LibGuides: Introduction to Literature (Course Guide / Amery Bodelson): Information Literacy and College Research

Information Literacy and Research Skills

What is Information Literacy?

Some of the skills and abilities that fall under the umbrella of information literacy include:

research skills
critical thinking
media literacy
digital literacy
news literacy
algorithmic literacy
ethical reasoning
civic engagement

Information literacy acknowledges that students are not just passive consumers of knowledge, but that you are active creators and participants in the information environment. It is a set of skills that aims to help students navigate this landscape, “not just for college courses but beyond—in the workplace, in their personal lives, as lifelong learners, and as news consumers, creators, and voters” (Head et al. 12; emphasis added).

You might also hear this idea referred to as “information competency,” which is an equivalent term.

Introduction to College Research Skills
The key to success in college research is to develop and hone your information literacy skills. These skills will prepare you to find and use information not only for college, but also in the workplace and your personal life. Having strong information literacy skills will make you a more thoughtful and effective consumer and creator of information, and will increase your awareness of and resilience toward the psychological, physiological, and sociological effects of living in a society overloaded with information.
Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research
With Choosing and Using Sources, you have:
Research help through short videos, easy-to-follow explanations, and self-quizzes, designed to help increase your understanding of the research process.
A guide with easy-to-navigate chapters and tips to help you figure out what your instructor may be asking for in a writing assignment or research project.
Time savings and increased confidence to successfully carry out research for your class.

OER Textbooks: Information Literacy

The Information Literacy Users Guide
Written for teaching-librarians and faculty who conduct instruction either online or face-to-face. It is a contemporary take on what the information literate learner should know in the 21st century. Using the 7 Pillars of Information Literacy as the framework, the textbook is a hands-on step by step guide that can be incorporated in for-credit courses, embedded librarian projects and also one-shot instruction sessions.
Literacy for College Success (Libre Texts)
Believe it or not, we don’t all learn the same way. In fact, reading is a new enough behavior for humans that there is no wiring in our brains specifically for reading. Each and every one of us make those neural connections differently. This is a good reason to pay attention to your learning preferences. Being aware of your own learning preferences can help you to use strategies and tools for learning that will support what you naturally do. Of course, it’s still important to use strategies that “stretch” your brain a bit too – you never know when you might need those other strategies!
Critical Thinking and Information Literacy
Research requires experimentation and patience. Searching for the right sources of information is like exploring a brand new place. The research process is usually not simple, and it is iterative -- meaning it involves a lot of trial and error. When you begin researching, you may sometimes feel like you are traveling in circles and retracing your steps. But it’s worth it! This uneasy feeling is necessary in order to get you moving on the road to research victory and finding those perfect pieces of information. Learning to do research will not only improve your success in college courses, but it will also improve your ability to interpret and respond to the issues that are most important in your professional and personal lif