Learn to search, evaluate, process and refer better!
https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-white-shirt-using-macbook-pro-52608/
Licensed under CC0 1.0 via Pexels
Information literacy has become an essential skill that higher-education students must possess to succeed. The interactive modular instruction Information literacy Green UAS (University of Applied Sciences) has been developed to help students in higher education in the green sector.
This instruction will teach you:
how to correctly formulate a search question and how to choose the right search terms;
about the different types of information sources and how to search within them;
where you can find the right information;
how to determine the quality of general and internet-sourced information;
how to process the found information in reports, articles, presentations and similar assignments;
how to monitor the process.
How does it work?
The skills have been organised into modules based on the 'Big6' for information literacy. This is a well-known step-by-step plan that was developed by Berkowitz and Eisenberg and consists of 6 steps that you go through when answering a research question.
Students can take the entire series or take each one independently. To begin the module series, click on the 'Next' button on the bottom right of this screen. If you would like to redo the module questions at any time, simply refresh the web page by pressing Ctrl+F5.
Information literacy Green UAS is a co-creation of Aeres University of Applied Sciences, HAS green academy and Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences. For questions or comments, you can visit the library of your university of applied sciences or contact the authors of this interactive module series.
This course contains some Dutch-language buttons. You'll find the English translation below:
aantal vragen = number of questions
controleer antwoord = check answer
fout = wrong
goed = correct
introductie = introduction
oefening = exercise
resultaat = result
titel = title
vorige = back
volgende = next
voortgang = progress
vraag = question
1 : Research question
Before beginning your search for literature or information, it's important to first define precisely what you are looking for. Hazardly beginning a search does not often result in reliable results, or at least not quickly. Formulating a good problem definition first will save you a considerable amount of work. It will allow you to conduct a more targeted search. What information are you looking for precisely? What would you like to know? Are you looking for general information on your subject or are you dividing your research into subtopics?
Using the questions below, you can formulate a specific and clear-cut assignment or problem definition.
How much time do I have to complete my assignment? Looking up references and reading documents can take a long time, and you have to be realistic about how you divide up your time.
How extensive should my paper be? Sometimes you can limit yourself to recent literature. In other cases, you must prepare a comprehensive bibliography and, therefore, also review older literature.
What is the exact assignment? Sometimes you need to gather literature material; in other cases, you must then critically compare your collected material.
The biggest problem encountered when conducting research is not receiving too little information. Typically, you end up with so much information that you stray from your original research task. That is why it's wise to ask a key question when conducting research. Your research should provide an answer to this question.
Try using this key question to formulate a number of sub-questions that support the main question to be answered.
1.2 : From problem definition to search terms
You can extract your search terms from your problem definition. The search terms form the basis for the searches. The trick is to use as few search terms as possible to find the most relevant publications possible, while receiving as few as possible irrelevant publications.
To find appropriate search terms, it is best to read around your subject. Consult for that reference books, newspapers, (online) encyclopedias, as well as general and specialist dictionaries. Also consider who or what are the most important authors or organizations concerning your topic? While keeping this basic information in mind, you can create the search terms.
Different relations exist within a search term:
Abbreviations
Abbreviations of terms that to have to do with your subject, such as SDG
Synonyms
Another word with the same, or nearly the same, meaning, such as car/auto
Translations
It may be useful to use translations of your search terms. Also think of the difference between British English (behaviour) and American English (behavior) and consider the Latin names
Singular or plural
Keep this in mind when formulating your search query, e.g. woman/women
Narrower term
Has a relation to the search term, but it has a more limited meaning, e.g. tsunami as NT of natural disaster
Broader term
Has a relationship to the search term, but it has a wider meaning, e.g. disaster as BT of natural disaster
Related term
Is related to the search term within the context of your subject, e.g. evacuation as RT of natural disaster
If you complete your initial search terms of your problem definition with translations, synonyms, broader terms, narrower terms, etc., you will generate a good set of search terms.
1.1 : Practice
2 : Search strategy
Lots of information sources (books, encyclopaedias, journals, dictionaries and other materials) are offered also online, either for free or for a fee. The libraries select information sources based on relevance and quality and make the information available for students and teachers in a structured way. For this information, we distinguish the following categories:
Catalogues: to search for books, magazines and journals or audiovisual materials
Databases: to search for articles, summaries, etc.
Reference works: to search for brief descriptions about concepts, people or words.
In this module, you will learn which information sources are most suitable and how to perform a good search, because having good information skills means taking a moment before entering all manner of terms in a search bar.
2.1 : When do I use what kind of information sources?
Reference works: to look up information about a general concept (encyclopaedia) or a word (dictionary).
Why actually?
Here you will find a relatively short description of your subject and often a selective bibliography.
As a first introduction to the subject of your paper.
