2011

“Information literacy is the ability to recognize when information is

needed and to locate, evaluate, and use it efficiently”

ACRL (American College and Research Libraries) Information Literacy standards definition

Dangers of Information-illiteracy:

• Information overload

• Settle for “good enough” information• Not aware of other useful/relevant sources• Trust what you find.

“Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where

we can find information upon it “ Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1984)

This session covers..

Introduction to Information Sources

Do Your Research

Library Services

Types of Information..

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

Tertiary Sources

Primary Sources

Original manuscripts, records, documents, or raw data providing first-hand evidence.

e.g: • Newspaper article written at the time of an event occurred;• Research data, statistics, or findings from experiments

or surveys;• First hand accounts, such as interviews, speeches,

diaries or memoirs

Secondary Sources

Material that report or comment on a primary source.

• e.g:• Journal or magazine articles;• Books reviews, commentaries or criticism;• Textbooks or encyclopedias.

•Sources which analyzed, complied and digest secondary sources included mostly in abstracts, bibliographies, handbooks, encyclopedias, indexes, chronologies, etc

Tertiary Sources

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Reference Sources

Unlike books, reference works are not supposed to be read from cover to cover. Instead, they are

usually consulted for a specific piece of information. For this purpose, most are alphabetically arranged

for quick reference.

Good for:

Where are they?

Definition of unfamiliar termsBackground information, facts or figuresQuick reference for a specific piece of

information

• Located in the Reference Collection Ground Floor – RUJ

• There are also eReferences accessible via Dilibrary Portal

http://library.ubd.edu.bn/main.htm

Reference Sources

LOCATION CODE: RujPe / RujCD / RujIn / RujAb / RujAt

Dictionary• Contain an alphabetical list of words with information about them. Giving definitions, pronunciations, etc. Subject dictionaries -Ex: Dictionary of sociology

EncyclopediaA book or a set of books containing authoritativeInformation on a variety of subjects. -Subject encyclopedia

BibliographyA list of works or articles compiled together, usually with some relations between them. : Bibliografi Negara Brunei Darussalam: Bibliography of Asian Studies (eresources)

Directory•A systematically organized list of persons, businesses, organizations or associations that provides addresses, affiliations, telephone no, etc. e.g: Directory of Expert

Biographical Sources•Provides biographical information of individuals, their history and achievements. Again, their coverage could be either general or subject specific. e.g: Political leaders of modern China…

Almanac•Published annually, almanacs contains important facts, statistics and other data on a wide range of subject.e.g: World Almanac

Thesauri• A book of synonyms. To find words that have the same or similar meanings to the word you are using.

Atlases

•A book of maps with or without writing. To locate places and geographic features.

Handbook, manual and guide•Compendiums of information in a particular field or about a particular technique. Provides basic information or instruction on a specific topic.

Abstracts & Indexes

• Tools used to locate articles, proceedings, and occasionally books and book chapters in various

subjects. Indexes usually provide authors, titles or subjects of publications without comment, and

abstracts offer a brief summary of content.

LOCATION CODE: RujAb and RujIn

• Content are frequently updated than print

• Some are subscribed by the Library and some are freely available

on the internet

Content:Published periodically, written by researchers and scholars, providing detailed analysis or theories on specific research topics. For peer-reviewed journals, there is usually a editorial board.

Good for:• In depth examination of a research topic.• Additional resources from the bibliographies of • Journal articles on topics relevant to your research

Where are

they?

Subscribed titles can be searched on by

Example: Psychological Review

Scholarly Journals

Sir BF1 P7

• Library Online Catalogue

• Digital Library

• Bruneiana Digital Collection

2. How to Do Your Research?

Analyze your topic:

• Spend some time analyzing your research topic. • Think creatively and critically.

what? why? when? who? how? where?

•Write your preliminary thoughts in a few detailed statements or questions.

Selecting Information SourcesDistinguish between primary, secondary and tertiary sources of information.

Identify various types of information sources, in and beyond the Library.

Decide what resources to use based on your research needs.

