IL Step 1: Sources of Information

1. IL Step 1:Sources of Information Information Literacy

2. Information Sources: Introduction • Questions to consider • What types of information sources are available? • Where can we find them? • How to choose the best sources? • Terminology • Subject Knowledge • Knowledge of information resources in a subject area • Ability to understand & critically evaluate relevant information • Awareness & ability to utilize the full range of information sources • Literature Review • Review of materials (e.g., books, articles) from a wide range of resources • Peer Review • Evaluation of a material by qualified individuals in a related field Information Literacy

3. Sources of Information: Overview • Articles/Papers • Scientific & Professional journals • Conference papers • Books • Books and book chapters • Textbooks • Technical reports • Encyclopedias • Internet • The world wide web (WWW) • Blogs, Wikis, Email • Library • Library catalogs • Bibliographic databases • Newspapers Information Literacy

4. Scientific Journals • A collection of articles written by academic scholars • Editorial board reviews submissions for acceptance • Reflect the outcome of scientific research • Published on a regular intervals (e.g., monthly) • ISI Journals • 14,000 journals (6,500 in science, 2,500 in social science, 1,300 in A&H) • e.g. Journal of the American Society of Information Science and Technology • Selected by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) • Part of Thomson Reuters • Commercial scientific information provider • Provides Web of Science (search engine and citation index) • Considered to be of high quality and impact • Non-ISI Journals (e.g., Scopus Journals) • Good quality but does not meet all the ISI standards • Review process, editorial board, international diversity, importance of papers • Only 40% of journals by Springer are ISI (2009). Information Literacy

5. Professional Journals/Magazines • A collection of articles written by journalists & scholars • Published by professional organizations for general public • Cover general/specific applied science topics and professional news • e.g., forestry, electrical engineering, education, etc. • Published on a regular intervals (e.g., monthly) • Examples • Scientific American • GeoInformatics • Use Professional Journals • To find general or simplified information on scientific research & discoveries • To find current information on events/activities for a professional group • To find information on practical scientific applications or reports • Use Scientific Journals • To find consistent scholarly information • To do literature review for a research paper Information Literacy

6. Conference Papers • Original papers presented at a scientific meeting • Typically minimally reviewed or not reviewed • Quality varies • Some with no quality control • Published on a semi-regular intervals (e.g., yearly) • Examples • Proceedings of Text REtrieval Conference • Proceedings of the ACMSIGIR Conference • Exceptions • In disciplines such as Computer & Information Science • Major conferences are highly-regarded. • Papers are strictly peer-reviewed. • Published proceedings have high impact and are good sources of information. • Edited Proceedings reviewed by a scientific editor are reliable. • Sometimes papers are presented in a special issue of a scientific journal. Information Literacy

7. Books & Book Chapters • Books • Cover any topic, fact or fiction. • For research, look for books that synthesize all information on one topic. • Book Chapters • Original contributions that are edited into an edited book on a specific topic • Often they are review articles or summaries • Quality control not as strict as journal articles • Edited and may undergo some peer review • Examples • Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (ARIST) • Uses • When looking for comprehensive information on a topic • To find historical information • To find summaries of research to support an argument Information Literacy

8. Textbooks & Technical Reports • Textbook • A published book to introduce a subject for teaching or self-study • Typically not peer-reviewed but extensively edited • Technical Reports • Publications from an institution or project • May be considered to be a special type of book • Contain primary data that do not appear elsewhere • Often the only source of information on projects • Not peer-reviewed • Quality control only as good as the project • Examples • Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval (CIIR) Technical Reports • Uses • To find information on a particular institute or project Information Literacy

9. The World Wide Web • Access most types of information via the Internet • Quickly links to other related information • Contains information beyond text • Sound, images, video • Online versions of printed journals, technical reports, and books • Information is not permanent • May change, move, or disappear. • Often difficult to determine authorship, quality, & currency • Not edited or peer-reviewed • No quality control • Uses • To find current news & information • To find popular opinion • To find information about companies & governments Information Literacy

10. Encyclopedias • Collections of short factual entries • Often written by different contributors with topic knowledge • General Encyclopedias • Provide concise overviews on a wide variety of topics • Subject Encyclopedias • Contain in-depth entries focusing on one field of study • Typically found in libraries • Increasing Web presence (e.g. Wikipedia) • Uses • To find background information on a topic • To find key ideas or concepts • To find concise summaries Information Literacy

11. Library Catalogs & Bibliographic Databases • Library Catalogs • Searchable collection of library holdings • Point to the location of particular source that library owns on a topic • Uses • To find a list of items that library owns on a topic • To find the location of a specific item in a library • Bibliographic Databases • Database of records/references to • Journal & conference articles, reports, books, book chapters, etc. • Bibliographical records with abstracts or summaries of articles • Some have links to fulltext or actual contents • Covers quality resources • Often for high fees (e.g. Web of Science) • Most libraries offer them via Web • Uses • To do research on a scientific topic • To find specific articles Information Literacy