But I Read It On the Internet! Promoting Information Competency

in Biological Psychology

Laura Freberg

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

What Is Information Competency and Why Is It Important?

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) developed competency standards for higher education.

These standards apply to all resources, not just electronic resources.

ACRL Standards

The information literate student is able to: Determine the extent of information needed. Access the needed information effectively and efficiently. Evaluate information and its sources critically. Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge

base. Use information effectively to accomplish a specific

purpose. Understand the economic, legal, and social issues

surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally.

Evaluating Resources

Relevance/appropriateness to your research topic

Currency Authority/credibility Coverage Accuracy

Sample Assignments: The Challenge Article

Assign a controversial reading (the crazier the better).

Examine each point using other resources. Investigate the author, and comment on

possible biases. Investigate sources quoted in the article and

comment on possible biases. Rewrite the article in a manner you believe to

be more objective (works better for advanced students).

The Literature Comparison

Compare the literature on the same topic from today to 20 years ago.

How has the terminology changed? What assumptions have been changed? How has the audience for this literature

changed? What questions remain unanswered? Imagine what a reference list for this topic

might look like ten years from now.

Comparing Bibliographies

Compare the bibliographies from two current papers on the same topic.

Which do you think is better and why? Create a quantitative grading scheme for

bibliographies and see if your scheme gives you the same result as previously.

Pathfinder

Choose a very limited field and produce a “pathfinder” or miniguide.

Outline the topic and provide the very best resources for the field.

Budgeting

Pick a research topic of interest to you. Now imagine that you have $2000 to

spend on resources relevant to your topic. What do you choose? Why?

Teaching

Pretend that you need to teach a topic to a group of people outside the field, such as children, students majoring in other fields, or senior citizens.

Prepare a handout that includes the five best references for your topic for this audience.

Update

Find a review article that is at least three years old.

What references would you add to it? Why?

Ignorance

Choose a narrow topic. Summarize what we DON’T know about

your topic.

Experts

Identify three experts in an area of interest.

Compare and contrast their ideas. Who influences you the most and why?

Classic Sources

Choose a “classic paper” on your topic. Follow the use of that paper by other

researchers or by textbook authors. Have citations been true to the original

conclusions of the paper?

Popular or Scholarly?

Choose a topic that is widely covered by the popular press (e.g. ADHD).

Compare and contrast the way the topic is covered by popular press articles and scholarly articles.

Reaction Papers

Choose five resources on a narrow topic. Identify your opinion of the topic prior to

reading the resources. Did your opinion change after your

reading? Which article was most influential? Why? Which article was least influential? Why?

The Website

Identify three websites that contain information relevant to your topic.

Evaluate each site based on relevance, currency, accuracy, credibility, and coverage.

Comparing Journals

Identify two journals covering the same material.

Compare and contrast the journals regarding tone, audience, content, and style.

Some Really Helpful Websites

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html

http://www.lib.calpoly.edu/infocomp/modules/index.html

http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/ http://ols.cuny.edu/tutorial/

For Further Information….

lfreberg@calpoly.edu Snail mail:

Laura Freberg

Psychology and Child Development

California Polytechnic State University

San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 (805) 756 2357