Information Literacy

Teachers: Marja Duizendstraal, Hans Fransen

• Introduction lecture• Practicals• Feedback lecture• Blackboard modules

Information Literacy

Definition:

Information Literacy is defined as the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand.

Information monster

www.foundationnews.org

Information Explosion– Written http://informationr.net/

Information Explosion– Electronic http://www.isc.org

Where to start

What and Where: Examples

What• Books• Articles• Research projects• Institute information• Encyclopedias• News, opinions

Where to look• Catalogues• Bibliographies• Research databases• WWW• Catalogue/ WWW?• WWW, newspapers

Articles

Scientific Professional Newspaper

Research Practical News

i.e. Scopus LSWKrantenbank

Full text or bibliographic record

Bibliographic databases

General• Scopus• Web of Science• Google Scholar

Overlap

Additional

Specific topics• CAB-Abstracts• Biological Abstracts• FSTA• Medline/ PubMed

What and where: Reliability

Editors or freeBrittanica <-> Wikipedia

Peer review: scientific journals

What you will learn-1

• Know your information sources

– types and quality of sources • Books, scientific journals, professional

journals, encyclopedia, proceedings, maps, reports, etc.

• Scopus/ Brittanica <-> Wikipedia

– specific for your research field• Portals

What you will learn-2

• Knowing how to search

• efficiently

• effectively

• basic search strategies

• special database tools

“Natural disasters are natural phenomena, but their victims and the damage caused are the consequences of the human activity. Therefore preventive measures or protection against natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and landslides are of extreme importance. Spatial planning is one of the activities which can prevent, abate, or mitigate their consequences, by proper physical planning, taking into account the knowledge of risk concerning the occurrence of the phenomena that can provoke disasters. In accordance with the need for rising the awareness of policy makers land use planners should take any opportunity to include the aspect of reduction of the effect

of natural disasters in their planning practice.” (S. Balram, P.D. Molotov Spatial planning as a

means of protection against natural disasters, Landscape and Urban Planning 69 (2004) 145–162)

Topic: Prevention of natural disasters by spatial planning

Concepts/aspects and keywords:

natural disasters: natural disasters, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, etc.

spatial planning: spatial planning, land use planning, urban planning, etc.

prevention: prevention, mitigation, protection, etc.

Boolean operators

• AND

• OR

• NOT

What you will learn 3

• How to use the Wageningen UR library

– the physical library– the virtual library (Desktop Library)

Wageningen UR Digital Library

http://library.wur.nl

What you will learn 4

• Referring, citing, quoting– literature lists– Plagiarism

EndNote

Learning method

• Introduction• Assessment• studying the BlackBoard modules

– library assignment

• practical work– Blackboard module– Discussion topic assignment

• MSc-Assignment and final exam !

BlackBoard: http//edu2.web.wur.nl

• How does it look like?• What can you do?• What must you do?

– Modules– Learning units: quizzes– Assignments

• Your own responsibility……….but final test & short report

For next week practicals

Before Janary 15: Assessment, M1, M2, M3, M4a.3 • Assessment See what you (don’t) know• M1: general introduction• M2: information sources• M3: Wageningen UR library sources• M4a3 Search strategy overview

Topic for your assignment, preferably in groups of 2. If you have selected your topic, make exercise 1 of the MSc-Assignment. We like to discuss this with you during the practicals.