NEEDS WORK: Cannot identify the catalog; Regularly asks for assistance using and locating items
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After completing this module you will understand how to:
- Use the Library Catalog to locate materials held by MMA Library (including books, nonprint media, and government documents).
- Find relevant background information on a topic.
- Locate and effectively use the following types of information:
- Journal/Periodical articles
- News sources
- Biographical information
- Primary sources
- Critical reviews
- Government information
- Statistical information
ASSESSMENT STRATEGY:
ACRL STANDARD:
ACRL Standards, Performance Indicators & Outcomes
Citations, Copyright and Plagiarism
As a student at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, there are academic conventions and expectations guiding your course work. There are a number of cultural, ethical, economic, legal and social issues that surround the use of information for your research. You must be aware of and understand the Academy's expectations regarding academic conduct and appropriate use of information.
EXCELLENT: Can write an appropriate citation in the style needed; understands and respects intellectual property; understands that they are contributing to the knowledge-base of the field
GOOD: Knows what information is needed to write a citation; Knows when to cite; Has an understanding of copyright and plagiarism
NEEDS WORK: Does not document sources and does not understand the need; cannot write or identify the elements of a citation; does not understand what plagiarism or copyright are
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After completing this module you will understand how to:
- Understand the role of citations in scholarly writing
- Identify when you do and do not need to cite your sources
- Recognize the most common scholarly citation styles
- Understand the relationship between properly citing sources and maintaining academic integrity
- Identify some of the issues associated with intellectual property
- Use information appropriately without breaching copyright
- Discuss censorship and freedom of speech issues
- Use information technology appropriately
- Explain the values underpinning academic integrity
- Define plagiarism and academic misconduct
- Identify the Academy's policies on plagiarism and academic misconduct [link to policy, here]
- Describe the use of plagiarism detection and prevention software
- Explain the consequences for students of plagiarism and academic misconduct at the Academy
- Identify strategies for good academic practice in your writing, eg. notetaking, acknowledging your sources
- Describe techniques for managing and compiling reference lists and bibliographies
ASSESSMENT STRATEGY:
ACRL Standard Five: Standard Five
The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.
ACRL Standards, Performance Indicators & Outcomes
Understanding Development of Research Strategy
Your research topic and your assignment will determine what type of information you need.
EXCELLENT: Selects proper formats for information needs; Uses Boolean operators effectively; Modifies strategy as research progresses; uses a variety of resources effectively; breaks down tasks into manageable time pieces
GOOD: Understands that there are different types of formats; Knows when to ask for help; Knows that they need to use more than one source; Understands that good research takes time; Needs help formulating question.
NEEDS WORK: Unable to identify the formats needed; Does not know who or when to ask for help; Uses one source (probably Google) for everything; Does not understand how much time research takes; Cannot understand research need
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After completing this module you will understand how to:
- Plan your research so that you find appropriate information to satisfy your research need.
- List strategies for getting started with assignments
- Identify key components of an assignment question
- Describe assignment planning techniques, such as brainstorming and mind mapping
[Example]
- Identify some assignment planning techniques
- Construct effective search strategies
- Identify potential sources of information
- Know when it is appropriate to use the following types of sources for information:
- Books
- Academic journals and academic journal articles
- Magazines and magazine articles
- Trade / professional journals and trade / professional articles
- Newspaper articles
- Internet sites
- Know which tools to use to find the following types of sources for information:
- Books
- Academic journals and academic journal articles
- Magazines and magazine articles
- Trade / professional journals and trade / professional articles
- Newspaper articles
- Internet sites
- Differentiate between scholarly, popular and professional articles and journals.
- Recognizes that popular magazines are usually geared toward the general public and the format is different than scholarly, research journals.
- Can name examples of popular magazines, such as: Psychology Today, Newsweek, Vogue
- Knows popular magazines are great for:
* information or opinions about popular culture
* up-to-date information about current events
* general articles written for people who are not necessarily specialists in the topic area
- Understands that journals are scholarly periodicals aimed at researchers, academics, and professionals
- Knows scholarly journal articles tend to be much longer, going into detail and usually have a list of references or citations at the end and the articles don't usually have many photographs or pictures, and probably no advertisements.
- Knows that many journals are published by universities or scholarly groups and can name examples of scholarly journals, such as: Journal of Maritime Commerce, Psychological Research
- Knows when to use journals:
* when doing scholarly, academic research
* to find what experts have say about your topic
* to find bibliographies that point to other relevant research
ASSESSMENT STRATEGY:
ACRL Standard One: The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed.
ACRL Standards, Performance Indicators & Outcomes
Evaluation of Sources
EXCELLENT: Analyzes all resources for accuracy
GOOD: Understands that search engines do not vet web pages; but may not understand that analysis of other resources is also necessary.
NEEDS WORK: Does not analyze; accepts all information as equally valid
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After completing this module you will understand how to:
- Identify why it is important to evaluate information
- Identify criteria used for the evaluation of sources of information
- Apply evaluative criteria to information found across a range of publication types
ASSESSMENT STRATEGY:
ACRL Standard Three: The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
ACRL Standards, Performance Indicators & Outcomes
Using Databases and other Online Materials to Find Information
In the course of identifying and locating material that meets your information need you will use a variety of information sources. They could range from books and journal articles to consulting with community groups or professional associations. Tools are available for finding books and other material in the library, finding journal articles and searching the Internet.
EXCELLENT: Uses appropriate database for research need; Knows when a search engine is appropriate; Understands the value of a subscription database
GOOD: Can identify some database(s), but does not always use them; Asks for help to choose appropriate database; Uses Google and/or database(s) but needs help to validate information or choose the appropriate licensed resources
NEEDS WORK: Cannot identify any database. Relies on Google.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After completing this module you will understand how to:
- Describe the access tools available to you for finding information
- Use Library catalogues to find resources
- Select Library databases to find journal articles
- Identify effective search techniques
- Describe the characteristics of Internet search engines
- Discuss the nature of information found on the Internet
- Review and manage your search results.
- Define the terms: database, record, and field.
- Describe the function of two types of research databases: library catalogs and periodical indexes.
- Select an appropriate research database for a topic.
- Compare and contrast subject searching and keyword searching.
- Use AND, OR, NOT (Boolean operators) to connect search terms.
- Define truncation, nesting, field-specific searching, and phrase searching.
- Identify the main concepts of a research topic and generate a list of search terms.
ASSESSMENT STRATEGY:
ACRL Standard Two: The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
ACRL Standards, Performance Indicators & Outcomes
What is Information
Once you have located information, you have to determine whether or not the information is authoritative, accurate and suits your research needs.
EXCELLENT: Understands and can identify bias/opinion; Recognizes that there is a difference between popular and scholarly material
GOOD: Understands difference between opinion and fact
NEEDS WORK: Believes all information to be equally valid
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After completing this module you will understand how to:
- Assess the authority of information in both print and Internet formats
- Determine when the currency of information is critically important and when it is not
- Identify the author's point of view and understand how perspective can lead to bias
- Evaluate the quality and reliability of a Web Site
ASSESSMENT STRATEGY:
ACRL Standard Four: The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
ACRL Standards, Performance Indicators & Outcomes
Other Life Skills
Derived from the matrix developed in Spring 2006 by the CONNECT Working Group: Mary Adams, Gabriela Adler, Susan Berteaux, Pamela Hayes-Bohanan (Chair), Marcia Dinneen, Jeanmarie Fraser, and Jennifer Rudolph. Available at: http://www.connectsemass.org/writing/Library.htm
Massachusetts Maritime Academy© All rights reserved.
Est. 18 Mar 2006; last rev. 16 Apr 2008
