Readings and Assignments for Week One of LRS 590

Course Introduction

Information

• Who produces and distributes information?

• Information Lifecycle

• Format and function of different types of information (scholarly, popular, media sources, blogs, etc.)

• The organization of information and why it matters

Evaluating Information

Discussion on the essentials on evaluating any information:

• Audience

• Authority

• References/Citations

• Scope

• Comprehensiveness

• Currency

• Format

• Accuracy/Objectivity

• Organization of content

• Publisher

The Internet

• Meta-Tags

• Folksonomies

• The limits of Google- A discussion on how the Web’s Search engines work and are influenced (Google Bombs, advertising, etc.)

• Delivery of electronic authorized e-information

• Understanding electronic information and terminology (Database, Record, and Field).

• Understanding the potentials in metadata based solutions such as XML for more precise searching.

In Class

• Start to apply the Evaluating Information criteria to 3 Web resources that are applicable to your research topic
• Read and discuss "A Risky Gamble with Google"

At Home

• Familiarize yourself with the course wiki
• Complete Assignment Page (choosing a research topic and setting up your blog)
• Read the libraries' page on Information Literacy.
• Apply the Evaluating Information criteria to 3 Web resources that are applicable to your research topic. On your blog, post citations for the Web sites and briefly summarize how they meet the evaluation criteria.