Talk to your lecturerConsult the Librarian

Where to start?Libraries - – Library Online Public Access Catalog

- eResources (Databases / eJournals / eBooks)

The Internet

- Open Access - Google scholar - Google Books

The LibraryLibraries collect quality informationFrom various sources in a wide variety of formats

The InternetAnyone can upload anything on the web and remove it without notice. Interesting information on the internet, some of this information may not be relevant for academic or serious research, due to the lack of authority and reliability.

Works can be easily traced by Turnitin

UBD Library:•Provides growing collection of printed material like books, magazines, reports.•Subscribes and provides web access to a great variety of electronic resources.•Select and evaluates quality and relevant information sources for UBD Library Users

If you start with the Library…

• save time • get higher quality and relevant information

The Library resources are;

• Acquired and organized for you• Tailored to your needs• Free for you to use

It is a good idea to start with the Library, and then the web if you would like to find more information or other view points.

If you start with the Web..

You may used the authoritative ones. e.g : Encyclopedia Online

but BE VERY CAUTIOUS, because information on the Web is often;

• NOT – reviewed - updated regularly - well-organized - not comprehensive - not permanent - not free at all time

•It is the automated University Library catalogue, OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue). You can search for the complete library holdings by different categories, such as Author, Title, Subject and Call Number.

•Accessible through the computer terminals available on all floors. and through the Library Portal.

http://eclik.ubd.edu.bnhttp://library.ubd.edu.bn/main.htm

Library Catalogue

eResources @

• UBD Library subscribed to 28 Databases including 3 ebooks and 196 eJournals titles.

• All registered members have access to databases subscribed by UBD Library and MOE.

• Some may only provide abstracts of the article, while others will include the complete text (full text) of selected articles.

Go to http://library.ubd.edu.bn/main.htm

• eJournals in SWETS are only accessible on campus.

• SCIFINDER limited to 1 user per session.

• OVID is limited to 6 concurrent users

eResources @

Ejournals and Databases

• An electronic form of journals and magazines

• Can be viewed on screen, downloaded or printed, direct from your computer terminal

What are they?

• An organized collection of records containing data such as articles, conference proceedings, news, images, citations, statistics, etc.

• Grouped for easy access by discipline.

• You are provided with a list of journal articles to read

• You plan to read specific journal

When to use which?

• You need to research on a topic and do not have any article to start with.

eBooks

The InternetWhat is the Internet?

A computer network, in fact a network of computer networks, upon which anyone who has access to a host computer can publish their own documents. One of these networks is the World Wide Web (or just the Web) - allows Internet publishers to link to other documents on the network. Allows transmission of a variety of file types, including non-written multimedia.

Who puts information on the Internet?

There are many kinds of Internet sites that you might find during the course of a search, sites created by different people or organizations with different objectives.

U R LEvery Web page has its own address called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Much like the address on an envelope with a name, street address, city, state, and zip code, each part of a URL provides information about the Web page.

To find specific information on the Net, use Search Engines. Google and Altavista are popular search engines that allow keyword searches.

There are also directory-like search engines that classify web pages into hierarchical subject categories, such as Yahoo.

INTERNET DOMAIN

.edu educational institutions

.gov government

.org usually non-profit organizations, but not always

.net organizations involved in Internet services

.com commercial organizations (usually will be trying to sell you something)

.int international organizations

.mil U.S. military

.aero for the air transportation industry

INTERNET DOMAIN

.info for both commercial and non-commercial sites

.museum for museums

.name for use by individuals

.pro restricted to professionals and professional entities

.biz general use by businesses

.coop restricted use by cooperatives

OPEN ACCESS

Open access (publishing): access to material (mainly scholarly publications) via the Internet in such a way that the material is free for all to read, and to use (or reuse) to various extents.

Open access journal: journals that give open access to all or a sizable part of their articles.

