The Information Research Toolbox


Tools for information Work: Starting To Do Research

Library Catalogs - Morgan and WorldCat - Search, Browse

Digital Libraries - ADL - Search, Browse, Learn

Electronic Databases - ATLA Religion - search, browse, read

Reference Management Software - Zotero - Cite, Manage, Track

What is missing in this list? Interfaces

Other Tools: Blogs, Internet Search Engines, Wikis, Websites

Some Important Introductory Terms and Concepts you may hear in the first class: Information Work; Information Seeking Behaviors / Human Information Behaviors vs. Scholarly Communication - rhetorical communities, findability or search vs. discovery; Library Research aka Bibliographical Research, Information Research; Citations (Entries, Style Manuals), Genres (Forms, Types), Subject Headings/Vocabularies, Topic vs. Thesis; Information Literacy, Information Competency; Information Overload; Information Anxiety #TMI

information Literacy: A Definition

Information literacy defined:

IL is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.

The frames are:

  1. Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
  2. Information Creation as a Process
  3. Information Has Value
  4. Research as Inquiry
  5. Scholarship as Conversation
  6. Searching as Strategic Exploration

Source: ACRL Framework for Information Literacy, 2016.