This guide will help you understand the process, concepts and ideas that direct your research process. Use the guide tabs to help locate specific information and other related information.
You will be able to
Project Information Literacy (PIL) is a nonprofit research institute that conducts ongoing, national research studies on what it is like being a college student in the digital age. We examine how college students find and use information -- their needs, strategies, practices, and workarounds -- for course work and solving information problems that arise in their everyday lives.
The Provocation Series discusses the significance and importance of literacy in all contexts
Major Findings: The PIL Lifelong Learning 2013-2015.
Key findings are presented about the information-seeking needs and practices graduates use for enriching and fulfilling their personal and professional lives.
Indiana Bloomington Information Literacy: A selection of Information Literacy handouts, worksheets, and activities from Indiana Bloomington University
Meta-cognitive Awareness Inventory
Video Transcript
Your professor has just given you a research assignment. You take time to make sure that you:
First, you start stressing but then you think about it a bit, and you realize that you actually conduct research on a daily basis. It might not be scholarly research. But it is research nonetheless. Yeah!
For example:
Think of yourself as a detective conducting your own personal private investigation, going from source to source to discover information.
You are the sleuth. Take out your spyglass, put on the private detective hat and go!
With spyglass in hand you wonder, where do I begin?
Let’s begin at the beginning, okay? First, you may have heard your professor talk about the research process. But what is it and what does it mean?
The research process is a process of inquiry that is, asking questions that reflect your thinking process. In other words, what am I thinking?
Adapted from and thanks to the New Literacies Alliance.
The Five W’s are a good way to begin your thinking;
The Five W criteria can add context to your investigation and turn a topic into a research question.
So let’s try an example.
We want to research vaccine requirements. We can use the Five W’s to specify the scope of our investigation. If we want to investigate mandatory flu vaccines for school children in Kansas. The WHO of the investigation is school children and the WHAT is mandatory flu vaccines. The WHEN is the present. WHERE is Kansas. And our research question becomes “Should the flu vaccine be required for school children in Kansas?”
Consider your new research question in light of your investigation. Does it fit your task? If you are investigating “Should my five-year-old get the flu vaccine?” this research question might be a little too broad. If you are writing a book about preventing flu outbreaks, it is probably too narrow. If you are writing a five-page research paper about an aspect of flu transmission it’s probably just right.
You can also use the Five W’s to broaden the scope of the investigation to fit your task. If your task is to write a book about preventing flu outbreaks in the US. You could change the criteria in this way.
SCHOOLCHILDREN become AMERICANS; MANDATORY FLU VACCINE becomes PREVENTION. And you’ll need to change the WHEN to a timeline that might include the history of flu outbreaks, the current situation, and how to prevent outbreaks in the future. KANSAS becomes the UNITED STATES.
If your topic is too broad or vague you may be overwhelmed with information. If your question is too narrow you might not find anything at all. Before you start your investigation take a moment to refine your question. This step will help you focus your search and zero in on what you need to find.
Imagine the universe of information available on a given topic as water escaping from a firehose. You can use the 5W Criteria to help make the flow more manageable.
What is my question? Your research question is different than your topic.
For example, your topic might be racial profiling in law enforcement and its impact on racism. However, your research question might be something like: how do racial profiling and law enforcement influence racism?
So think about what is your main argument? Does racial profiling affect racism or not? In what ways do racial profiling and law enforcement influence racism?
You may want to think about the topic in terms of the personal or ideological, religious, or spiritual, social, or political, rhetorical, and vocational influences on racism.
You may want to start with a pro or con statement then move to more specifics. Then how does your research prove your argument? Are more questions raised during this questioning process? It's important to narrow your topic from general to specific.
Racism is a very broad topic and racial profiling narrows the topic to a more specific form of racism. Finally, law enforcement in the United States provides context.
Next, you'll need to investigate the topic by searching for articles in the library databases.
Multilingual Glossary for Today’s Library Users
If English is not your first language, then this resource will help you navigate the definitions of library terms in the following languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Vietnamese.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Library Terms
It's important to understand library terms in order for you to do your research. If you have questions about the terminology used in the tutorial you can check this Glossary of Library Terms.
