Information Literacy Proficiencies
for Students Ready to Move Into Upper-division Coursework

Information Literacy Articulation Group of Greater Portland - 4/10/08

Students who are ready to begin upper-division coursework can…

1. Identify gaps in their knowledge and recognize when they need information.

•Read and analyze assignments and class instructions.
•Determine the nature and extent of information needed.
•Confer with instructors, librarians, and others to focus and refine a research topic.
•Frame appropriate research questions and develop a manageable thesis statement.

2. Find information efficiently and effectively, using appropriate research tools and search strategies.

•Understand that there are different resources available for different purposes/subjects.
•Explore general information sources to increase familiarity with a topic.
•Recognize that information sources have an organizational structure and can find and use their navigational tools and access points.
•Formulate a search to locate and retrieve information effectively and efficiently using appropriate resources.
•Understand how to follow the trail from the citation to the item.
•Use the library to obtain materials including materials that aren’t available locally.

3. Evaluate and select information using appropriate criteria.

•Critically evaluate information based on reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias.
•Compare and select information from various sources in order to accomplish a specific task.
•Understand that informational content and physical format are independent of each other.
•Judge the relevance of materials found with respect to the specific information need.

4. Treat research as a multi-stage, recursive learning process.

•Understand that information searching requires motivation, perseverance, and practice, and that skills are developed over time.
•Identify gaps in the information retrieved and modify or revise their topic or thesis and/or develop new search strategies.
•Formulate a realistic overall plan and timeline to acquire the needed information.

5. Ethically and legally use information and information technologies.

•Cite items or ideas used and does not represent work attributable to others as his/her own, and does not distort the author’s intended meaning.
•Understand that citation of other works or ideas and plagiarism are ethical issues.
•Use citations to participate in an ongoing scholarly conversation.
•Understand that different disciplines have different citation standards and habits.
•Understand that there are legal issues surrounding copyrighted information.

6. Recognize safety issues involved with information sharing and information technologies.

•Recognize that the use of some technologies has potential health risks.
•Recognize potential safety and privacy risks of sharing personal information online.

7. Manipulate and manage information, using appropriate tools and technologies.

•Record and organize information resources to track the research process.
•Use tools and techniques to create and revise documents collaboratively.

8. Create, produce, and communicate understanding of a subject through synthesis of relevant information.

•Recognize that existing information can be combined with original thought, experimentation, and/or analysis to produce something new.
•Analyze resources and make conscious decisions about how each resource supports the development of the topic.
•Reconsider original idea based on new understanding.

Here is a link to an ACRL page about information literacy in the disciplines.Each link on this page goes to another page with a list of readings, and sometimes also a link to (usually draft) standards.

http://www.ala.org/ala/acrlbucket/is/projectsacrl/infolitdisciplines/

It was quite useful reading, found some interesting details about this topic. Thanks….

(Note - OSU community members can access this article from the Library’s webpage, using Lexis-Nexis. Go to Guided Search, choose University News in Step One and then the Chronicle in Step Two. — Anne-Marie)