To quickly look up something about someone or something.
To find new suitable search terms about your topic.
For some reference works, only a printed version is available, so you have to go to the library.
I'm looking for a particular author's work or about a specific subject
What should I use?
Catalogues: To locate print and online resources selected by the library.
Databases: for consulting online sources of texts, images, objects, etc.
Why actually?
To get to know and understand your subject yourself.
To study your subject in detail for the first time, the critical introduction is often very suitable.
To know what researchers think about your subject.
To know the different theories and hypotheses about aspects of your subject.
To test the different theories and hypotheses against the sources.
2.1.1 Catalogues
A catalogue contains a description of books, journals and audiovisual materials, including the location of where they are stored (the precise bookshelf location of a printed copy or a direct link to the electronic version).
Note: Most catalogues do not have journal articles, only the titles of the journals.
If you are looking for publications by an author or on a subject, you can use a catalogue to get to know and understand your subject. But also to know what researchers think about your subjects and to know the different theories and hypotheses about aspects of your subject or to test them against the sources. For the same reasons you can also use databases, see 2.1.2
Catalogue examples:
Greeni : a joint catalogue maintained by the green universities of applied sciences: Aeres, HAS and Van Hall Larenstein. See modules 3.1 to 3.5 for more information.
WUR Library : a catalogue maintained by Wageningen University & Research and a number of libraries in the Netherlands. See module 3.10 for more information.
WorldCat : the largest catalogue in the world. More than 50,000 libraries based in over 90 countries cooperate to provide a joint online catalogue.
2.1.2 Databases
A database contains bibliographic references and it may include the electronic version of scientific publications, frequently journal articles.
Bibliographic databases: contain some bibliographic references, whether or not supplemented with a summary. Some bibliographic databases provide a link to the electronic version located elsewhere on the internet.
Full-text databases: contain not only the bibliographic references, but also the complete electronic versions. Often the full text is fully searchable. Some full-text databases contain only an archive collection (i.e. from the oldest volume, but not the newest volumes), others contain the newest volumes (e.g. from 2006–present).
Citation databases: contain not only the bibliographic reference, but also the link to the citations (other publications that cite this reference in the footnotes).
Database examples, see also module 3.6:
ScienceDirect (bibliographic and full-text database)
Google Scholar (bibliographic database and citation database and scientific search engine, see module 3.6.2)
You use a reference work if you are looking for basic information about a certain subject. Here you will find a relatively short description about your subject and often also a selective bibliography and new suitable search terms about your subject.
For some reference works, only a printed version is available, so you have to go to the library.
Types of reference works:
Encyclopaedias: provide information on people and concepts
It is NOT enough just to type in every possible search term at random. To find specific and targeted information about your subject, you have to combine your search terms.
There are four important techniques to accomplish this:
Boolean operators;
Truncation symbols (only for use in databases);
Exact word combinations;
Search field selections.
2.2.1 : Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)
Boolean operators help narrow or broaden a search by using them between search terms. There are three Boolean operators: AND, OR, and NOT.
AND
AND means that all words must be shown. The AND relation is used to link two or more different subjects. This limits the search results in comparison to searching for a single term.
For example: You are looking for a camping site on one of the Wadden Islands.
The search terms and relation are: campings AND Wadden Islands (in Dutch: Waddeneilanden)
OR
OR specifies that at least one of the words will turn up in your search. The OR relation is used when you are working with synonyms or near synonyms and different spelling variations. The search result will be expanded in comparison to searching for one word.
For example, besides camping sites, you would also like to search for hotels.
The search terms and relation are: campings OR hotels.
NOT
NOT means that the specified word may not turn up in the results; The NOT relation is used when you want to exclude a specific word, the search results are limited.
For example, you do not necessarily want to go to Texel.
The search terms and relation are; Waddeneilanden NOT Texel.
Tips!
Do not confuse search terms with everyday speech. If you say, 'I want to know everything about cats and dogs', you will end up searching for information about cats or dogs, or both pets. In this case, the 'and' from everyday speech acts the same as the Boolean OR operator.
If you combine several Boolean operators, use brackets. These indicate the priority of the search terms within the brackets and clarify the search. Brackets indicate which words belong together, these are often words that pertain to the same subject or that have to do with one another (e.g. synonyms, singular/plural): e.g. (camping sites OR hotels) AND Wadden islands.
Be sure to type AND or NOT with capital letters. Capital letters are often obligatory with, for instance, a search engine.
2.2.2 : Truncations symbols (wild cards)
Truncation is the replacement of a portion of a word with a wild card: the truncation symbol. This means that you search for words beginning or ending with the typed word. See the manual of the file you are searching in for which signs to use for truncation. Frequently a * is used. Other possible truncation symbols include '?' of '@'.
