Skills in Accessing, Finding & Reviewing Information - Safari

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1 . Understanding information 1. Introduction 2. What is information? 3. The information age 4. Everyday uses 5. Types of information 6. Information universe 7. Mapping sources 8. Identifying needs 9. Summary

2 . Unpacking information 1. Introduction 2. Information journeys 3. Supply chain 4. Research supply chain 5. Categorising information 6. Shape of the literature 7. Finding information 8. Summary

3 . Planning a search 1. Introduction 2. Describing information 3. Databases 4. Library catalogues 5. World Wide Web 6. Which to use? 7. Planning a search 8. Choosing resources 9. Summary

4 . Searching for information 1. Introduction 2. Basic principles 3. Databases 4. Library catalogues 5. World Wide Web 6. Tracking progress 7. Your subject 8. Summary

5 . Evaluating information 1. Introduction 2. Information quality 3. Presentation 4. Relevance 5. Objectivity 6. Method 7. Provenance 8. Timeliness 9. Summary

6 . Organising information 1. Introduction 2. Why organise? 3. Ways to organise 4. Social bookmarks 5. Citing references 6. Bibliographies 7. Summary

7 . Where do I go from here 1. Introduction 2. Sharing information 3. Electronic communication 4. Keeping up-to-date 5. Summary

Relevance – a case study

William is an undergraduate student who wants to find information on the background to Shakespeare's play ‘Coriolanus’ for an essay he is writing. Here are some of the resources he finds.

	A copy of Coriolanus with notes aimed at secondary school pupils: Oxford School Shakespeare: ‘Coriolanus’, by William Shakespeare. Edited by Roma Gill. ISBN: 019832006X X
	An article in the scholarly electronic journal 'Early Modern Literary Studies' entitled: '"The price of one fair word": Negotiating Names in Coriolanus' by David Lucking, 1996, Vol. 2, No. 1'
	An entry in Wikipedia about Coriolanus (the play)
	A website that includes the text of the play and links to essays other students have written

Activity

Have a look at the materials listed above and make some notes about how relevant they might be for William. What are the factors he should consider when deciding which information to use? (Clue – it may not just be a matter of relevance).

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