edtechdev/chatbotfiles · Datasets at Hugging Face

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What Is Information Literacy?
Human beings are passionate, curious, and always seeking to connect with each other and make sense of
things. Learning is more effective when new information is meaningful and linked to some personal
experience or prior knowledge. Learning is about both context and content. It is necessary to learn how to
assess, evaluate, and connect in order to make information become knowledge. Information literacy skills are
the hallmark of the ability to do research. What is important is for you to learn how to find information that
“matters” and then figure out why it might matter.
Information literacy is a link between the life experiences of you as a student, the academic world of
scholarship, and the postcollege real world of application of learning. An information-literate person has the
ability to ask questions and knows the difference between ignorance and understanding. (When do I need
information?) Information literacy builds a lifelong ability to determine where information is kept (Where is the
best place to find this?) and in what forms knowledge is stored (Which knowledge products will likely have
what I need?).
Information literacy relies on the use of a critical mind to discern credible from not credible, valid from not
valid. It is actually the core of the first-year experience. It lasts, while the specifics of particular courses fade
over time. After all, the nature of research, the core of higher education, is a learning process: “How do I learn
about something?” Communication skills are essential to your ability to both learn and share what you’ve
learned.

What Are the Steps to a Good Research Study?
Research is a part of life. In fact, you conduct research daily. You look things up whenever you want a hotel or a
good restaurant in a new city, or a recipe for cookies you’d like to make for a party. Sometimes you use Google
for answers, and other times you ask people to help you answer your question. At times you might need to

398

A • Conducting and Presenting Research

visit specific websites to find good information on the kind of used car you should buy or tickets to a sporting
event or concert you hope to attend. All of this is part of research at its most basic level—asking a question
and then answering it. Research can be defined as an activity that produces new knowledge. However, it is not
timeless. Questions change, and so do answers. New questions bring new light to bear on any topic or issue.
For example, consider the way we have controlled the use of pesticides. Over time, we moved from acceptance
to shock and now horror at some of the side effects. It is new information on pesticides that has influenced
our change in thinking. And the reason we know this information is that someone did the research and then
communicated it to our community through newscasts, newspapers, online sites, and so forth.
We often accept ideas as fact. For instance, how do we come to believe such things as “Three out of four
dentists recommend . . . ” or “McDonald’s french fries are preferred three to one over . . .”? Or that heroin is
addictive, or that putting infants in car seats prevents fatal injuries, or that drinking while pregnant can be
harmful? It is important to know that these statements are the result of questions that led to serious research.
Understanding the methods used to do research will help us understand how we come to know what we know.
In cases such as these, someone was interested in knowing the answer to a particular question, planned a
research study, and then published the findings. When people do this kind of research, their purpose is not
only to find an answer but also to communicate what they found to the rest of us. They are communicating
new knowledge.
Research is exploration and the search for possible answers to questions. Most students think research is
about finding answers, but it is more about the questions we ask that lead us to the answers. Good research
starts with good questions. Researchers ask themselves a question, create a possible answer in the form of a
hypothesis, and then begin a process of gathering information with a methodology. If we understand how
important questions are to doing research, we are then better able to determine the credibility and validity of
the information sources we use. When evaluating sources, we can ask: Why should I believe this author? What
does she know that makes her someone I should pay attention to? And when deciding on credibility, we can
ask: What did the author do to convince me his answer is the correct one? Did the evidence really match the
question the author was asking? Thus, information literacy is the ability to evaluate sources on the basis of
what questions were asked, determine if those are the best questions to ask, assess whether the answers
offered really answer the questions, and decide if the author is prepared to answer those questions well.
Remember the literacies that Howard Rheingold suggested in the “Communicating” chapter. Using these as
guides leads us to mindfully explore the vast array of information available to us. And when we do so, we won’t
find ourselves taking information at face value and passing it on as though it were valid, like some of the “fake
news” that is prevalent today.
So let’s start the process of doing research. The activity below will help you begin the process. After this, you
will be introduced to the simple steps you need to take to do the research and then communicate your
findings appropriately.

ACTIVITY
Pick a topic you might like to research or have already been assigned to research for a class. Then take a
close look at the list of knowledge products below, and rank them in order of which ones you would most
likely use for a research paper. After ranking them, explain why you put them in that order.
• Books: histories, pictures, topic overviews
•
•
•
•

Journals: research studies, expert opinions, analyses, lists of other information sources
Magazines: basic and recent information, pictures, reviews
Newspapers: very recent information, place-specific information, reviews
Films, videos, television, music: pictures, speeches, sound

Access for free at openstax.org

A • Conducting and Presenting Research

399

• Internet sources: current or historical information from a variety of sources or individuals, data or
commentary compiled by individuals or specific organizations or companies, graphics, sound, music,
animation, video, pictures
• Conversations, interviews: opinions, direct experiences, personal viewpoints, attitudes, histories
• Government publications: reports, studies, statistics, laws, regulations
• Documents: reports, laws, statistics, facts
• Diaries: personal stories, histories, opinions, reflections
These can also categorized by types of knowledge products. For your research, you have to choose wisely
among these, too. There are scholarly knowledge products, which are mostly written for scholars in a
particular field. The author is identified, and credentials are available. Sources are documented, and
technical language is often used. Secondly, some knowledge products might be considered professional.
These are written for professionals in a field, the author is most often identified, sources are not always
documented, and the language may or may not be technical. Finally, there are popular knowledge
products, which communicate a broad range of information. The author is often not identified, sources are

What Is Information Literacy?