If you insert a truncation symbol after a word, or a part of a word, your search will be based on what you have typed and everything that comes after it. For example, sustain* provides results for: sustain, sustainable ande sustainability.
If you insert a truncation symbol before a word, or a portion of a word, your search will be based on what you have typed and everything that comes before it. For example, *food will provide results for food, fastfood, biofood and seafood
Note: The majority of databases and catalogues do not allow you to insert a truncation symbol both before and after a word.
Tip!The trick is not to truncate the word too early or too late. For example, if you're searching for information about 'demography', type 'demograph*' not 'demo*'. This search also finds demonstrate, demonstration, demones, democracy etc.
Note: You cannot truncate words if you are using a search engine.
2.2.3 : Exact word combination (phrase search)
If you only want to receive search results that contain the indicated search terms in the exact same order place your search terms between double quotation marks (".....").
This if often the case for terms that consist of more than one word, such as "food design". Without quotes it is interpreted as food AND design. With quotes it is interpreted as food design.
Tip!An exact word combination is actually a strict version of the Boolean AND operator. The search terms do, however, need to be next to one another. Another difference is that the search term order is not random; you determine it.
2.2.4 : Search fields
Advanced searches often allow you to indicate which fields you would like to search in. For instance, you can indicate that you only want to search in the 'title' field
2.3 : How can I receive either fewer or more search results?
No one is prepared to evaluate the relevance of each individual search result when there are hundreds, if not thousands, of them. Therefore, it's wise to use a smart method to find, at a maximum, dozens of search results – without overlooking relevant search results.
See below fortips to use if you are receiving too many search results:
Rather than a simple search, use 'advanced search' so you can apply more filters;
Use the Boolean AND operator and use the OR operator critically;
Use 'narrower' terms;
Truncate the word as late as possible;
Limit your search to the 'title/abstract field' rather than searching all fields;
Limit your search to the most recent publications by filtering on publication year. For example, results beginning from 2010.
It is highly frustrating not to receive any search results. Of course, it's also possible that the database in question does not provide relevant information on your subject. Try one of the following tips if you receive little to no search results:
Use advanced search rather than simple search;
Search within all possible fields;
Search, if possible, in the full text;
Use synonyms, translations and plural forms and combine these with the Boolean OR operator;
Use both 'related' and 'broader' terms and combine these with the Boolean OR operator.
You can find information in many different ways, including search engines like Google and the (digital) sources available at the libraries.
More and more information can be found on the internet, but it tends to be rather dispersed, and it is not always easy to determine its quality. Often you cannot access the information because it's only available in a database, or you have to log in to access the content.
Were you aware that:
The "surface web" is merely the tip of the iceberg
Google indexes less than half the entire internet?
the search results for a general search engine are not checked for quality and reliability?
non-substantive arguments (based on commercial, statistical and nationalistic motives) determine the ranking of the search results?
not all (scientific) information is available online?
Therefore the use of similarly popular search engines is problematic when you need to search for general and scientific information. As you can see in the adjacent image, this is the "surface web", or the Internet which we all have access to, though it is but a small tip, in this case literally, of the iceberg.
To find all the information sources relevant for your subject, it is better to use the information sources that have been selected by the library staff. They have been selected for their quality and currency and they offer structured information. This module goes into further detail about the following sources:
Greeni Global Search & catalogue
Databases
Search engines, e.g. Google
WUR Library
3.1 : Greeni
Greeni library for the green uas is a joint catalogue maintained by the libraries of Aeres University of Applied Sciences, HAS green academy and Van Hall Laresntein University of Applied Sciences.
Greeni Global Search is the search engine of Greeni. On a Google-like way you search more than one file at a time.
In addition to a catalogue with menu functions such as renewal and reservation, you will find especially for you selected internet resources, databases and electronic journals. Also you can find all about information literacy, copyrights and more.
Note: When you are at home or elsewhere outside the premises of your institution, you still have access to e-journals, databases and e-books. There are several ways to get remote access. An explanation of how this works can be found here.
3.2 : Greeni Global Search
Search box Greeni Global Search on home page
Greeni Global Search is Greeni's search engine. One search in a Google-like way searches multiple files at once:
The entire Greeni collection (books, journal titles, etc.) which also can be found in the catalogue;
The entire contents of the databases marked with a blue G in the alphabetical list;
Selected open access resources that are freely available on the internet.
You use Greeni Global Search for an exploratory search for (scientific) information. Refining a search result is possible in a simple and fast way.
However, Greeni Global Search does not have the same specific search options as some specialized databases. Also, not all databases are covered by Greeni Global Search for different reasons. So if you have a specific question, you can miss information if you limit yourself to Greeni Global Search. In that case we recommend you to search the databases themselves. An overview can be found in the menu bar of Greeni under Information sources-databases.