Abstract: A summary or brief description of the content of another long work. An abstract is often provided along with the citation to a work.
Annotated bibliography: a bibliography in which a brief explanatory or evaluate note is added to each reference or citation. An annotation can be helpful to the researcher in evaluating whether the source is relevant to a given topic or line of inquiry.
Archives: 1. A space which houses historical or public records. 2. The historical or public records themselves, which are generally non-circulating materials such as collections of personal papers, rare books, Ephemera, etc.
Article: A brief work—generally between 1 and 35 pages in length—on a topic. Often published as part of a journal, magazine, or newspaper.
Author: The person(s) or organization(s) that wrote or compiled a document. Looking for information under its author's name is one option in searching.
Bibliography: A list containing citations to the resources used in writing a research paper or other document. See also Reference.
Book: A relatively lengthy work, often on a single topic. May be in print or electronic.
Boolean operator: A word—such as AND, OR, or NOT—that commands a computer to combine search terms. Helps to narrow (AND, NOT) or broaden (OR) searches.
Call number: A group of letters and/or numbers that identifies a specific item in a library and provides a way for organizing library holdings. Three major types of call numbers are Dewey Decimal, Library of Congress, and Superintendent of Documents.
Catalog: A database (either online or on paper cards) listing and describing the books, journals, government documents, audiovisual and other materials held by a library. Various search terms allow you to look for items in the catalog.
Check-out: To borrow an item from a library for a fixed period of time in order to read, listen to, or view it. Check-out periods vary by library. Items are checked out at the circulation desk.
Circulation: The place in the library, often a desk, where you check out, renew, and return library materials. You may also place a hold, report an item missing from the shelves, or pay late fees or fines there.
Citation: A reference to a book, magazine or journal article, or other work containing all the information necessary to identify and locate that work. A citation to a book includes its author's name, title, publisher and place of publication, and date of publication.
Controlled vocabulary: Standardized terms used in searching a specific database.
Course reserve: Select books, articles, videotapes, or other materials that instructors want students to read or view for a particular course. These materials are usually kept in one area of the library and circulate for only a short period of time. See also Electronic reserve.
Descriptor: A word that describes the subject of an article or book; used in many computer databases.
Dissertation: An extended written treatment of a subject (like a book) submitted by a graduate student as a requirement for a doctorate.
DOI: Acronym for Digital Object Identifier. It is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by the publisher to a digital object.
E-book (or Electronic book): An electronic version of a book that can be read on a computer or mobile device.
Editor: A person or group responsible for compiling the writings of others into a single information source. Looking for information under the editor's name is one option in searching.
Electronic reserve (or E-reserve): An electronic version of a course reserve that is read on a computer display screen. See also Course reserve.
Encyclopedia: A work containing information on all branches of knowledge or treating comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge (such as history or chemistry). Often has entries or articles arranged alphabetically.
Hold: A request to have an item saved (put aside) to be picked up later. Holds can generally, be placed on any regularly circulating library material in-person or online.
Holdings: The materials owned by a library.
Index: 1. A list of names or topics—usually found at the end of a publication—that directs you to the pages where those names or topics are discussed within the publication. 2. A printed or electronic publication that provides references to periodical articles or books by their subject, author, or other search terms.
Interlibrary services/loan: A service that allows you to borrow materials from other libraries through your own library. See also Document delivery.
Journal: A publication, issued on a regular basis, which contains scholarly research published as articles, papers, research reports, or technical reports. See also Periodical.
Limits/limiters: Options used in searching that restrict your results to only information resources meeting certain other, non-subject-related, criteria. Limiting options vary by database, but common options include limiting results to materials available full-text in the database, to scholarly publications, to materials written in a particular language, to materials available in a particular location, or to materials published at a specific time.
Magazine: A publication, issued on a regular basis, containing popular articles, written and illustrated in a less technical manner than the articles found in a journal.
Microform: A reduced sized photographic reproduction of printed information on reel to reel film (microfilm) or film cards (microfiche) or opaque pages that can be read with a microform reader/printer.
