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BUSN 303 Supplemental Course Materials

Week One

The Pursuit of Information

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.”

Steps in the Research Process

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.

Boolean Search Techniques

Boolean Operators are words that help you craft better searches. 

The operators AND, OR, and NOT are explained below:

AND lets you see where two topics overlap.

Detroit AND bankruptcy finds everything that has both the term "Detroit" and the term "bankruptcy"

OR lets you search for more than one term.

Software Engineers OR Programmers finds everything that has either the terms "software engineers" or "programmers"

NOT lets you exclude a term.

Michigan NOT Auto Industry finds everything that has the term "Michigan" but does not contain "auto industry"

For more information on Boolean operators, see our Search Techniques, Part 1 Tutorial.

Are Your Sources Credible?

Authoritative

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.

  • Has the instructor mentioned the author or creator of the source?
  • Have you seen the author mentioned in other sources?
  • Is the author affiliated with a reputable institution, organization, or association?
  • What are the author’s credentials (education, experience, etc.) and/or bias or viewpoint? 

A page's URL can also give clues:

  • Organization: .org
  • Educational institution: .edu
  • Government entity: .gov
  • Commercial firm: .com

Scholarly

How do you know if your sources are scholarly?

  • Are the main points clearly stated in a logical order, and arguments well-supported?
  • Does the author present alternative viewpoints, and is it clear when the author’s opinions are being stated?
  • Is the information factual? Can it be verified? Are there references or a bibliography included?

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.

Current

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.

Legal and Ethical Aspects of Research

Secondary vs Primary Resources

Primary source
An original document/image, the results of an experiment, statistical data, first-hand account, or creative work.
Secondary source
Something written about or using primary sources.

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

Piktochart

Supplemental Resources