3.2.1 : Simple search on topic
Type one or more keywords in the search box.
If you are searching with Dutch terms, you'll get publications only in Dutch.
Search with English terms for an international result and more likely to scientific publications.
3.2.2 : Tips and Tricks
Refine your search by using the options in the left column e.g. Full text online, Content type, Language or Discipline. You can also select multiple filters.
If you want to search for a specific period, you can indicate it at the option Publication date.
Save a result clicking on the icon right of a title.
Don't forget to email or print the saved items folder right at the top of the screen before you quit Greeni Global Search!
You can choose to display saved items from various formats of literature references, for example APA (see module 5).
Boolean operators help narrow or broaden a search by using them between search terms (see module 2). The default operator is AND. Other options: OR, NOT, +, -
If you want to find the exact phrase you will have to put double quotes around it: “population analysis”.
Instead of typing all relevant search terms in a search box, you can save time by using wild cards. Wild cards can be used for words with the same root or for words that differ by one letter(see module 2). The question mark (?) replaces zero or one character: organi?ational finds organizational en organisational. The asterisk (*) replaces more characters within a word or at the end of a word: ch*ter finds charter, character, chapter etc. Wildcards cannot be used as the first character of a search.
You can explicitly search a field using the syntax: “field:(query)”. For example, the search ISSN:(1234-5678) finds records that contain that value in the ISSN field.
Searchable fields: Title, SubjectTerms, Author, Publisher, Publication Title, Volume, Issue, Language, Notes, ISBN, ISSN en DOI.
Broaden your search using "Add results beyond the Greeni collection".
Use this function to search further when you find very little. These publications are not available in the Greeni collections.
3.2.3 : Advanced search
Use the Advanced Search option to search commonly-used fields e.g. author, title, ISBN, combine search terms using Boolean operators.
The catalogue in Greeni is a joint catalogue maintained by the libraries of:
Aeres University of Applied Sciences,
HAS green academy
Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences.
The catalogue has book and periodical titles, both print and online, DVDs, streaming videos and other materials. It is not possible to search on titles of articles or chapters Every student has free access to the materials in this catalogue, which is accessible online: www.greeni.nl
3.4.1 : Searching the catalogue
On the start page of Greeni, you will find a search box for searching the catalogue:
Type one or more search terms into the search bar and then click on 'Search' to execute the search task. Two or more search terms are usually combined with the operator AND.
Note: Do not use words that have no real meaning, such as articles, prepositions, adverbs and conjunctions. Examples include: the, a, of, in, if, then.
3.4.2 : The search results
The search results will be shown on the following screen:
If you have entered in a search, you will receive a list of hits. In the list, you will see the cover of the material, abbreviated title information and types of material. This list enables you to quickly scroll through to see whether there are any titles that you would like to have a closer look at.
Using the filters found in the right-hand column, you can refine your search by year, language, document type, medium, location, author or co-author, keyword and publisher.
Clicking on a title will provide you with a full description:
The shelf location is displayed at the bottom of the screen and indicates which library has the material and on which shelf the material is stored.
For example: VHL Leeuwarden 502.6 79 = reference number 79 under the subject 502.6 in the collection of Van Hall Larenstein location Leeuwarden.
At 'Item details' you can see whether the publication has been borrowed, and if so, how long it will be checked out. Digital materials (e-books, streaming video) do not have shelf locations, but you will find a link to the material in the title information.
If present, 'Relations' (on the right-hand side of the screen) may contain a reference to a translation, older or newer print, the series to which it belongs or other/accompanying materials.
3.4.3 : My Greeni
The catalogue system allows you to save selected titles, view your personal information, make reservations and renew the lending period.
Assignment: Go to Greeni and click on 'Login My Greeni' at the top right corner of the screen.
You will be asked to enter your library ID number and a password.
At Aeres and HAS the library ID number and the student number are identical. At HAS your library ID number is located on your student card.
At Van Hall Larenstein you can also use your student number (at your student card).
If you do not yet have a password, or you have forgotten it, click on the 'Request password' button:
My Greeni provides the following options:
Borrowing and Renewing. These options allow you to see which materials you have borrowed and whether they are overdue and to renew them.
Making reservations provides you with an overview of the publications you have reserved. If desired, you can specify whether you want to cancel the reservation for each title. You can also see whether one of your reservations is already available.
Reading lists. This option allows you to compile reading lists of the titles that you have selected and saved.
Search settings. Here you can indicate your preferences for searching the catalogue.
Personal data. Here you can find an overview of your personal information as it is recorded in the library administration. You can update or change this information. For example, your password for logging in to My Greeni.
Note: To prevent others from accessing your personal information, do not forget to click on Log out when you are finished with your search, renewals, reservations and so on.
