sharing them responsibly. It’s not just about having facts, but also about understanding them and explaining them to others in a clear way.

250 Words Essay on Information Literacy

Understanding information literacy.

Information literacy is knowing how to find, understand, and use information. Imagine you are a detective, and you need clues to solve a mystery. Information literacy is like being a good detective, but the mystery is any question you have, and the clues are information from books, the internet, and other places.

Finding Good Information

First, you need to know where to look for information. The library, the internet, and even talking to people can help you find what you need. But not all information is good. Some of it can be wrong or not true. You must learn to pick the best and most correct information, like choosing the ripest fruit from a tree.

Asking the Right Questions

When you look for information, ask questions like “Who made this?” and “Why did they make it?” This helps you decide if the information is trustworthy. If someone writes about space and they are a space scientist, their information is probably good.

Once you find good information, you need to use it in the right way. If you are doing a school project, you might use the information to write about a topic. You also need to say where you got the information from. This is called giving credit, and it’s like saying “thank you” to the person who helped you.

Information literacy is a skill that helps you in school and life. It makes you smart and careful about the information you see and hear every day.

500 Words Essay on Information Literacy

Information literacy is the ability to find, understand, and use information in a smart way. It’s like having a map that helps you navigate through a huge forest of information. With so much news, data, and stories coming at us from books, the internet, and other people, it’s important to know what’s true, what’s not, and how to use the good information in the right way.

Why Is Information Literacy Important?

In our world today, we’re surrounded by more information than ever before. Think about all the times you’ve looked something up on the internet or asked a friend for facts about something. Being information literate means you can tell if what you find is like a golden nugget of truth or just a shiny piece of fake gold. It helps you do well in school, make smart choices, and even get ready for a good job in the future.

Finding Information

The first step in information literacy is knowing where to look for information. It’s not just about using a search engine online. It’s also about knowing which websites, books, or people can give you the best answers. Libraries, trusted news sources, and experts in different fields are all great places to start.

Understanding Information

Once you find information, the next step is to make sense of it. This means thinking about what you read or hear and asking questions like: Who made this? Why did they make it? Is it trying to sell me something or tell me something? By asking these questions, you can start to understand the message behind the information.

Checking for Truth

It’s super important to check if information is true. This means looking at different sources to see if they all say the same thing. It’s like being a detective and looking for clues to solve a mystery. If something sounds too wild or strange, it might not be true, and it’s worth taking extra time to check.

After you find and understand information, and make sure it’s true, the last step is to use it in a good way. This could mean sharing what you’ve learned with friends, doing a project for school, or making a decision about something in your life. When you use information wisely, it means you’re thinking about how it affects you and others.

Being good at information literacy is like having a superpower. It helps you learn, make good choices, and understand the world around you. By getting better at finding information, understanding it, making sure it’s true, and using it well, you’re setting yourself up for success in school and in life. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility, so use your information literacy skills to help yourself and others!

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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Happy studying!

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