Searching Information : Using Searching Techniques

• Generate a keyword list

- Include Broader / Narrower term

• Use Operators:

- Boolean

- Truncation

- Nesting

- Wildcard

Generate a Keyword List

Keywords are significant words or phrases that describe what the searcher is looking for. Can be an author’s name, a title, or a topic. Keyword searches alone can be inefficient. They can turn up too much information or too little BUT Operators added to keywords target information and prevent false drops.

•Avoid common words, articles, or prepositions (aka “stop words”) e.g: about, by, which, where

•Be specific•Use correct spelling•If the topic is too broad, use the narrowest concept(s) first

Include Broader/Narrower Term

USE BOOLEAN OPERATOR

• To specify the relationship between multiple terms, You need combining words known as Boolean Operators.

Boolean Operators will help you to search more effectively

USE TRUNCATION

Most databases allow you to use truncation to search for different word endings of the same word stem. It is helpful if you want to retrieve both the singular and plural forms, or if the item is spelled differently in different countries.

Note that different databases might use different truncation symbols, although the most common ones are *, $, ?, #

NESTING ( )

Nesting is the use of parenthesis along with Boolean operators to refine your search.

ie: (dog or cat) AND (show or parade)Without nesting, anything on dogs or cats or shows or parades will be returned.

WILDCARDS ?

Wildcards work like truncation except they only replace one letter. The symbol is usually a ?.

ie: ne?t finds neat, next, nest wom?n finds woman and women

USE NESTING & WILDCARDS

Evaluating Your Information SourcesAuthor's Credibility

In terms of evaluating an author, credentials include degrees received, titles held, professional affiliations, years of activity in a field, publication history, fields of inquiry, and the characteristics of publications in which their work has appeared.

Publisher's Credibility

-Commercial publishing houses like Macmillan, Time/Warner, or Knopf.

-University Presses, like the University of Washington Press or Michigan State University Press.

- Associations, societies, businesses, industries, and services that publish their own periodicals, newsletters, staff

training documents, operating schedules, brochures, etc.

- Governments and intergovernmental bodies, such as the United Nations.

- Web publishers, which includes anyone with access to a computer network and a host computer to store and deliver their publications, including the "traditional" publishing houses.

Websites

Accuracy

Who is the author?

Have they provide contact information?

Does the information research presented match that of the other sources you gave consulted?

Is there a bibliography?

Does the content make sense?

Authority

Are they affiliated with an academic institution?

Look at the URL. Is it a commercial site(.co,)? An educational Institution (.edu)? Or is it a non- profit organization (.org)?

Content

What is the context of the writing? Is the author writing for a reason? Profit or personal? Are the arguments balanced? Is there evidence of bias?

Currency

Are the web document dated? When was the website last updated or modified? Look at the date of the items listed in the bibliography? Are the links listed on the page working or are they broken?

Coverage

Are there active links on the page? Do they point to other authoritative website? Is access to the site free or do you have to pay?

Design

Overall, evaluate the website look.

Does it look professional or homemade? Did they use clip art or is there a professional design? Is it easy to use?

Managing Your Information

: Avoid Plagarism

Turnitin is the leading academic plagiarism detector, utilized by teachers and students to avoid plagiarism and ensure academic integrity.

: Cite your Information Sources – APA, HARVARD, etc

: Understand the use of Bibliographical Softwares e.g: (Wizfolio)

: Keep up-to-date with new information - use email alert in databases - RSS Feed - Attend training

X'TRA

• Final Year, Masters or PhD Students, Staffs

• Free

• Will be delivered within 3- 4 weeks.

• Go to Lending Desk for further information

INTER LIBRARY LOAN & DOCUMENT DELIVERY

Library@UBD

Text a Librarian at +6738736678

UBDLibrary

USER EDUCATION TRAININGS• Different Databases every 3 months• eClik• Dilibrary Portal• Every Wednesday and Saturday

Locating quality information takes time, effort and patience.

Always remember:

Your Librarians are ready to help you with your specific needs

Reference & Information ServicesGround Level, Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Jln Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410Brunei Darussalam

Tel: +673-2463001 ext 1209 / 1947 Fax: +673-2460504

Email: reference.library@ubd.edu.bn

See You In Session 2