Information Literacy:

Introductory Elements for College English Students

The following is an outline of the Information Literacy competencies that students in First-Year Seminar and College English courses must learn as mandated by Middle States. All of these competencies are listed in the Curriculum Map of the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.

While those elements scheduled to be taught in First-Year Seminar will be reinforced in College English, several competencies will be introduced for the first time in College English. Ideally, these competencies will build upon the elements already taught in First-Year Seminar, and they are marked with a double asterisk (**).The bracketed information following each asterisked item refers to the Standard, Performance Indicator, and Outcome numbers from the Curriculum Map.

Inasmuch as the majority of Ramapo College students take First-Year Seminar and College English concurrently and students might well attend an information literacy session for their College English class before they participate in an information literacy session for their First-Year Seminar class, library faculty members are aware that there will be somewhat of an overlap.

Students in College English courses will be able to do the following:

1. General Orientation

Use the library catalog, databases, course reserves, and website to retrieve information in a variety of formats
Identify location of items in the George T. Potter Library
Use his/her college ID to access Course Reserve items
Use his/her Ramapo email username and password to access the databases
Print, email, or save information to a disk/flash drive
Know when to seek the help of a reference librarian
Access QandANJ(24/7 online reference help)

2. Objectives

Know how information is formally and informally produced, organized, and disseminated

**Recognize that knowledge can be organized into disciplines that influence the way information is accessed [One:2b (= Standard One: Performance Indicator 2, Outcome b)]

Identify key concepts and terms that describe the “information need” (=the kinds and amount of information that must be located)
**Develop a thesis statement and formulate questions based on the information need [One:1b]
Choose keywords for a topic and begin to develop a search strategy
Select controlled vocabulary specific to the discipline
**Recognize that existing information can be combined with original thought, experimentation, and/or analysis to produce new information [One:1f]

Integrate new information with previous information or knowledge
**Select information that provides evidence for the topic [Three:4g]

Review the initial informatin need to define or modify the question

Access the quantity, quality, and relevance of the search results to determine whether alternative information retrieval systems or investigative methods should be utilized
Refine the search strategy if necessary
**Identify gaps in the information retrieved and determine if the search strategy should be revised [Two:4b]

**Incorporate additional concepts as necessary [Three: 7b]

Review information retrieval sources used and expand to include others as needed

**Repeat the search using the revised strategy as necessary [Two: c]

**Define a realistic overall plan and timeline to acquire the needed information [One:3c]

**Describe the criteria used to make information decisions and choices [One:4b]
**Develop a research plan appropriate to the investigative method [Two:2a]
Use various search systems to retrieve information in a variety of formats
Reflect on past successes, failures, and alternative strategies

3. Potential Sources for Information

Explore and use general reference material, e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks, to increase familiarity with a topic
Identify the purpose and audience of potential resources, e.g., popular vs. scholarly, current vs. historical
Differentiate between primary and secondary sources
Determine the availability of needed information and decide whether or not to broaden the information seeking process beyond local resources, e.g., interlibrary loan or using resources at other locations
Investigate the scope, content, and organization of information retrieval systems

4. Library Catalog

Perform a Keyword search
Perform a Subject search
Use Library of Congress (LC) subject headings
Locate books and other materials by using various classification schemes and other systems
**Construct a search strategy using appropriate commands for the information retrieval system selected, e.g., internal organizers such as indexes for books [Two:2d]

5. Electronic Resources

Locate databases as they are grouped on our homepage:

Title Directory: A-Z (alphabetical listing by database title)
Resources by Subject (subject breakdown of databases)

Select an index and review its scope, content, and organization

Perform search using a general database, e.g., Academic Search Premier or Expanded Academic ASAP

**Perform search using a subject-specific database

**Implement the search strategy in various information retrieval systems using different user interfaces and search engines, with different command languages, protocols, and search parameters [Two:2e]

**Implement the search using investigative protocols appropriate to the discipline [Two:2f]

Navigate the databases to locate journal, magazine, and newspaper articles
Narrow and broaden search by changing terms
Demonstrate an understanding of the difference between basic and advanced searches
- **Create a focused search query using the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT[Two:2d]
Locate citations and full-text articles

Refine the search strategy if necessary
Identify the differences among the library catalog, databases, and the Internet
Use “Journal Finder” to identify the library’s periodicals holdings in print or microform online access to selected articles

6. Web Links

Use as supplemental information

7. Evaluate Sources and Determine the Unique Characteristics of the Information

Identify the value and differences of potential resources in a variety of formats, e.g., multimedia, database, website, data set, audio/visual, book
**Examine and compare information from various sources to evaluate reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias [Three:2a]
**Determine whether information satisfies the research or other information need [Three:4a]
**Use consciously selected criteria to determine whether the information contradicts or verifies information used form other sources [Three:4b]
Draw conclusions based upon information gathered
Determine probable accuracy by questioning the source of the data
Integrate new information
**Determine whether the new knowledge has an impact on his/her value system and take steps to reconcile differences

**Investigate differing viewpoints encountered in the literature [Three:5a]
**Determine whether to incorporate or reject viewpoints encountered [Three:5b]

8. Ethical and Legal Use of Information

Understand economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information
Access and use information ethically and legally
Demonstrate understanding of what constitutes plagiarism and does not represent work attributable to others as his/her own [Five:2f]
Citing Print and Online Resources

Choose a documentation style (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) and use it consistently to cite print and online material

Identify and discuss issues related to free vs. fee-based access to information

Based on: Faculty Guide: Curriculum Map (http://library.ramapo.edu/gatewayinfolit.html)