Information Literacy

Scholars, authors, and students conduct research, write articles to share information, and challenge ideas. This part of scholarship can be seen as a conversation between authors. You will join the scholarship as a conversation by doing your own research!

This means knowing what's been said already in the conversation. As you read through articles or books or view media for your project, you'll learn more about your topic and where more information is needed--you may even find new terms to use in your search. That strategic exploration of the topic, knowing what is already available and gaps in the current knowledge, can become part of your research plan.

Research can mean different things to different academic disciplines. As you start your research, know what information and format will most benefit you. Read the assignment prompt carefully.

As you work on your research plan, know how many information sources are required and decide what kind of source will be best for your topic. Then you'll know where to start looking--will the databases, library catalog, or open web give you the best information to answer your research question or support your research statement?

• Books may be written over a long period of time and provide in-depth knowledge about a single topic. Look for relevant chapters and terms in the index to find information when using a book for a research project.
• Articles may be written and published within months, providing a more timely source than books. Some articles may include a literature review or a summary of other articles. Read over the literature review to find additional resources.
• Media can include films, art, or music. People are recording and uploading videos of events as they happen, allowing viewers to see what happened. 

When you know your topic and what type of sources you need, you're almost ready to search! Identify your keywords and the main ideas of your topic, and use those to search in the databases.

As you search, look for new subject terms that could relate to your topic to use in new searches. You can combine the Boolean Operators AND, OR, NOT in a single search to broaden or narrow your search. Questions? Contact the library for help!