Information Literacy Learning Goal C:

Judge the utility, quality, and extent of information needed in making decisions.

Regarding these assignment ideas:

We encourage you to consult with your subject librarian for advice on creating and tailoring information literacy assignments to your needs. 

C1. What efforts contribute to source reliability and quality? 

Note: This assignment is applicable to Learning Goal B or C.

Have your students explore the processes that are (or aren't) in place to bolster the quality and reliability of different types of sources in your discipline – such as peer-review, editorial review, fact-checking, accreditation, standardization, formal reviews, user reviews, endorsements, etc.

Students could also work through some or all of the following questions:

Depending on your discipline, you might also want to investigate the replicability crisis, or websites like RetractionWatch and/or Data Colada. Or, you could explore current or historical scandals in information quality.

C2. Select credible sources for different research topics.

Note: This assignment is applicable to Learning Goal B or C.

Present your students with one or more research topics such as:

For each topic, provide students with a wide variety of sources to consult (10 to 15?) that provide information on that topic. Ensure they have a mix of 1) credible sources, 2) questionably credible sources, and 3) some that are definitely not credible. Have them sort the sources into these three groups and then explain their thought process for each source. Finally, show them how YOU would sort the sources and why. That way they can see how an expert would make choices about which source to use.

C3. How do experts select credible Google results?

Note: This assignment is applicable to Learning Goal B or C.

Present your students with one or more research topics such as:

Tell them to begin their search in Google to gain more background information on their topic and provide them with the keywords YOU would use to run the search in Google (and explain why you would use those keywords). and why. Have them run the searches using your keywords. Then, have them look through at the first page or two of results and identify which would be the most appropriate, credible results to click on first and why. Have them also explain what makes other results less appropriate/credible and why. Finally, show them how YOU would make choices about which results would be most promising to click on first in terms of their appropriateness and credibility and why. Discuss the discrepancies between students' choices and your choices and why those discrepancies exist.

C4. Choose the most appropriate and credible Google results.

Note: This assignment is applicable to Learning Goal B or C.

Have students pick a topic, or present them with one or more research topics such as:

Have them conduct Google searches to put together three to five of the best sources they found in their Google searches. Have them annotate the best choices by what makes them:

Have them also note three to five sources they clicked on to explore, but ultimately rejected. Have them explain why they rejected these sources. Review their choices and let them know if any of the best sources they picked are inappropriate or questionable.

You could also give the entire class the same topic and see what sources students converge on as the best ones, and which they reject as worst, and discuss those that fall on the fence. Show them how YOU would assess the results compared to the strategies they are using.

C5. Understand the peer-review process and explore its effectiveness.

Note: This assignment is applicable to Learning Goal B or C.

If you work in a discipline where peer-review is an important process, consider having your students learn about it in more detail so they fully understand how it works. Then, have them explore questions such as:

C6. Under what circumstances are popular sources appropriate to consult?

Note: This assignment is applicable to Learning Goal B or C.

Supply students with a mix of imaginary scenarios (such as some plausible career scenarios) where they need to find information. Set up your scenarios so that for some, popular sources would be the best to consult, and for others scholarly sources would be the best to consult. Have students decide which type of source (popular or scholarly) would be most appropriate and why.

Then, encourage them to explore these questions:

C7. Know where to find information in your career job.

Note: This assignment is applicable to Learning Goal B or C.

Work with your librarian to develop a list of databases and other resources that students can leverage in their career when they need to seek information. Depending on the situation, these resources could include any of the following or more:

Ask your librarian to show students where to find these databases and how to use them. Also have your librarian show strategies for obtaining the full-text of needed sources. Then, present students with one or more hypothetical employment scenarios that requires conducting a thorough search for information. Have them write up a strategy for where and how they would search to find the information they need. 

C8. Conduct a comprehensive search for information.

Note: This assignment is applicable to Learning Goal B or C.

Supply students with imaginary scenarios where they need to conduct a thorough search for information. For example provide them with a plausible future work scenario where they need to research and put together policy recommendations, or a set of best practices, or create informational materials for the general public, etc. Then, have them work through the following questions:

You might also ask students to find and compile a thorough list of relevant sources on the topic, and/or have them compare their search strategies with other students so they can learn from each other. 

C9. Where and how do professionals search thoroughly for information?

Note: This assignment is applicable to Learning Goal B or C.

Identify some professionals from your discipline who regularly need to thoroughly search for information as part of their job. Invite one or more of them into your classroom to talk to students (in person or via Zoom) about how they solve information problems in their job. Have them describe where and how they seek information, and how they know when they have found enough information. 

Then, present students with one or more hypothetical career scenarios where they need to come up with a strategy for conducting a thorough search. Have them write up their strategy including where and how they would collect information. Ask them to follow their strategy, then document any problems with it. Have them also document new ideas for improving the strategy that they discover as they are searching.

Do you have existing assignments or other ideas for assignments that we could add to this list? If so, Cline Library's Research and Instruction Services team would love to hear about it. Contact us!