Business Computer Apps (Assignment Guide)

Understanding How to Find and Use Quality Information

While there are 5 basic skills used by information literate person, they are not performed in step-by-step order. Instead, when searching for information you will ping-pong back and forth among 5 activities:

1. identifying what you need information for  whether big or small - maybe it's for an assignment, maybe it's a restaurant menu
2. finding information to meet your need - for an assignment you will need multiple sources; for the menu you'll only need the restaurant's website
3. evaluating the information you find - is it credible? Is it accurate?
4. use the information in some way - to write a paper or order a sandwich
5. attribute your source - you'll list citations to help others find your sources or let provide your 

Break the process down into individual pieces

1. explore multiple sources to find out what information has been published about your topic
   • skim and scan the article - look for facts you can use
   • jot them down along with the title and database (you'll need it later)
2. discover what you don't know and what you need to learn 
3. identify and jot down key facts, details, and concepts that relate to your topic
   • names, places, dates, events, issues, etc.
4. evaluate the credibility of the information
5. analyze how useful the information is and how you might use it
6. synthesize (bring together) the pieces information to complete your assignment or project

Finding Information: Business Topics

• Step 1: choose a topic interesting to you
• Step 2: make a list of search terms related to your topic
• Step 3: find background information - use Credo Reference database 
  • definitions and concepts 
  • basic facts/ideas (key people, issues, dates/timelines, places, history, events, etc.
  • use background information to identify an area you want to focus on
  • identify new search terms based on what you learn 
    • write it down so you remember it
• Step 4: look for detailed research about your business topic
  • scholarly articles, data, statistics
    • database: MasterFILE Complete (magazine and newspaper articles)
    • database: Academic Search Premier (scholarly/peer-reviewed articles)
• Step 5: evaluate your articles by asking: 
  • is the article useful for your assignment?
  • is the information up-to-date based on your topic?
  • is the author qualified to write about your topic?
  • did you verify the information with other sources?
  • is the article factual and unbiased?
  • is the purpose of the article to educate? inform? 
  • is it written for your reader?  
• Step 6: combine what you already knew about your topic with the new knowledge you learned during the research process