Newspaper: A publication containing information about varied topics that are pertinent to general information, a geographic area, or a specific subject matter (i.e. business, culture, education). Often published daily.
Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC): A computerized database that can be searched in various ways— such as by keyword, author, title, subject, or call number— to find out what resources a library owns. OPAC’s will supply listings of the title, call number, author, location, and description of any items matching one's search. Also referred to as “library catalog ” or “online catalog.”
PDF: A file format developed by Adobe Acrobat® that allows files to be transmitted from one computer to another while retaining their original appearance both on-screen and when printed. An acronym for Portable Document Format.
Peer-reviewed journal: Peer review is a process by which editors have experts in a field review books or articles submitted for publication by the experts’ peers. Peer review helps to ensure the quality of an information source. A peer-reviewed journal is also called a refereed journal or scholarly journal.
Periodical: An information source published in multiple parts at regular intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, biannually). Journals, magazines, and newspapers are all periodicals. See also Serial.
Plagiarism: Using the words or ideas of others without acknowledging the original source.
Primary source: An original record of events, such as a diary, a newspaper article, a public record, or scientific documentation.
Print: The written symbols of a language as portrayed on paper. Information sources may be either print or electronic.
Publisher: An entity or company that produces and issues books, journals, newspapers, or other publications.
Recall: A request for the return of library material before the due date.
Refereed journal: See Peer-reviewed journal.
Reference: 1. A service that helps people find needed information. 2. Sometimes "reference" refers to reference collections, such as encyclopedias, indexes, handbooks, directories, etc. 3. A citation to a work is also known as a reference.
Renewal: An extension of the loan period for library materials.
Reserve: 1. A service providing special, often short-term, access to course-related materials (book or article readings, lecture notes, sample tests) or to other materials (CD-ROMs, audio-visual materials, current newspapers or magazines). 2. Also the
physical location—often a service desk or room—within a library where materials on reserve are kept. Materials can also be made available electronically. See also Course reserve, Electronic reserve.
Scholarly journal: See Peer-reviewed journal.
Search statement/Search Query: Words entered into the search box of a database or search engine when looking for information. Words relating to an information source's author, editor, title, subject heading or keyword serve as search terms. Search terms can be combined by using Boolean operators and can also be used with limits/limiters.
Secondary sources: Materials such as books and journal articles that analyze primary sources. Secondary sources usually provide evaluation or interpretation of data or evidence found in original research or documents such as historical manuscripts or memoirs.
Serial: Publications such as journals, magazines, and newspapers that are generally published multiple times per year, month, or week. Serials usually have number volumes and issues.
Stacks: Shelves in the library where materials—typically books—are stored. Books in the stacks are normally arranged by call number. May be referred to as “book stacks.”
Style manual: An information source providing guidelines for people who are writing research papers. A style manual outlines specific formats for arranging research papers and citing the sources that are used in writing the paper.
Subject heading: Descriptions of an information source’s content assigned to make finding information easier. See also Controlled vocabulary, Descriptors.
Title: The name of a book, article, or other information sources. Upload: To transfer information from a computer system or a personal computer to another computer system or a larger computer system.
Virtual reference: A service allowing library users to ask questions through email, text message, or live-chat as opposed to coming to the reference desk at the library and asking a question in person. Also referred to as “online reference” or “e-reference.”
This MasterList, edited by Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D., is designed to serve as a resource for researchers, developers, students, and others interested in understanding or developing products that incorporate one or more of these features.
Each feature or approach is then listed below along with applicable disabilities to each feature are marked with the following icons:
American Sign Language Dictionary
Search and compare thousands of words and phrases in American Sign Language (ASL). The largest collection of free video signs online.
Braille Translator
Brailletranslator.org is a simple way to convert text to braille notation. This supports nearly all Grade Two braille contractions.
Voyant Tools (Corpus Analysis)
Voyant Tools is an open-source, web-based application for performing text analysis. It supports scholarly reading and interpretation of texts or corpus, particularly by scholars in the digital humanities, but also by students and the general public. It can be used to analyze online texts or ones uploaded by users. (Source: Wikipedia)