Making reservations and renewing
The Greeni catalogue allows you to reserve materials you are interested in but happen to be checked out. Under the title information, click on the button 'Making reservations'. This will bring you to the login screen of My Greeni where you enter your library ID number and your password. On the following screen, click on 'Making reservations'. The publication is now reserved for you. You will receive an e-mail confirming this. As soon as the publication becomes available, you will receive an e-mail informing you that your material is ready. You can use this same procedure to reserve materials held at other Greeni locations.
You can keep the borrowed materials for an even longer time by renewing the lending period. Via My Greeni, you can see which materials you have borrowed and will have the option of renewing them. If a publication has already been reserved, you will not be able to renew the lending period. The original due date will remain unchanged.
If you would like to know more about all you can do with Greeni, visit the FAQs or inquire at the library of your own Greeni location.
3.5 : Greeni catalogue - Practice
The Greeni catalogue is directly accessible via www.greeni.nl.
Oefening: Greeni catalogue
0%
Open de Greeni catalogue in a new tab or in an other window and click on 'Start'.
A database is an organized and extendable collection of dates. The most distinguishing is that the data and presentation of the data are dynamically accessible.
A database can contain a wide range of information: usually articles from digital journals (e-journals), often entire e-books or portions thereof, visual materials, factual data and descriptions of literature.
For the most part, the information contained in these databases is inaccessible or difficult to access (free) in any other way. Databases provide systematic, structured information and they are selected by the library staff based on their relevance and quality.
Note:When you are at home or elsewhere outside the premises of your institution, you still have access to e-journals, databases and e-books. There are several ways to get remote access. An explanation of how this works can be found here.
3.6.1 : Widely used databases
in green higher professional education, listed in alphabetical order:
Nexis Uni (VHL) Archive of (Dutch language) regional and (inter)national daily newspapers and journals
MarketLine Advantage (HAS) Market, branch and business reports. Besides that: country and statistical information
ScienceDirect (Aeres, HAS & VHL) Scientific journal articles in several scientific fields
SpringerLink (Aeres, HAS & VHL) Scientific journal articles in several scientific fields
Wiley (Aeres, HAS & VHL) Scientific journal articles in several scientific fields
Tip: You might find it difficult to get access to full-text articles using the databases or theLibrary Access browser extension. Although more and more scientific articles are available through open access, you’ll regularly find that a relatively high fee is requested to gain access to a digital article. You can try the tips on the page Search the full-text in order to find (Open Access) articles which are free of charge, or cheaper options.
Attention:Database access is dependent on the licences acquired by the universities of applied sciences. Database access can differ when using a laptop or when accessing from home. For more information, inquire at the library of your university of applied science.
The internet has an enormous wealth of information world-wide, therefore, it can be an effective source for finding the right answer to a question. About Google, Yahoo! and Bing you've probably heard, DuckDuckGo is a search engine that is gaining popularity because of the privacy it offers to users.
3.8.1 : Tips
The Internet has a great deal of information, but the trick is to find precisely what you are looking for amid that information explosion. There are a number of tips to help you use search engines as efficiently as possible.
The following ten tips for typing Google searches will enable you to search Google more efficiently. The most important operators and symbols when using a search engine, particularly with Google, include:
AND OR ( ) Use capital letters and be careful of the placement of ().
filetype:pdf Using lower-case letters without spaces restricts results to PDF documents.
“...........” When looking up compound search terms like 'social history', and sentence segments like 'cycling in Limburg'.
2010..2014 Without spaces. This provides the approximate publication year.
-........... Without spaces. This excludes a word (= the Boolean NOT operator)
~.......... Without spaces. Also look for possible synonyms (e.g. ~navo also provides 'nato').
allintitle:........ Without spaces. Searches the title of a website, not the website itself.
inurl:........ Without spaces. Search the folder structure, rather than the text (e.g. 'inurl:ikea')
You can also perform advanced searches with search engines, but this way provides fewer options in compared with the advanced search in a database.
Note:Nearly anyone can publish information on the internet without undergoing a thorough editing process. You will have to evaluate the reliability of internet sources yourself. See module 4 for an overview of the evaluation criteria.
3.8.2 : DuckDuckGo
A more privacy-friendly alternative to the default search engines is DuckDuckGo, although it does have some limitations. DuckDuckGo performs adequately but especially when it comes to search results in Dutch, it falls short of e.g. Google and does not always find the most relevant search results. However, most of the time it does just fine and therefore Google does not prove to be absolutely necessary.
Those who still want to quickly go to Google can quickly switch from DuckDuckGo to Google by typing !g after the command in DuckDuckGo's search bar. That will then take the search query with it, making it relatively effortless to perform a particular search with Google anyway.
