Objectives

The Basics

• Basic understanding of the Internet
• Distinguish scholarly from popular communication
• Distinguish primary from secondary information sources

Information Cycles

• Acquire a basic understanding of information production and distribution
• Identify differences among information source types

Topics

• Select an appropriate topic for research
• Generate questions from a topic
• Broaden and narrow a question
• Identify key concepts and vocabularies related to a topic
• Broaden and narrow concepts and vocabularies related to a topic

Searching

• Distinguish a database from other types of information collections
• Identify the coverage of a database
• Understand the concept of field, or advanced searching and perform a field search in a database
• Construct effective search queries using logical operators and related strategies

Finding

• Determine the nature of a source from a citation
• Use citations to find physical sources
• Locate sources using classification systems
• Basic understanding of library collections and services

Evaluating

• Modify search strategy in response to insufficient information
• Modify search strategy in response to information overload
• Establish criteria to evaluate a single information source