Intro to Research

This module explains how information is created, organized, shared, and used.

We live in the information age, consuming information all day, every day; in this environment, it's critical to understand that all information is NOT created equal. Information is a commodity, created to fill specific needs, and we are consumers of that information content; the skillset necessary to be effective and ethical consumers of that commodity is called Information Literacy.

One means of understanding information is to consider how it's created, organized, shared, and used, referred to as the Information Timeline. When an event happens, information is created; it begins as isolated basic data and develops depth, complexity, and context over time. It is shared by popular media sources before being processed into scholarly sources in the Scholarly Communication Cycle. An understanding of the these processes helps you know what sources and types of information you can find and use for a research project. 

This module presents the concepts involved in information literacy, helps you understand the implications of how information is created and transformed as it moves through the information timeline, and discusses categories of resources that you'll encounter as a college student.

By the end of this module, you'll understand:

• Information Literacy and why it’s important
• The Information Timeline
• The Scholarly Information Cycle
• Sources and Types of Information

Concepts from the module

Information Literacy =  a set of skills that helps people navigate through information overload, something we experience virtually every day. The main concepts of Information Literacy are:

• Authority is constructed and contextual

• Information creation as a process

• Information has value

• Research as inquiry 

• Scholarship as conversation and 

• Searching as strategic exploration

Information timeline = when and how information becomes available, as information evolves through various delivery mechanisms

Scholarly Communication = when and how academics share their research in ongoing conversation via scholarly works. Scholarly Communication involves:

• Data collection and analysis
• Peer review
• Publication
• Dissemination  and discovery

Vocabulary from the module

Books or eBooks = a lengthy publication that may or may not be scholarly

Credibility = a characteristic of information that is trustworthy and well researched

Deep web = the portion of the internet that cannot be read by typical search engine algorithms such as Google due to a paywall or other intrinsic obstruction

Media resources = social media, newspapers, radio and television broadcasts that are published quickly after an event and can be used for basic who, what, when, and where questions or opinions and reactions, but don't have information on why and how, nor any context around the event

Peer-review = a process by which experts in a field review an article written by a peer to make sure that the research and writing meet standards within the field of study 

Popular publication = as opposed to a scholarly publication; written by staff writers or journalists for the general public, using casual, readable language and structure; they typically do not contain evidence to support assertions and are not peer-reviewed

Primary source = direct, first-hand account of an event, time period, phenomenon, or experiment 

Reference works = tertiary sources of information built on primary and secondary sources that provide broad overviews of included topics; while not scholarly, they may have reference lists to lead you to research resources

Scholarly publication= is written by researchers within a subject area, reports on research findings, contains comprehensive in-text citations and a reference list or bibliography, uses specialized terminology and a formal writing style, and is often peer reviewed or refereed.

Secondary source = an interpretation or analysis of primary sources; second-hand information 

Sources of Information = Places to find information, such as the social media, news outlets, magazines, academic journals, books, and reference resources; categories of include popular, trade/professional, and scholarly sources

Tertiary source = a summary or overview of primary and secondary sources, generally included in reference resources such as encyclopedias

Trade publication = written for practitioners in the field, use more casual language, have few or no references, are not peer-reviewed, and may have glossy formatting.

Types of Information = categories of information or sources that share specific characteristics; categories include primary, secondary, and tertiary information 

Web resources = digitized or born digital data that includes reports, documents, and statistics from government, academic, or professional organizations; note that credibility varies