3.8.3 : Google Scholar
Google Scholar falls somewhere between a database and a search engine and, therefore, is also referred to as a scientific search engine. In terms of appearance, it resembles the typical Google search engine. A major difference, however, is that the results are limited to searching through scientific literature. By the way, the hits from Google Scholar also appear in the standard Google search, only you will need to search through numerous other hits to find them.
Google Scholar offers a simple method to search scientific literature. The search results are ranked by relevance: the full text of each article is searched while taking into account who the author is, the publication in which the article appears and how often the article has been cited in scientific literature.
Note: If you’re in school and visit Google Scholar, you’re being recognized automatically as a student, which enables you to access many full-text articles by clicking the link "Greeni Full Text". When you are at home or elsewhere off-campus, first of all, make sure you are logged in to your university's network (see remote access) and then go to Google Scholar via the Greeni database list.
You can also set it up in Google Scholar. In Google Scholar, go to 'Settings' from the menu (the three lines icon). Click 'Library Links' and type 'Greeni' in the search box. Click on the search icon, check the selection icon at 'Greeni - online bibliotheek voor het groen hbo - Greeni Full Text' and click 'Save'.
When you go searching for literature in Google Scholar, you will now see a link to the right of some of the search results (see picture below). Click the title to go to the full-text article directly.
Of all university libraries the library of Wageningen University & Research connect the most with the education areas of the Green universities of applied sciences. WUR Library can be found as part of the website of Wageningen University & Research and is only in English. Search terms can also be entered in the Dutch.
Externals only have access to all the information resources of the library by visiting the libary. If you can not come to the library of Wageningen University & Research it is possible to search the various sources of information but it is not possible to download all items. WUR Library does have gathered a large number of publications that are freely accessible.
Website WUR Libary
The home page provides an overview of the current services provided by the library, with news, courses and recent publications. In the search box you can directly start a simple search in the main search applications. Look at "Databases & Collections" or "Research@WUR" when you are looking for a specific (recommended) journal, database or research output.
Click on "For students" to find out more about the services of these library.
3.11 : Practice
Oefening: Module 3
0%
Please indicate whether the statements are true or false.
An information search results in a number of web pages or documents. When selecting information sources, two factors are critical. First, the information source should be appropriate for the required information. A student who gives a lecture about nutrition and health at a middle school will not benefit greatly from researching a dissertation or thesis, as they contain information that is far too scientific. Furthermore, should you only have access to a DVD player in the presentation room, a videotape will not be of much help.
The second crucial aspect to pay attention to is the reliability of the information source. How objective is the information source? How expert is it? Does it refer to any underlying sources? If so, are you able to find them to verify whether you have arrived at the same conclusion?
To make a good selection from your results list, you will need to be able to evaluate these results based on their quality and relevance.There are many reasons why some sources are suitable, while others are not. For example, information can be biased because the makers think from a certain scientific perspective, a philosophy, a commercial point of view, and so on.
Therefore, always make sure to use different sources and to compare them with one another.
4.1 : Criteria for assessing (online) sources
With information literacy, it is important to be able to distinguish which information is reliable or unreliable. Anyone can confirm what they want on the Internet. There is no commission that requires information to be accurate or statements to be objective. The difference between commercial information, propaganda and similar sources is not always clear on the Internet either. Therefore, you have to continually research whether information is reliable enough and if you choose to use information found on web pages, you need to be extra careful and consider the role you will give it in your argument or analysis.
4.1.1 : CRAAP
A widely used - internationally - tool for assessing information sources is the CRAAP test. By rating the information found on five different criteria, you get an indication of the quality of the information:
Currency: how up to date is the information?
When was the information published?
Has the information been updated or revised?
Is the information current enough for your topic?
Relevance: is the information relevant for your subject?
Does the information relate to your subject, or answer a research question?
Who is the intended audience of the information (e.g. general public/experts/researchers)?
Authority: is the creator an authority on this subject?
Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
What do other sources say about the creator? What information do you find about this online, is the creator perceived as reliable, or controversial?
What makes the author an expert in this field? (e.g. education, background, connected to a particular organisation)
Accuracy: is the information true, correct and reliable?
Is the information supported by evidence?
Are there references to used sources?
Has the information been reviewed by other experts (e.g. peer review)?
Do other sources confirm the information?
Purpose: what is the reason the information exists?
What is the purpose of the information (e.g. to inform, entertain, persuade)?
Is the author/sponsor clear about the purpose of the information?
Is the information based on (provable) facts, or on opinions?
Is the information objective and impartial? Or could it be influenced by political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal views?
Note: In your assessment, take into account the purpose for which you need the information. For example, whether a source is current enough can differ per subject. A recent source will be more important for mapping current market developments than for information about a historical event.
CRAAP test input form
Evaluate sources on reliability and usability with the CRAAP test input form. Answer the questions, giving a score from 1-10. The added score gives you an indication of the quality of the source.
