Information Literacy Explorer
Welcome to the SDSU Library and Information Access online Information Literacy Explorer! We hope you will find a variety of research-oriented handouts and student learning activities to help create vibrant lifelong learners. Please feel free to contact your library liaison or the Information Literacy Librarian for more help integrating information literacy into the curriculum. (Activities for students are marked with an *)
| General Hanouts | ACRL Standard 1 | ACRL Standard 2 | ACRL Standard 3 | ACRL Standard 4 | ACRL Standard 5 |
General Handouts
Self-Guided Library Tour
.doc .pdf
Library Survival Skills General Research Tips
ACRL Standard 1
ACRL Standard One: Define the Information Need and Research Topic
- Articulates information need in order to develop, focus, and revise a thesis or research question.
- Develops knowledge of various formats of information sources and how they are produced, organized and disseminated.
- Differentiates between scholarly and popular literature, primary and secondary research, and current vs. historical research.
Information Literacy Handouts and Activities for ACRL Standard One:
How to Form a Research Strategy
Formulating a Research Question Developing a Thesis Statement Scholarly Articles or Popular Magazine Articles? Periodicals Comparison Chart Primary (Original) Research vs. Secondary Sources in the Sciences
ACRL Standard 2
ACRL Standard Two: Develop a Search Strategy; Locate and Retrieve Information
- Selects the most appropriate investigative methods or resources (interviews, fieldwork, lab experiments, library catalog, databases, Internet, etc.) in order to retrieve relevant information.
- Identifies keywords, synonyms, and controlled vocabulary in order to construct an effective search strategy.
- Uses Boolean logic, truncation, proximity indicators, and indexes in order to efficiently and effectively search for information.
- Understands bibliographic citations and call numbers in order to locate information.
- Retrieves information in various formats both online and in person, including primary research through interviews, surveys and experiments, and the use of services such as Circuit, Link+, and Interlibrary Loan.
Information Literacy Handouts and Activities for ACRL Standard Two:
Understanding Library of Congress (LC) Classification System
Understanding Bibliographic Citations How to Find Books in the SDSU Library How to Find Periodicals Four Ways to Find the Full-Text Combining Search Terms with Boolean Logic Research Strategy Guide *Research Process Worksheet: Technology *Research Process Worksheet: Film and Television *Research Process Worksheet: Journalism and Mass Communications *Research Process Worksheet: Theater
ACRL Standard 3
ACRL Standard Three: Evaluate Information; Incorporate Information into Knowledge Base and Value System
- Summarizes the content of information sources in order to identify the main points and knows when it is appropriate to paraphrase and use direct quotes.
- Evaluates information in order to determine its reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, point of view or bias.
- Analyzes information in order to determine if it is an appropriate source for their current information need (scholarly or popular, primary or secondary, etc.)
- See relationships between concepts.
- Investigate differing viewpoints and participates in class discussions.
Information Literacy Handouts and Activities for ACRL Standard Three:
Evaluating Sources of Information
Evaluating Sources of Information: Sample Web Documents *Evaluating Articles *Evaluating Books *Evaluating Webpages *Conducting Country Research and Exploring Government Pubs Identifying Primary Research Articles *Identifying Primary (Original) Scholarly Research: Computer Science/Technology *Identifying Primary (Original) Scholarly Research: Computer Science/Technology: Answer Key
ACRL Standard 4
ACRL Standard Four: Use Information to Accomplish a Purpose
- Plans and creates a product or performance, using paraphrases and direct quotes to support the project.
- Keeps a reflective journal or log, reflecting on the projects strategies, successes and failures.
- Clearly communicates the project to others.
Information Literacy Handouts and Activities for ACRL Standard Four:
Commonly Used Assignments
Alternative Research Assignments
ACRL Standard 5
ACRL Standard Five: Use Information Legal and Social
- Accurately and appropriately documents sources, and uses paraphrases and direct quotes in order to avoid plagiarism.
- Understands issues related to privacy and security, censorship, intellectual property and copyright in order to use information responsibly.
- Legally obtains, stores, and disseminates text, data, images and sound.
Information Literacy Handouts and Activities for ACRL Standard Five:
Style Manuals and Citation Formats
Sample Citations in Turabian Format Sample Citations in MLA Format Sample Citations in APA Format Chicago Format for Citations Understanding Plagiarism, Paraphrasing and Citing Sources *Plagiarism Pre-Test *Plagiarism Pre-Test Answer Key *Plagiarism Quiz *Plagiarism Quiz Answer Key
