Information literacy comprises the abilities to find, select, and use information sources to satisfy an information need. Below is a list of learning outcomes for the College of DuPage Library Information Literacy Instruction Program. An information literate student is a master of these research skills. These are skills that a community college student should possess upon graduation.
1. Develop a Research Plan
An information literate student is able to:
a. Determine a focused, clear, and manageable topic.
b. Develop a realistic overall plan and timeline to complete the research project.
c. Identify key concepts and terms that describe the topic.
d. Explore general information resources to become familiar with the topic.
e. Narrow or broaden the scope of the topic based on preliminary research.
2. Find Resources
An information literate student is able to:
a. Determine available resources and services at the College of DuPage Library
b. Understand the characteristics and value of different types of resources (books, periodicals, Web sites) and their different formats (print, electronic).
c. Understand the characteristics and value of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.
d. Select information resources (catalog, databases, search engines) appropriate for the research topic.
e. Use various search techniques such as keywords, controlled vocabulary, limiters, Boolean operators, and truncation to find relevant items.
3. Analyze the Search Results
An information literate student is able to:
a. Understand that search results may be presented according to various ordering principles (e.g. relevance ranking, author, title, or date).
b. Identify the components of a citation and differentiate between types of sources, such as book or periodical.
c. Use the components of a citation to choose those sources most suitable for the research project.
d. Analyze the search results and determine whether the search should be refined.
4. Retrieve Sources
An information literate student is able to:
a. Determine whether sources are in the Library, online, or available by alternate means.
b. Understand the different ways that resources are organized.
c. Retrieve locally owned resources in a variety of formats such as books, articles, microform, and full-text.
d. Understand the various methods for locating and obtaining resources not held locally such as Interlibrary Loan.
5. Evaluate Sources
An information literate student is able to:
a. Use the components of a citation to choose those sources most suitable for the research project.
b. Evaluate among various information sources using established evaluation criteria to determine reliability, validity, authority, currency, and accuracy).
c. Evaluate information sources with an understanding of context, intention, and audience (bias, opinion, satire, inflammatory, balanced).
6. Organize and Use the Retrieved Sources
An information literate student is able to:
a. Extract the details and concepts from the retrieved sources.
b. Organize the gathered information in a logical and useful manner.
c. Synthesize the ideas and concepts from the information sources collected.
d. Integrate the new information with previous information or knowledge.
e. Communicate the new knowledge to others by using various formats such as writing, speaking, or multimedia presentations.
7. Understand the Ethics of Information Use
An information literate student is able to:
a. Understand what constitutes plagiarism and does not represent work attributable to others as his or her own.
b. Understand the concepts of intellectual property and fair use of copyrighted material.
c. Select a documentation style and use it consistently to cite sources