4.2 : Fake news
Fake news (pseudo news) and hoaxes (false messages) have been around for a long time, but their spread has been rapid since the rise of social media. Anyone can post content on the internet nowadays. As a result, the lines between news, fake news and advertisements seem to blur. It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish them from each other and form an informed opinion.
Why do people actually spread fake news and why do we believe it? What is the danger of fake news and how do you recognize it? What is being done against it and how can you best deal with it yourself? This is what the website Keepin' It Real: Tips & Strategies for Evaluating Fake News, developed by Loyola Marymount University, is about.
The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) has prepared the infographic ‘How To Spot Fake News’ below to help you verify a particular news-piece.
In this module, you will learn when and how you can correctly refer to your sources and the resources that can help you with this.
Source citation means indicating the information's origin along with edited texts, images and image clips that are used to create a published work. There are various systems for citing sources, the green UAS usually uses the APA guidelines.
5.1 : Why do I need to reference my information sources?
Citations should allow readers or viewers to assess the information’s reliability. This provides others the opportunity to expand on the information through further research or to correct it and to give the original’s creator the 'honour' and respect they deserve. The writing and ideas of others may not appear in your document without a source citation. If you fail to give proper credit, you will commit plagiarism.
Image used under license from Shutterstock.com
If you use another's work, you are required to cite the copyright. For the most part, students commit plagiarism unwittingly. As such, it is much more effective to be safe (plagiarism prevention) than sorry (plagiarism detection).
Definition of plagiarism
Plagiarism entails acquiring others’ work of identical or slightly modified form without providing proper citation.
Explanation:
"...acquiring others’ work..."
Work= text, or a fragment thereof, images, statistical material, graphics, sound or image recordings, diagrams, etc.
print work: books, magazine articles, journal articles, etc.
electronic work: online encyclopaedias, e-books, etc.
"...identical or slightly modified form..."
Quotation= literal replication of a text fragment between double quotation marks (" ")
Paraphrasing = acquisition of a person's ideas or propositions in slightly modified form, i.e. restated in your own words
Summarization = briefly display the key points of larger pieces of text (eg. a page, a chapter or an article) in your own words
Translation= use of foreign-language texts, for example, text translated from English into Dutch
"...without providing proper citation..."
Quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing or translating text without citing the source is plagiarism!
Plagiarism can be recognised by:
a break in the style of the text, (smooth vs rough or scientific vs popular language usage)
unexpected language (overly academic)
differences in text formatting
different reference styles
mistakes made in, or the omission of, references
deviations from the subject;
missing recent references
Plagiarism can also be detected digitally by typing in part of one or multiple suspect sentences in a search engine or by using software specifically designed to detect text duplications, known as plagiarism detection software.
5.2 : When am I not required to reference my information sources?
There are situations where you do not have to refer:
When you state a well-known fact. This is a somewhat elastic concept, but a good criterion is that if your parents or siblings know this fact without having to look it up, it's considered common knowledge.
Well-known fact:the start and end date of World War I (1914-1918); the name of the current chancellor of Germany (Olaf Scholz).
A lesser-known fact: the start and end date of the Third Punic War (149-146 BC); the name of the Madagascar Senate president who served in between 2008-2009 (Yvan Randriasandratriniony).
Whether the information originates completely from yourself. It is quite possible that you developed your own line of thought from the information sources. Similar ideas, positions or interpretations originate with you and therefore do not have a source.
Tip!When in doubt, use a source citation.
5.3 : APA guidelines
There are several source citations systems that can be used. Green higher professional education generally uses the guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA): http://www.apastyle.org/. APA source citation style requires in-text source references that state the author and date. At the end of the text is a list of sources with detailed descriptions (references) of all the sources cited in the text.
Note:Source lists are always arranged alphabetically, regardless of the source or the material.
How can a quote or a paraphrase be referenced in a text?
A quote is always enclosed in quotation marks, either single or double depending on the regional style, the author(s), year or date and, if applicable, the page number is listed in between brackets.
A paraphrase is never enclosed in quotation marks, author(s) and the year or date are cited between brackets. Citing a page number is not mandatory but is allowed.
Except when between brackets, the reference to the source may also be included in the sentence.
How is a list of sources drawn up?
The list of sources is inserted at the end of the text as a new chapter, for the attachments. The list is alphabetical, regardless of the origin of the document. Therefore it does not consist of separate sections of books, articles, websites, etc.
The purpose of this list is to help the reader find the document that has been consulted.
What does not get included in a list of sources?
A list of sources only includes references that can be consulted by the reader. Therefore, items such as interviews, e-mails, personal interviews, classes, workshops, etc. are not stated. These can however be referred to in the text. According to APA style guidelines, the title, ISBN or ISSN is never cited.
