Scaffolding for Information Literacy: Supplemental Scaffolding

Navigating "Popular" Resources

Students should be able to identify reputable resources when searching for current events. Whether this be through magazines or newspaper articles, students should be able to access their own articles.

• Provide students with a citation for a newspaper or magazine article that can be located within the library or on a library database. Have students correctly locate the article and complete a written assessment or class discussion on its contents.
• Have students find and provide their own article related to course topics by using library subscriptions to local and national newspapers (New York Times, Washington Post, etc.).

Googling Google

Students should not be dependent on Google to meet their research needs. Students should learn to navigate appropriate databases for their subjects and understand why these databases and library materials contain more appropriate and scholarly results.

• Students should be prompted to use Google to search a topic.
  • The instructor should demonstrate this process by choosing one of the topics and highlighting the number of results (and the possibility of duplicate hits), the advertisements or "sponsored links" and how Google monetizes hits based on search terms, and what kind of results they get and the domains (.com, .gov, .org, .edu, etc.).
  • The instructor should then discuss how Google works and talk about search engine optimization (SEO).
  • Discuss what makes a resource academic and/or reputable (ie. Peer Reviewed, CRAAP Test, etc.). From there, encourage students to use Google for background knowledge and fueling their database search.
• Have students conduct a search in both Google and an academic database. Have students compare the results from both searches.

Website Evaluation

Students should understand the difference between different website types: .com, .org, .gov, .edu, etc. Students should understand the different motivations behind each type of site, who's providing them funding, and what type of information they provide.

• Break students into small groups and provide them with 4 distinct website types. Have the students explore and evaluate the sites using the CRAAP Test. Have the groups share the strengths and weaknesses of the website, and decide whether they would use information from this site as a source for a research paper.

Analyzing Primary and Secondary Sources

Students should be able to critically analyze all types of sources and delve deep into their contents. We want students to avoid pulling the first information they see or using too much of the abstract.

Students should also be able to differentiate between primary and secondary sources.

• Using a class reading, have students identify the types of sources the author(s) used. This can then be combined with previously mentioned assignments involving bib mining and reverse searching.
• For secondary sources, have students pull 3-5 secondary sources from library databases. Students should read each item thoroughly and answer the following questions in short essay format:
  • Explain the author(s)' thesis, theme, research question, or purpose.
  • Why was this article selected among countless other options?
  • How does the author(s) make their point? What sources do they use?
  • How does this source relate to the other sources you have chosen?
• For primary sources, have students pull 3-5 primary sources from library databases. Students should review each item thoroughly and answer the following questions in short essay format:
  • What is the source's content?
  • Why was this source created?
  • Why is this item important to your research? How does it relate to your research question?