Information Literacy

Module 3
• Define information needs
• Locate information needs
• Assess, organize, and communicate information
• Identify relevant ethical standards or principles in
information and media use
• Demonstrate ethical use of information
What Determines Your need for Information?
Information seeking is relatively synonymous to the idea of
research. When you locate information, you employ the
necessary skills to engage in the research process. Your
need for information depends on your prior knowledge and
experience, as well as your goals and objectives. Your
information needs to rely on what questions or problems
you would like to solve or, simply, what you need the
information for.
The effective and information seeker.
A successful search strategy is one that allows you to judge at the onset
what information is relevant, thus, limiting the possible overload of
information sought.

According to to Callison and Tilley (2006), an effective and efficient

information seeker is one who can do the following:
• Understands how to utilize a variety of information sources and
agencies, as well as human resources, in order to gain useful
information.
• Understand the value of consulting with resource specialists and
critical peers to reframe and refine questions and inquiries, if
necessary
• Identifies information important to a need and assess its reliability,
bias, authority, and intent
• Organizes new information in meaningful wats to determine where
gaps may exists and to formulate the central question or thesis that
can be addressed.
Typology of information
1. Factual vs. Analytical
Factual Information is based on evidences and findings provided by
reliable sources. These sources may include academic texts such as
books, encyclopedias, periodicals, or technical reports by agencies
and institutions.
Analytical Information, on the other hand. Is an analysis or
interpretation of facts by and individual, usually an expert on the
subject. Examples of such would be feature articles, commentaries,
or reviews.
2. Subjective vs. Objective
When you consult and expert opinion, such as those found
in the editorial section of a newspaper or in Web log entries
of prolific writers, you are using a subjective kind of
information. This is because the information is about the
discussion and elaboration of a thesis statement which will
still anchored on facts.
If the information is unbiased and does not lead you t judge
the information in a certain way, then it is Objective
information. Scientific papers and news reports are
common sources of objective information.
3. Current vs. Historical
The currency of information refers to how up-to-date or
how recent the information is. It does not necessarily
follow that the more current the information, the more
reliable and useful it is. There are information that are
historical or old but are very helpful in providing insights
and comparison of events. Publication date of the source
material is the usual basis for currency. A combination of
current and historical information, especially in research,
provides a more holistic picture. You are able to to establish
trends or patterns when you make use of both.
4. Scholarly (Academic/Professional/Technical)vs. Popular

Scholarly information comes from academic sources.

It is a product of an author's expertise and study on
the subject matter. It is usually peer-reviewed.
Popular information, on the other hand, appeals to
general interest and is usually found in general
circulation materials such as magazines, coffee table
books, or online feature articles.
 Scholarly resources Popular resources
Authors Written or reviewed by experts in Written by the publication’s staff
the discipline writers
Audience Written for researchers or Written for the general public or lay
practitioners in a particular person
discipline
Publisher Professional society or organization Commercial publisher
or university
Content In-depth analysis of topic or report Review if an event or research
of original research project, highlighting key points
Language Use technical language which may Understandable by a lay person
not be understood by a lay person
Appearance • Illustrations include graphs and • Often use slick paper and more
tables color
• Articles are usually long • Many adverstisements and
graphics
• Articles are usually very short
References Almost always include list of Rarely include a list of sources
sources consulted consulted
5. Primary vs. Secondary vs. Tertiary
The origin and the levels of transfer of the
information is also an important factor to
consider in your information search.
 Information Source Characteristics Examples
Primary • Original, first-hand information • Creative work
• Hasn’t been interpreted, • Diary
analyzed, condensed, or change • Speech
• Information may need to be • Letter
constructed with raw data • Interview
• News film footage
• Autobiography
• Photograph
• Official record
• Historical document
• Professors lecture

Secondary • One or more steps removed • News commentaries

from a primary source and may • Articles in magazines and news
interpret or analyze a primary paper
source • Critical review of literary scholar
• Usually written by someone • Textbooks
other than the original • Encyclopedias
researcher or author. • Research paper
 Information source Characteristics
Tertiary • Topic review; and usually
include bibliographies of
primary and secondary sources
• Provide access to materials on
specific topics.
Examples
• Bibliography(citation list) of
primary and secondary sources
about a person or topic
• Encyclopedias
• Data base indexes
6. Stable vs. Unstable
Information may be stable or unstable. Stability becomes a
consideration especially when the information you have
obtained is published digitally over the internet. It is often
difficult to know how long a certain Web site or page will
last. But an online source may still be predicted to be stable
or otherwise by evaluating it based on the following
questions (Ballenger 2009):
• Has it been around for a long time?
• Is it routinely updated?
• Are print versions of an online document available?
• Is the site associated with a reputable institution?