Citing sources according to the APA guidelines is often difficult if you have no experience doing so. Microsoft Word can help with this, and there is also bibliographic software - specialist software that can greatly facilitate the proper handling of sources in papers and publications.
5.4.1 : Source citation in Word
Microsoft Word 2013 and 2016 offer the possibility to help you with citing sources according to the APA guidelines via a special menu. The user only needs to enter the the details of the source consulted (book, article, website, etc.). A brief explanation of the use of this option:
Add a quote or paraphrase
In your Word document click on the References tab
Click on the arrow next to Style and select APA (this is probably already selected)
Click Insert Citation and then Add New Source
Fill in the citation details (check the example at the bottom of the screen) and click OK
Your reference will now appear in your text
Create a bibliography
In your Word document click on the References tab
Click on Bibliography and then click Insert Bibliography
Only the sources that you added by using the Manage Sources button are included in your bibliography.
For more information, click the Microsoft Office Help button (the question mark in the upper right of your document) and type in APA in the search box. To see some examples, you can take a look at APA guidelines with Word.
Note: the references Word uses are not always done strictly according to the APA guidelines as stated on this website. This is partly because the Dutch translation sometimes is too literal. For instance, Word sometimes uses different terms and puts the month before the day when listing dates. Make sure you enter your citation details correctly, because mistakes are not automatically corrected by Word.
To facilitate the correct processing of sources in papers and publications, you can use specialized bibliographic software, such as Mendeley.
Mendeley
Mendeley is a reference manager. With a reference manager you can easily:
Save
Organize
Retrieve
Import/Export
your sources. It works largely automatically, which saves you a lot of time compared to processing your sources manually via Word.
The Library guide Mendeley explains all the steps, where to find and install the software on your computer, how to enter sources and how to organize the sources in Mendeley. You will also learn how to process sources in your Word file and create a bibliography.
5.5 : Practice
Oefening: Module 5
0%
Please indicate whether the statements are true or false.
Doing research and writing is an ongoing process. During the entire process of asking, searching, and selecting information, it needs to be checked regularly whether the process is going well.
A search for information will result in a series of websites or documents. But are these also relevant and/or do they answer the search query? By regularly analyzing the process, timely action can be taken to adjust the search process. This is referred to as regulation.
After completing the research or assignment it is good to critically assess all steps with the aim of learning from it and doing better next time. We call this evaluation.
Regulation and evaluation are activities that you perform during the entire process. By adjusting the process you work in a more targeted and efficient manner.
Schematic representation of the 6 steps of information literacy.
Manuals and online demos
You can find tutorials and online demos on this page.
Introduction to Summon (online demo)
Summon is the name of the application behind Greeni Global Search. For search tips, see the section “Search, Refine, Get, and Save”
CRAAP test input form (Evaluate sources on reliability and usability with the CRAAP test input form. Answer the questions, giving a score from 1-10. The added score gives you an indication of the quality of the source.)
Het arrangement Information literacy Green UAS is gemaakt met
Wikiwijs van
Kennisnet. Wikiwijs is hét onderwijsplatform waar je leermiddelen zoekt,
maakt en deelt.
Auteurs
Jurjan Boer
Je moet eerst inloggen om feedback aan de auteur te kunnen geven.
Laatst gewijzigd
2024-01-25 15:48:53
Licentie
Dit lesmateriaal is gepubliceerd onder de Creative Commons Naamsvermelding-GelijkDelen 4.0 Internationale licentie. Dit houdt in dat je onder de voorwaarde van naamsvermelding en publicatie onder dezelfde licentie vrij bent om:
het werk te delen - te kopiëren, te verspreiden en door te geven via elk medium of bestandsformaat
het werk te bewerken - te remixen, te veranderen en afgeleide werken te maken
voor alle doeleinden, inclusief commerciële doeleinden.
The following organisations graciously allowed us the use of their materials when developing this module series: HAN University of Applied Sciences, Catholic University Leuven, Saxion Academy and Utrecht University.
Aanvullende informatie over dit lesmateriaal
Van dit lesmateriaal is de volgende aanvullende informatie beschikbaar:
Toelichting
In higher education, information literacy is one of the competencies that students should possess. This interactive instruction will teach you how to search for information efficiently, evaluate and use in your report, presentation, etc. Information literacy Green UAS is a co-creation of the following Universities of Applied Sciences' libraries: Aeres University of Applied Sciences; HAS University of Applied Sciences and Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences.
In higher education, information literacy is one of the competencies that students should possess. This interactive instruction will teach you how to search for information efficiently, evaluate and use in your report, presentation, etc. Information literacy Green UAS is a co-creation of the following Universities of Applied Sciences' libraries: Aeres University of Applied Sciences; HAS University of Applied Sciences and Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences.
A more privacy-friendly alternative to the default search engines is 
