Introductory Information Literacy Tutorial

 Spanish-American Institute

 

Notes:  1.  For definitions of terms, please consult the Information Literacy and Library Glossary on the Library's Homepage.  The Glossary provides definitions of much of the vocabulary used in this tutorial.

            2.  This tutorial contains links to many Library pages.  To go directly to another Library page, click on a blue underlined text.

 

Contents: 

 

            I.    Develop Search Strategies

                          Practice # 1:  Develop different search strategies for different kinds of topics

 

II.  Search the Library's Automated Catalog

              Practice #2:  Search the Spanish-American Institute Library Catalog for books on a certain subject

   

III.  Search Electronic Periodical Indexes

                          Practice #3:  Find journal and newspaper sources

                                   Practice #4:  Search the Spanish-American Institute Library Catalog for periodical holdings

 

            IV.  Search the Internet and Evaluate Sources

                          Practice #3:  Determine the reliability of Internet sources

 

             V.   Suggested Search Strategies (response to Section I, above) 

 

 

I.   Develop Search Strategies

 

Imagine that you want to find out about "gun control" in the United States.  Or perhaps you would like to learn more about the influence of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the civil rights movement? 

 

Objective:  To learn how to begin a search for information and to learn how to narrow down a topic.

 

Practice # 1:  Develop different search strategies for different kinds of topics

 

In what order might you use the following resources to find about gun control in the United States?  In what order might you use the resources to find out more about the influence of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the civil rights movement?   Section V, at the end of the tutorial provides some suggestions. 

 

 

II.  Search the Library's Automated Catalog

 

The Spanish-American Institute uses an electronic catalog system called SIRS Mandarin M3 or Mandarin 3.  However, you do not need to know or remember this.  Like most other automated library catalogs (and most periodical databases), M3 allows people to search in similar ways:  by title, by author, by subject/keyword, by ISBN number (for books), etc.   (If you don't remember to what an ISBN number refers, consult the Information Literacy and Library Glossary on the Library's Homepage.)

 

The following are some tips that will make searching the Spanish-American Institute Library Catalog easier.  

 

Combined Searches--Capitalize "AND, OR, NOT" when combining keywords or phrases. 

 

·        AND combines search terms, e.g.  "blueberry AND pie" 

·        OR combines search terms so that the results contain at least one search term, e.g. "blueberry OR pie"

·        NOT eliminates words from a search, e.g., "blueberry NOT pie"

 

Objective:  To learn how to use an automated catalog to search for books and periodicals in a particular library

 

Practice #2:  Search the Spanish-American Institute Library Catalog for books on a certain subject

 

1.  Go to the Spanish-American Institute Homepage and click onto "Library" at the Browse menu on the left to get to the Library Homepage

2.  Click onto "Library Catalog" which will open to the "Library Search" screen shown below

 

 

                         3.  In the "Search" text box for "Subject":

 

·        Type the subjects Martin Luther King AND civil rights

·        Click the "Search" button at the bottom of the screen  (do not confuse the "Search" button with the "Browse" button that is on the right hand side)

 

4.  The "Results" screen shows three results for the combined search (only the first result is shown below)

 

 

5.  Press "Back to Search" on the top left to return to the "Search" screen

6.  In the search text box, enter Martin Luther King OR civil rights—note the increase in the number of results when you ask for one subject OR  the other

7.  Return to the "Search" screen again and enter the keywords civil rights—note the decrease in the number of results 

8.  Click the "Details" button on the bottom left-hand side of an entry on the "Results" page to get the "Details" screen with the full bibliographic record of any one holding

 

 

7.  Compare the bibliographic detail in the "Details" page to the less complete bibliographic information provided in the "Results" screen

8.  Consider how the "Subject Added Entry" from the "Details" record, above, might be helpful in narrowing down a search topic

9.  Check the red highlighted "Bookbag" box on the bottom of the "Details" screen to save the book information in "Bookbag" for review after you have finished searching

10. Click the gray highlighted "Bookbag" box at the top of the "Results" screen to review what you have saved in your "Bookbag"

 

III.  Search Electronic Periodical Indexes

 

Description:  A periodical index provides information about articles or essays in magazines, journals, newspapers, and other materials published periodically.  The Spanish-American Institute provides access to a variety of general and specialized periodical indexes through a search engine called EBSCOHost.  All of the indexes provide abstracts (summaries) and most provide full-text copies of the articles they index.  Full-text articles may be printed, e-mailed, or copied onto a diskette for personal use.  

