Part 2: Research and Information Literacy Learning Unit [Resource]
Michael Gardin
This resource begins in Part 1
Research Journal Assignment Sheet
After studying and practicing how to find and evaluate sources (with 6.2 and 6.3 in the textbook Informed Arguments), students will demonstrate their ability with the skill in a short write-up that should also benefit them moving forward toward the completion of a research essay. Each student will select one source, any source, that they feel relates to the topic of their upcoming research essay. This can be any source at all – primary or secondary, popular or scholarly, print or electronic, written or visual. Students will select only one source for this task. This could be academic, like a book, a scholarly article, or electronic, like a webpage, a blog entry, or something more visual, like a commercial, TV show, video, or advertisement. Please note: students cannot and will not be successful without selecting a source to address.
Evaluating Sources in an Essay
After selecting a source related to their research topic, students should complete a short essay about it by following the prompt (set of questions below). In other words, students should answer all of these questions in their essay:
- What is the source? In other words, what is the title and what type of source is it (news article, webpage, video clip).
- Where was the source found (how did you find it)?
- When was it created and published? How is it distributed (do people have to purchase it, have a subscription service, be on a listserv, etc., or just use a search engine)?
- Who are the authors or creators of the source? What are the backgrounds of the authors or creators?
- Why do you believe the source was created?
- What messages does the source put forward?
- Who do you think edited this source? What might their backgrounds be?
- Do you believe the source is credible, meaning does it provide expert, fair, and accurate information? Why or why not?
If students need clarification about any of these questions, one can look over 6.2, 6.3 and 7.6 in the textbook Informed Arguments). The questions are drawn from its lessons about finding and evaluating sources. While the textbook and writing resources (like a citation style handbook, a dictionary, etc.) may be used for reference, students should not try to incorporate other sources in their journal essay. In other words, students should just focus on one source for this assignment, and not worry about consulting, paraphrasing, or quoting any other websites, articles, books, etc. (expect the one they select to address; just focus on one source). The only question that might require a student do a small amount of outside additional research, such as a Google search, is the question about the author. If a source does not state much about the author, try your best to find out more about them. The majority of the writing should be in the student’s own words, but students may also wish to quote their source with proper citation.
Discussion: Researching and the Library
In preparation for your future research essay, you have been asked to start researching your topic. By now, it is likely that you are familiar with how to find sources and might have done some or even a lot of research. This discussion is aimed at ensuring you start your research or giving you a chance to share that with your peers. Select just one of the following and answer the questions for your initial post.
- Name one scholarly journal (not just an article title, but the journal title) you have located in the library’s materials that looks like it contains useful sources for your topic. Where did you find this journal, or how could we access it (what database, search terms, etc.)? What is the journal focused on (education, health, art, etc.)?
OR
- Name one database with the library’s resources that you have located that helps you find sources for your topic. What types of sources does the database help you find? Describe how we could locate the database — How did you find it?
OR
- Name one academic author (so an expert) who seems to be producing sources about your topic. What are some sources they have written and published? How did you find this author’s name?
You will then select the post of one of your classmates to reply to. Comment on their search strategies or the journal, database, or author they found in how they might be helpful. You might also suggest other strategies or journals, databases, or authors to them. Share advice, share tips, even share sources or authors you know! Ask questions! This discussion gets you one step closer to understanding the scholarly conversations about your topic.
Research Journal Rubric
| Outcome | Failed to do so (F) | Did so poorly (F-D) | Did so moderately (C) | Did so proficiently (B) | Did so excellently (A) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Found and described process of finding an information source | Did not follow instructions or did not submit assignment | Assignment shows student may have found a source, but no information is given on how it was found | Assignment shows student has found a source, but the explanation did not demonstrate the student’s knowledge of different types of searching (search engines, the library’s resources, databases, etc.) or search strategies (keywords, advanced searches, Boolean operators, etc.) | Assignment shows student has found a source, and the explanation demonstrated some grasp of types of searching (search engines, the library’s resources, databases, etc.) and search strategies (keywords, advanced searches, Boolean operators, etc.). Student mentioned the type of search completed, but not the strategy, or mentioned both but without many details or elaboration. | Assignment shows student has found a source, and the explanation demonstrated expert grasp of types of searching (search engines, the library’s resources, databases, etc.) and search strategies (keywords, advanced searches, Boolean operators, etc.). |
| Evaluated information by identifying bias, authority, relevancy, and credibility | Did not follow instructions or did not submit assignment | Assignment displays little to no signs of evaluating the source information. No evidence was present that the student considered biases, possible fallacies, authorship, purpose, and contexts of source information (such as review/editing and publishing processes, agendas, political slants, etc.) | Assignment displays signs of evaluating the source information by considering biases, possible fallacies, authorship, purpose, and contexts, of source information, but not enough evaluating has been completed. Student did not consider the background of an author, but did consider the review/editing and publishing processes. Or the student considered the author’s expertise, but not the review/editing and publishing processes. | Assignment displays signs of evaluating the source information by considering biases, possible fallacies, authorship, purpose, and contexts, of source information, but not enough evaluating has been completed. However, at times, this consideration was lacking. Student missed the political slant or marketing agenda of the source. Or biases or fallacies were in the source were not discussed. | Assignment displays successfully and thorough evaluation of the source information by consistently considering biases, possible fallacies, authorship, purpose, and context of source information. |
| Used information ethically by following guidelines for citation style | Did not follow instructions, plagiarized, or did not submit assignment | Assignment does not show appropriate citations. While quotation marks appeared around the exact wording of the source, no in-text citation was present. Or student attempted in-text citations, though they were incorrect, and did not include a Works Cited or References Page entry | Assignment shows attempts to appropriately cite sources, but frequently and significant errors were present. Student has a Works Cited or References Page entry that lacks academic effort. Or in-text citations include incorrect information or appear incorrectly (without the proper punctuation, spacing, etc.). | Assignment shows adequate citations in most places. Only few and minor errors are found in in-text citations or the Works Cited or References Page entry. | Assignment shows expert adherence to citation rules. No errors were found in the in-text citations or Works Cited or References Page entry. |
Quiz on Finding and Evaluating Source Material: Ensuring Credibility
After reading Informed Arguments 6.2, please take the following multiple choice quiz to test your knowledge of biases, agendas, and credible source material.
