Information Literacy Workshop

BIO 366: Ecology (Summer 2014)

Peter Fritzler, Sciences Librarianfritzlerp@uncw.edu

FIG. 1. Diagram depicting information literacy instruction and outcomes throughout curriculum at UNCW.

Research in the sciences:

• How is it different from other disciplines?

• What types of sources are scientists expected to rely on for their research, particularly, if they want to publish their research?

• As a student and participant in the scientific community, what types of sources are you expected to use for your research?

Student Learning Outcomes:After completing the BIO 366 Information Literacy Workshop, students will be able to do the following:

1. Distinguish between types of scholarly publications using classifications such as “primary,” “secondary,” and “tertiary” sources.

2. Describe the different types and value of publications including peer-reviewed publications, monographs, and edited volumes.

3. Describe differences between bibliographic databases (e.g. Web of Science and BIOSIS Previews) and free search engines (e.g. Google Scholar).

Student Learning Outcomes:4. Find relevant scholarly publications using bibliographic

databases (e.g. Web of Science and BIOSIS Previews and free search engines (e.g. Google Scholar).

5. Create properly formatted parenthetical (i.e. in-text) references and citations in laboratory reports using the style accepted by the journal Ecology.

6. Recognize when, where, and how to cite literature using quotations, paraphrasing, and parenthetical referencing in order to avoid plagiarism.

Learning outcome 1:

1. Distinguish between types of scholarly publications using classifications such as “primary,” “secondary,” and “tertiary” sources.

Classifying Sources:

Tertiary

Secondary

Primary

Learning outcome 2:

2. Describe the different types and value of publications including peer-reviewed publications, monographs, and edited volumes.

Finding information:

• What do you use to find information, in particular, scholarly information?

• What do scientists use to find information for their research?

Learning outcome 3:

3. Describe differences between bibliographic databases (e.g. Web of Science and BIOSIS Previews) and free search engines (e.g. Google Scholar).

Learning outcome 4:

4. Find relevant scholarly publications using fee-based bibliographic databases (e.g. Web of Science and BIOSIS Previews and free search engines (e.g. Google Scholar).

Free vs. Fee search tools:

• Free:– Google Scholar

• Fee-based:– Web of Science– BIOSIS Previews

FIG. 2. The Deep Web. Image credit: OSTI.gov

Using databases & search engines

• Single word vs. phrases

• Field-based vs. keyword searching

• Boolean connectors: AND, OR

• Truncation: asterisk symbol

Single word vs. phrases

• Single word = longleaf

• Phrase = “longleaf pine”

Use quotations when searching for a phrase (i.e. sequence of two or more words).

Field-based vs. keyword searching:

• Keyword searching = database searches multiple fields in each record of the database.

• Field-based = database searches a specific field identified by the user.

Boolean connectors:

• Boolean OR connector = either or both words/phrases are in the document.– This is very useful when synonyms, related terms

or scientific/commons names might be used.

• Boolean AND connector = BOTH words/phrases must be in the document.– This is very useful for narrowing a search.

Truncation:

• Most databases use the asterisk to stem (i.e. truncate) a term. – This is useful for finding variant endings of a

term/phrase.

Example: burn* = burn, burns, burnt, burned, burning, burnout, etc.

Example: manag* = manage, managed, manages, management, manager, managers, managing, etc.

Complex searches:

• Complex searches using a variety of terms/phrases require using parentheses to “instruct” the database to find relevant publications.

Example (from BIOSIS Previews):

palustris OR longleaf AND pine = 9K+ results

(palustris OR longleaf) AND pine = 500 results

Research topic:

Effects of fire on longleaf pine ecosystems.

Plagiarism

• Intentional or accidental? It’s NOT COOL!

• Consequences? Fail, expulsion, fired, sued.

• Using someone else’s ideas, words or images without attribution or permission is fraud. It leaves the reader thinking that these are your own.

• Common knowledge? When in doubt, cite it!

Which is not plagiarized?1

• Generally, annual or biennial burning resulted in ground-layer communities dominated by grasses, albeit often with small shrubs and some forbs in a subdominant position. In contrast, less frequent or periodic fires tended to favor shrubs and woody sprouts, with reduced importance of grasses and forbs (Glitzenstein, et al. 2003).

• Generally, annual or biennial burning resulted in ground-layer communities dominated by grasses, albeit often with small shrubs and some forbs in a subdominant position. In contrast, less frequent or periodic fires tended to favor shrubs and woody sprouts, with reduced importance of grasses and forbs.

• Gliztenstein et al. (2003) note, “Generally, annual or biennial burning resulted in ground-layer communities dominated by grasses, albeit often with small shrubs and some forbs in a subdominant position. In contrast, less frequent or periodic fires tended to favor shrubs and woody sprouts, with reduced importance of grasses and forbs.”

1. Source: Glitzenstein, J. S., D. R. Streng, and D. D. Wade. 2003. Fire frequency effects on longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Miller) vegetation in South Carolina and northeast Florida, USA. Natural Areas Journal 23:22-37.

How can we paraphrase?

Let’s do this one together:2

Our estimates show that at least 114 million English-language scholarly documents are accessible on the web, of which Google Scholar has nearly 100 million. Of these, we estimate that at least 27 million (24%) are freely available since they do not require a subscription or payment of any kind.

2. Source: Khabsa, M., and C. L. Giles. 2014. The number of scholarly documents on thepublic web. PLoS ONE 9:e93949.

PLATE 1. The surfer in green. Photo credit: P. Fritzler.