 

In this section, we will be using two of EBSCOHost's many databases—Academic Search Elite and Newspaper Source.  To see a complete list and description of all available periodical databases, click onto "Databases" on the Spanish-American Institute Library Homepage and then click onto "EBSCOHost Web" on the EBSCOHost homepage.    

 

Objective:  To learn how to use an periodical index such as Academic Search Elite (over 1500 magazines and journal sources) or Newspaper Source (over 240 national and international newspapers and newswire sources)

 

Directions:

 

1.      Access the Spanish-American Institute Library Homepage (follow step 1 in Section I, "Search the  . . . Catalog," above, or click on the link)

2.      Click on the Academic Search Elite database listed under "Databases"

3.      Look at the search screen shown below for the Academic Search Elite database index

 

 

                   

 

4.      To conduct a basic search:

 

·        in the "Find" text box, enter a keyword, subject, title, or author (if using the author's first and last name, type the last name first, as follows—Smith, John)

·        select the "Standard Search" button under the text box

·        click "Search" to the right of the text box

 

5.     A results screen like the one shown below lists all available periodical articles for the selected topic

 

 

6.  Read an article's abstract by clicking onto an underlined title; if the complete article is available on line, the text will appear on screen below the abstract

7.  Find the first record with a "Full Text" icon in the record and click it to go directly to the article on screen, e-mail it to yourself or someone else, or download it to a disk or printer by using one of the tabs in the upper part of the screen labeled "Print," "E-Mail," "Save," etc. 

 

Practice # 3:  Find journal and newspaper sources

 

1.      On the Academic Search Elite search screen, enter the keywords Martin Luther King AND civil rights (REMEMBER that you must CAPITALIZE "Boolean operators" such as AND, NOT, OR) 

2.      Click  "standard search" under the search box, then click "search" on the right

3.      You should get about 350 search results, i.e., articles

4.      Scroll down to the first title that contains both a "Full Page" and a "Full Text" icon

5.      Click onto the "Full Text" icon, then click onto the "Full Page" icon

6.      The "Full Text" option provides the complete typescript of the article while the "Full Icon" option provides an exact copy of the text as it appeared in the periodical (including graphics)

7.      Click onto the "Full Text" icon again; click onto the tabs above the "Find" text box to see how you can download the entire text by printing it, saving it to a disk, or e-mailing it

9.   Repeat the process using the Newspaper Source index—you should get 450 articles, more or less (since the   database is always being updated, the exact number of articles will change depending on the date you do the search)

 

Practice #4:  Search the Spanish-American Institute Library Catalog for periodical holdings

 

1.  Search process through the Library automated catalog to determine if the Library owns one of the periodicals you located through "III.  Searching Electronic Periodicals Databases"

 

IV. Search the Internet and Evaluate Sources

 

To become information literate, you must understand how to judge and evaluate different kinds of information.  It is critical to learn how to evaluate the "authority" or reliability of a source.  This is as true for print material as it is for other media, especially the Internet. 

 

How can you evaluate the quality of information?  How can you determine if it is valid and authoritative?   These questions are particularly important when using the Internet.  While it is easy to find information on the Internet,  "easy" is not the same as "good."  In this exercise, we will focus on the evaluation of information found on the Internet sources by asking questions about the authority, credibility, and reliability of the information's source. 

 

In evaluating the quality of information sources, it is useful to ask questions like the following about the source's authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage:

 

            Authority—Who created the web site?  Does the web site provide information on the creator's background, experience, and credentials?  Is the site maintained by a well-known professional or otherwise reputable organization?

            Accuracy—Do you see typos?  Do the authors cite the sources of their claims and information?  Do the citations meet the criteria under "authority," above?  How do you know that the "facts" and information presented are reliable?

