BUSN 303 takes you on a journey to information literacy; defined by the American Library Association as an ability to “ recognize when information is needed and ….to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information.”
The following videos & tutorials will help you understand why information literacy skills matter and how to get started with a research project, including understanding the process, choosing a topic, help with searching, evaluating your sources and how to bring everything together in the end. Use your DU log in for the videos & tutorials.
The operators AND
, OR
, and NOT
are explained below:
AND
lets you see where two topics overlap.
OR
lets you search for more than one term.
NOT
lets you exclude a term.
For more information on Boolean operators, see our Search Techniques, Part 1 Tutorial.
Who is the author and publisher?
A university press or professional organization may indicate authority. A periodical with the “journal” in the title usually indicates greater complexity and depth of articles than a popular magazine.
A page's URL can also give clues:
How do you know if your sources are scholarly?
Check for advertisements.
Ads, especially in the middle of articles, may indicate that a periodical is more popular than scholarly. Illustrations, such as tables, graphs, or charts, should add to the textual information. Illustrations used for entertainment purposes or to draw the eyes may indicate the source is more popular than scholarly.
How do you know if your information is current enough?
Very current sources need to be used when the field or topic is changing rapidly. Use historical sources when appropriate.
When was the source published?
Locate the date in a book or journal by looking for the copyright information. On a website, look for the "last updated" information.
For more information on evaluating your sources, see our Selecting Appropriate Digital Sources Tutorial.
Examples
Primary | Secondary |
The text of The Gettysburg Address | An analysis of The Gettysburg Address |
Census data for Detroit | A book about demographic changes in Detroit |
A McDonald's commerical | A documentary about McDonald's advertising |
The results of an experiment or clinical trial | An overview of different treatments options |
An interview with a World War II veteran | A history book about World War II |