Learning Centre How to... find information Alternative formats available If you would like more help and advice on finding information or using any of the resources available in the Learning Centre, please ask a member of the Learning Centre staff. © Coleg Gwent Learning Advisors 2011 You can find this document at: http://moodle.coleggwent.ac.uk … Learning Centre Online 2 Introduction Information is an important part of our lives, whether it is for college work, to help you find a job or because the subject is of general interest. It is said that we live in the ‘information age’; the amount of information available on just about any subject is huge and growing rapidly. When you are looking for information, the important thing is to be able to find relevant and reliable information that is easy to access. Looking for information can seem overwhelming, particularly as there are so many types of information and places to look. This guide will help you to find information for your work by getting you to think about the information you need, the type of information available and how you can find it. The questions to consider when you are starting out are: 1. What information do I need? 2. What types of information are available? Which resources can I use to find them? 3. Where can I find resources to help me find information? 4. How useful, reliable and accurate is this information? What information do I need? As part of your course you will be given assignment briefs, project titles or questions to answer. For most of these you will need to find information. The first thing you need to do is read the assignment brief/ project title/question carefully and make sure that you understand what you are being asked to do. • Do you have to write an essay or produce a report? • Will you be presenting your information to your class and tutor? • Are you going to be taking part in a discussion and need to understand the subject from more than one point of view? 3 Next, write a list of key words and phrases to focus on the information that you are looking for. These words or phrases will also be useful once you start searching for information. For example: Project title: Compare waste pollution policies in the UK and Switzerland. Key words/phrases: waste pollution, government policy, regulations, pollution statistics, environmental impact. Finally, you will need to think about the type of information you want. • Will you need historical information? • Are you looking for facts and statistics? • Will people’s opinions and ideas be needed? • Is other people’s current research important? For more details about the different types of information and where you can find them, see the table on page 5. 4 Research results * Customer service department, library staff Gallery or museum staff, library staff websites such as British Rail, Yell.com, Streetmap search engines such as Google Image Search and Yahoo Image Search, Microsoft ClipArt Gallery http://office.microsoft.com/clipart or copyright free image websites such as www.freeimages.co.uk timetables, directories, atlases books, journals/magazines, newspapers Tutor, specialist, technical support department specialist websites such as ‘How stuff works’ Counsellor, careers advisors, Learning Advisors, personal tutor, Citizens Advice Bureau, advice lines, e.g. NHS Direct Anyone with relevant experience Tutor, historian, museum curator, archivist books, specialist manuals, specialist journals/magazines information leaflets, specialist publications/books newspapers, journals, magazines, books (biographies/autobiographies) specialist websites, on-line encyclopaedias, e-books, CD Roms websites with electronic discussion groups/forums, Web Logs (Blogs) such as Blogger.com websites from advisory bodies (Citizens Advice) or specialists (NHS Direct), careers software (Higher Ideas, Pathfinder) Relevant government department/personnel /local MP, voluntary agency personnel government websites such as National Statistics, voluntary organisations and agencies websites government reports and publications encyclopaedias, subject specific books Tutor, subject specialist subject specific websites, on-line databases, electronic journals Specialist in the research area Subject specialists, tutors, employers, friends, relatives Journalist, editor People books, specialist journals newspaper websites, electronic newspaper database, electronic journal database, electronic journals, news channel websites e.g. BBC websites with electronic discussion groups/forums, Web Logs (Blogs) such as Blogger.com websites of research bodies such as Research Council UK, on-line databases, electronic journals Which resources? Electronic resources 5 The fact that an image is freely available does not give anyone the right to copy it. Most images are subject to some restrictions and are protected by Copyright. If you want to make use of an image, it really is a good idea to ask the owner or to credit/link to the site where you found the image. For example: photographs, video clips, graphics, diagrams and moving images Images * For example: train times, telephone numbers, maps… Everyday information How do I mend …? Technical information Can anyone help me with …? Advice What is it like to suffer from …? What is it like to use …? Experience When did … start? What happened? History How many cases of X were there last year? Facts and figures What are the different ideas about …? Theory What does the latest research tell us about …? reports, journals newspapers, journals, magazines What do people think about…? Ideas and opinions newspapers, journals, magazines Paper resources What is the latest about …? What is happening about …? News Type of information What types of information are available? Which resources can I use to find them? Where can I find resources to help me find information? Paper resources Paper resources are available from a range of places, depending on the type of resource: • A lot of paper resources are available to you in your college Learning Centre. The Learning Centre should hold at least one copy of all key recommended texts for your course. • You might also find: - public libraries