            Objectivity—Is the coverage objective?  If not, do the authors admit their biases, their advocacy roles, etc.?   Is more than one side of an issue covered?  Is the site sponsored by a commercial or quasi-commercial organization?  Is it trying to sell something?

            Currency—Does the site indicate when it last updated the information provided?  Is some of the information clearly out of date?  Is the time period covered still relevant?  Are many of the links broken that supposedly connect the site to the listed resources?  Do the links connect to out- of-date sources? 

            Coverage—Who is the intended audience?  Is the site for a serious audience?  Is more than one side of an issue discussed?  Does the web site provide the entire original document or is it an edited or abridged version? 

 

The Internet is often a good place to find information about the following:

 

·        companies, colleges, government agencies, museums, organizations, etc.

·        facts and data that can be verified

·        current information such as the latest news reports, weather forecasts, sports scores, etc.

·        current information about a product and its use

·        various services such as travel reservations, shopping, directory information, etc.

·        backgrounds of prominent people

·        other verifiable information not found in print sources

 

The Internet is usually not a good place to find reliable balanced information on most other topics.  

 

As a general rule, you are most likely to find objective information from the web site or from print material produced by not-for-profit academic or professional organizations such as colleges and universities, foundations, research centers, government agencies, and related sources.   As a general rule, professional reference/information sites are more likely than commercial or advocacy sites to contain "referréd" information (often written as "referred" but pronounced with the accent on the last syllable.)  Referred information has been referred to and reviewed by a number of qualified outside readers before acceptance for publication on the WEB or in print. 

 

Objective:  To learn how to determine if a source is reliable, authoritative, and objective

 

Practice #5:  Determining the reliability of Internet sources

 

  1. Go to any Internet search engine or click on one of these links (Excite, Yahoo, Alta Vista, Lycos)
  2. In the search text box, type in the keywords gun control and click on the search or press the enter key; you should get hundreds of results
  3. Write down the titles of the first five results and their sources
  4. Next, categorize them in terms of their "purpose"
  5. Then, categorize them in terms of their "reliability" as authoritative sources
  6. Based on your search, do you conclude that the Internet is a good or poor source for objective information about gun control? 

 

V.  Suggested Search Strategies  (response to Section I, above) 

 

Where you start your search depends upon the topic.  Two of several different approaches are discussed below.

 

Current topics—The "gun control" topic covered in Section IV, above, is a good example of a very broad current issue.  For current or recent events, you might begin with the following sources:

 

·        a newspaper index such as Newspaper Source in the Spanish-American Institute's electronic database collection

·        the Internet, and then

·        a periodical database (magazines and journals) such as Academic Search Elite in the Spanish-American Institute's electronic database collection. 

 

When using newspaper articles, the Internet, or magazines and journals, it is sometimes difficult to determine if the information is authoritative.  To determine if the information is authoritative, review the criteria in Section IV, above. 

 

If you wanted to proceed deeper into the topic, you might add additional information sources.  For example, to research the background of current topics, you might continue your search to include encyclopedias and books found through the card catalog. 

 

Other topics—finding out more about a topic usually requires searching for background information and different points of view.  It is often helpful to start with broad coverage such as that provided in an encyclopedia and then to narrow your search to books and articles that deal specifically with your topic. 

 

The topic "gun control" is much too large to write about in a few paragraphs or pages.  You will feel more confident if you narrow your search to one aspect of "gun control" such as one argument for and/or against "gun control."  In this case, you might start you search with the broad subject keywords "gun control" and then narrow down the topic using the narrower subject keywords suggested by the sources you find. 

 

One approach would be to proceed through the following steps: 

 

·        dictionary (sometimes helpful for dates, definitions, keywords, brief biographical information, etc.)

·        encyclopedias (for broad coverage of the topic, for suggestion about narrower sub-topics, and for suggestion about other sources)

·        periodical databases (journals usually provide more authoritative unbiased information than do magazines designed for a popular audience)

·        library catalog (for books on the topic)

·        Internet (for recent happenings and trends)