- The textbook asks us to understand that various source material formats mean understanding some considerations about each. What is a consideration we should make about sources from social media?
- They go through what is called a peer-review process.
- Anyone can create or contribute to social media and nothing that’s said is checked for accuracy before it’s posted for the world to see.
- They may be best treated as primary sources, or the objects under study rather than sources of information on a topic (such as information that would serve as evidence in an essay).
- They been a staple of the research process since Gutenberg invented the printing press because a topic can be covered in more depth in a book than in most other types of sources.
- both b & c
- According to the textbook, websites, even those published by an educational institution or a government entity, are considered popular and not scholarly sources. True or False?
- Clues to a source’s level of ____ are closely related to thinking about how the source was produced, including what format it was published in and whether it is likely to have gone through a formal editing process prior to publication.
- quality
- price
- authority and authenticity
- accuracy
- A bias is a pre-judgement, prejudice, or dogma that renders a conclusion illogical or suspect. Biases occur when someone expresses a view that claims a definitive without consideration for information that might negate what they believe. What does the textbook suggest to look for when we want to identify and avoid biased information?
-
- dramatic language and images
- poorly supported evidence against an opposing viewpoint
- a strong (often unsubstantiated) leaning in one direction
- all of the above
- This characteristic is key for evaluating sources. In fact, it might be helpful to think of this characteristic as a culmination of all the other criteria you have used to evaluate a source. This concept could be summarized in the following question you may ask yourself: how likely am I to use this source? What is this characteristic?
-
-
- publication year
- citation style
- inspirability [sic] inspiration (?)
- credibility
-
- Authority and reputation of a source’s creator are important. You want to know how an author or creator knows what they share. You will also want to know their motivations for sharing information and if people trust them (for example, do they have a financial or political gain at stake?). To figure this out, you will want to know things, such as their expertise, training, experiences, and ethics or honesty. The reputation of a publication can also be investigated through reviews, word-of-mouth by professionals in the field, or online databases that keep track of statistics related to a journal’s credibility. In a few sentences, explain some other ways the textbook said you can learn about an author’s authority and reputation?
(Students could mention looking at biographical information that is available as part of the source. Looking to see what else the author has published and whether this information has positive reviews.)
- The textbook taught us a lot about evaluating sources. Explain what it said about the chain reaction that can happen if you incorporate unreliable source material into your own essays. Hint: the example used in the textbook was the consequences of using the book Our Virginia.
(Students could explain how the author using a biased source as part of her research as well as the inaccurate information she got from that source affected the quality of her own work. Likewise, if anyone had used her book as part of their research, it would have set off a chain reaction, since whatever information they cited from Our Virginia would naturally have to be called into question, possibly diminishing the value of their own conclusions.)
- According to the textbook, you already evaluate sources regularly in your day-to-day life. You evaluate which movie to see this weekend, which new restaurant to try out, and which section of a required college class to take next semester. True or false?
Further Information Resource Guide: Research, Information Literacy, and the College Classroom
Framework: Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education by ACRL
Professional Development: Conferences & Online Learning by ACRL
Video: ACRL Presents… “Teaching Information Literacy Threshold Concepts ” (Tips for teaching)
Article: Faculty Perspectives on Undergraduate Research Skills by Boglarka S. Huddleston, et. al
Attribution:
Gardin, Michael. “Part 2: Research and Information Literacy Learning Unit [Resource].” Strategies, Skills and Models for Student Success in Writing and Reading Comprehension. College Station: Texas A&M University, 2024. This work is licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).