useful for books, newspapers, journals, directories and leaflets. - reference libraries useful for encyclopaedias, company information, statistics, family history, local history and parliamentary material. - specialist libraries useful for particular subject areas, for example, the British Film Institute which holds national film archives and film information. - university libraries useful for books, journals and newspapers. • For information leaflets, the Citizens Advice Bureau, Careers Office and Job Centre may also be helpful places to visit. • If you want the most recent newspapers, the newsagents or your Learning Centre are good places to start. • Bookshops also sell a wide range of books and publications. • A number of paper resources are also available via the Internet as downloadable documents that you can save and print out yourself. For information on how to use paper resources see the Learning Centre guide ‘How to... use paper based resources’. 6 Electronic resources • Websites can all be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet. These include: - • BBC News Research Councils UK The Free Encyclopaedia National Statistics History on the Net Citizens Advice Bureau How Stuff Works Yell.com www.bbc.co.uk www.rcuk.ac.uk www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki www.statistics.gov.uk www.historyonthenet.com www.citizensadvice.org.uk www.howstuffworks.com www.yell.com The computers in college give you access to additional resources that the college subscribes to. These include: - NewsUK newspaper and magazine database Britannica Online encyclopaedia e-Books Careers software For information on how to use the electronic resources see the Learning Centre guide on ‘How to... search the web effectively’ and the range of ‘How to …’ guides for each subscription resource. People The people you need to contact will be located in different places. How you contact them will vary depending on who they are and the type of information you want from them. At college you can drop in or make an appointment to see your course tutor, Student Services Advisors, Careers Advisers, Learning Advisors and the college Counsellor. Outside college you can contact employers, MPs, Citizens Advice Bureau, voluntary organisations, government departments, museum curators and public librarians either in person, by telephone or in writing. For information on how to approach people when looking for information see the Learning Centre guide ‘How to... use people as a source of information’. 7 How useful, reliable and accurate is this information? It is important to remember that just because information has been published, it is not always accurate and up-to-date. Most books and journals go through a formal publishing process and therefore are more likely to be reliable as they have been checked by experts. However, anyone can publish information on the Internet. When you are looking for information make sure that you check the following: • When was it published? Is the information still accurate and up-to date? • Where was it published? Different countries have different laws and standards which may mean the information is misleading. • Is the author an ‘expert’? Check to see if they have written other work on the topic, and whether they have qualifications or a relevant job. • If you are using a website, check that it is set up by a reputable organisation. The most reputable/reliable websites are likely to be suffixed with: .ac .edu .org .gov an academic site an American educational/academic site a non-profit making organisation a government site .co, .com and .net are probably the most common type of domain suffixes but they are used on commercial sites, so treat the information on them with some caution. Anyone can buy a .co, .com or .net address. • Does it include a bibliography; a list of books, websites and magazine articles that the writer used as his/her information sources? Acknowledging the source makes it clear that the author is not trying to pretend someone else’s work is his/her own. • Watch out for bias; for instance, a ‘report on tooth decay by a chocolate manufacturer’ may not be entirely truthful. What is the author trying to achieve with the information; does it educate, inform, persuade, sell, promote or entertain? 8 Things to think about: • Is only one side of the argument presented? • Is there a hidden message? • Is it trying to persuade you or change your opinion? • Can you distinguish facts from opinions? • Does it appear that any information is purposely omitted? • Be aware that people’s opinions may be biased or their past experiences may cloud their viewpoint. It is always a good idea to check the information against another source (e.g. a website or a book) to confirm your findings. Bibliography BBC. (2001-2006). Returning to learning. Becoming a better learner. Study Skills. Researching. [Online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/returning/betterlearner/studyskills/h_rese arch_04.shtml (Accessed: 25 April 2006) COTTRELL, S. (1999). The Study Skills Handbook. London: Macmillan JONES, G. (2006). Gateways to Learning: 5 Steps to Information Literacy. Wales: Gateways to Learning RICHLER, J. (2003). The info zone: how to find information for assignments. Wigan: Wigan & Leigh College TECHNICAL ADVISORY SERVICE FOR IMAGES. (2002). Finding Images Online. [Online]. Available at: http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/using/finding.html (Accessed: 5 May 2006) THE OPEN UNIVERSITY. (2001). Safari: Skills in accessing, finding and reviewing information. [Online]. Available at: http://ltssolweb1.open.ac.uk/safari/signpost.htm (Accessed: 25 April 2006) 9 You can find this document at: http://moodle.coleggwent.ac.uk … Learning Centre Online The image below is a QR 2D bar code. Download a free QR code reader app for your phone at the iTunes App store or at: http://www.mobile-barcodes.com/qr-code-software Take a photo of the image with your phone and your browser will take you to Coleg Gwent Moodle. Log on with your college username and password to view all of the Learning Centre “How to...” guides. © Coleg Gwent Learning Advisors 2011 10