Human beings are passionate, curious, and always seeking to connect with each other and make sense of

things. Learning is more effective when new information is meaningful and linked to some personal

experience or prior knowledge. Learning is about both context and content. It is necessary to learn how to

assess, evaluate, and connect in order to make information become knowledge. Information literacy skills are

the hallmark of the ability to do research. What is important is for you to learn how to find information that

“matters” and then figure out why it might matter.

Information literacy is a link between the life experiences of you as a student, the academic world of

scholarship, and the postcollege real world of application of learning. An information-literate person has the

ability to ask questions and knows the difference between ignorance and understanding. (When do I need

information?) Information literacy builds a lifelong ability to determine where information is kept (Where is the

best place to find this?) and in what forms knowledge is stored (Which knowledge products will likely have

what I need?).

Information literacy relies on the use of a critical mind to discern credible from not credible, valid from not

valid. It is actually the core of the first-year experience. It lasts, while the specifics of particular courses fade

over time. After all, the nature of research, the core of higher education, is a learning process: “How do I learn

about something?” Communication skills are essential to your ability to both learn and share what you’ve

learned.

What Are the Steps to a Good Research Study?

Research is a part of life. In fact, you conduct research daily. You look things up whenever you want a hotel or a

good restaurant in a new city, or a recipe for cookies you’d like to make for a party. Sometimes you use Google

for answers, and other times you ask people to help you answer your question. At times you might need to

398

A • Conducting and Presenting Research

visit specific websites to find good information on the kind of used car you should buy or tickets to a sporting

event or concert you hope to attend. All of this is part of research at its most basic level—asking a question

and then answering it. Research can be defined as an activity that produces new knowledge. However, it is not

timeless. Questions change, and so do answers. New questions bring new light to bear on any topic or issue.

For example, consider the way we have controlled the use of pesticides. Over time, we moved from acceptance

to shock and now horror at some of the side effects. It is new information on pesticides that has influenced

our change in thinking. And the reason we know this information is that someone did the research and then

communicated it to our community through newscasts, newspapers, online sites, and so forth.

We often accept ideas as fact. For instance, how do we come to believe such things as “Three out of four

dentists recommend . . . ” or “McDonald’s french fries are preferred three to one over . . .”? Or that heroin is

addictive, or that putting infants in car seats prevents fatal injuries, or that drinking while pregnant can be

harmful? It is important to know that these statements are the result of questions that led to serious research.

Understanding the methods used to do research will help us understand how we come to know what we know.

In cases such as these, someone was interested in knowing the answer to a particular question, planned a

research study, and then published the findings. When people do this kind of research, their purpose is not

only to find an answer but also to communicate what they found to the rest of us. They are communicating

new knowledge.

Research is exploration and the search for possible answers to questions. Most students think research is

about finding answers, but it is more about the questions we ask that lead us to the answers. Good research

starts with good questions. Researchers ask themselves a question, create a possible answer in the form of a

hypothesis, and then begin a process of gathering information with a methodology. If we understand how

important questions are to doing research, we are then better able to determine the credibility and validity of

the information sources we use. When evaluating sources, we can ask: Why should I believe this author? What

does she know that makes her someone I should pay attention to? And when deciding on credibility, we can

ask: What did the author do to convince me his answer is the correct one? Did the evidence really match the

question the author was asking? Thus, information literacy is the ability to evaluate sources on the basis of

what questions were asked, determine if those are the best questions to ask, assess whether the answers

offered really answer the questions, and decide if the author is prepared to answer those questions well.

Remember the literacies that Howard Rheingold suggested in the “Communicating” chapter. Using these as

guides leads us to mindfully explore the vast array of information available to us. And when we do so, we won’t

find ourselves taking information at face value and passing it on as though it were valid, like some of the “fake

news” that is prevalent today.

So let’s start the process of doing research. The activity below will help you begin the process. After this, you

will be introduced to the simple steps you need to take to do the research and then communicate your

findings appropriately.

ACTIVITY

Pick a topic you might like to research or have already been assigned to research for a class. Then take a

close look at the list of knowledge products below, and rank them in order of which ones you would most

likely use for a research paper. After ranking them, explain why you put them in that order.

• Books: histories, pictures, topic overviews

•

Journals: research studies, expert opinions, analyses, lists of other information sources

Magazines: basic and recent information, pictures, reviews

Newspapers: very recent information, place-specific information, reviews

Films, videos, television, music: pictures, speeches, sound

Access for free at openstax.org

A • Conducting and Presenting Research

399

• Internet sources: current or historical information from a variety of sources or individuals, data or

commentary compiled by individuals or specific organizations or companies, graphics, sound, music,

animation, video, pictures

• Conversations, interviews: opinions, direct experiences, personal viewpoints, attitudes, histories

• Government publications: reports, studies, statistics, laws, regulations

• Documents: reports, laws, statistics, facts

• Diaries: personal stories, histories, opinions, reflections

These can also categorized by types of knowledge products. For your research, you have to choose wisely

among these, too. There are scholarly knowledge products, which are mostly written for scholars in a

particular field. The author is identified, and credentials are available. Sources are documented, and

technical language is often used. Secondly, some knowledge products might be considered professional.

These are written for professionals in a field, the author is most often identified, sources are not always

documented, and the language may or may not be technical. Finally, there are popular knowledge

products, which communicate a broad range of information. The author is often not identified, sources are