Kelly Library Help with Research

Help with Research

The Kelly Library offers various tools to help you develop research skills.

Help with Citations
A citation is a reference to another document or source. There are many styles of citation. NESA is following the guidelines presented by the AMA on www.docstyles.com. Check out this abridged version to properly cite your references. If you don’t find what you need, look a the complete unabridged version, or go directly to the AMA page. If you are unclear on whether or not something should be cited, read this document provided by Turnitin.com and Research Resources on plagiarism.

Tutorials
PubMed
     NLM Main Tutorial
     Quick Tutorials
     University of Washington Tutorial
Sciences
     Headstart in Biology
Searching the Internet
     Internet for Medical
     Internet for Allied Health

Guidelines for Writing Papers
A Guide to Style for Course Papers
A Checklist for Editing

Evaluating Information
How to read a paper/medical journal article
Critically Analyzing Information Sources

Evaluating Your Information Sources

1. Authority: Who created this journal or website?

What is their authority?
- Do they have expertise or experience with the topic?
- What are their credentials, institutional affiliation?
Is organizational information provided?
Does the journal or URL suggest a reputable affiliation with regard to the topic—an association journal, is this a personal or official site? Note the type of Internet domain (i.e., .edu: educational institution; .org: non-profit organization; .com: commercial enterprise; .net: Internet Service Provider; .gov: governmental body; .mil: military body)?
For journals is this publication peer-reviewed? Is there a list of board members and editors?

2. Objectivity: Is the purpose and intention of the publication clear, including any bias or particular viewpoint?

Are the purpose and scope stated?
Who is the intended audience?
Is the information clearly presented as being factual or opinion, primary or secondary in origin?
What criteria are used for inclusion of the information?
Is any sponsorship or underwriting fully disclosed?

3. Accuracy: Is the information presented accurate?

Are the facts documented or well-researched? Footnotes, bibliographies…
Are the facts similar to those reported in related print or other online sources?
Are the Web resources for which links are provided quality sites?

4. Currency: Is the information current?

Is the content current?
Are the pages date-stamped with last update?
Is there volume and issue information for each publication?

5. Usability: Is the site well-designed and stable?

Is the site organization logical and easy to manuever?
Is the content written at a level that is readable by the intended audience?
Has attention been paid to presenting the information as error-free (e.g., spelling, punctuation) as possible?
Is there a readily identifiable link back to the institutional or organizational home page?
Is the site reliably accessible?

Information Literacy
A major initiative in academic libraries and curricula development in the last ten years is information literacy. "Simply put, information literacy is knowing how to find information, evaluate it, and use it effectively." Information Literacy: Critical Skills for a Changing World, ALA 1994

By increasing information literacy skills, students will more effectively select, search, and evaluate information found in print and electronic form.

Key goals of information literacy

Differentiate knowledge sources; identify where to locate them, and how to choose the best information
Effectively search library databases and the web
Assess credibility of sources found

Information is available from many sources and in many formats, such as printed text, television, videos, library databases, web sites, and more. To be "information literate" you need to know why, when, and how to use all of these tools and think critically about the information they provide.

The following is a short list of organizations that have integrated information literacy into their objectives and programs:

Resources for more information
The National Forum on Information Literacy was created in 1990 as a response to the recommendations of the American Library Association's Presidential Committee on Information Literacy.

Good overview of various sources relating to information literacy and education http://goose.ycp.edu/~gszczyrb/vlib/

Information Literacy definitions http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/departments/INFO/library/ILG/workdef.html

Institute for Information Literacy http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/nilihp.html

Association of college and research libraries site on information literacy http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/standardsguidelines.htm

Bibliographic Instruction
      BCR - Bibliographic Instruction Resources
      Berea College - BI Evaluation
      Bibliographic Instruction Resources on the Internet
      MedCERTAIN
      Model Statement of Objectives for Academic Bibliographic Instruction
      Saia - Advocacy for Bibliographic Instruction