Embedded Librarian

CMC Institutional Student Learning Outcomes

3. Information literacy and research ethics

3.1. Locate appropriate resources to satisfy information needs.
3.2. Evaluate information for credibility, reliability, and authority.
3.3. Adhere to ethical and legal standards of information access, creation, and use.
3.4. Appropriately cite sources of information.
3.5. Engage ethically with research subjects.

Colorado Department of Higher Education
GT Pathways Competency: Information Literacy

Information Literacy

Information literacy refers to the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information. Competency in information literacy represents a student’s ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively and responsibly use that information for the task or problem at hand. 

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Students should be able to:

1. Determine the Extent of Information Needed
   • Define the scope of the research question/thesis/main idea.
   • Select sources that directly relate to the key concepts or answer the research question(s).
      
2. Access the Needed Information
   • Access information using effective, well-designed search strategies.
   • Access needed information by using appropriate and relevant sources.
      
3. Evaluate Information Critically (required for GT-HI1)
   • Utilize a variety of information sources appropriate to the scope and discipline of the research question.
   • Consider the importance of multiple criteria, such as relevance to the research question, currency, authority, audience, and bias or point of view, when evaluating information source.
      
4. Use Information Effectively to Accomplish a Specific Purpose (required for GT-HI1)
   • Synthesize information from sources to fully achieve a specific purpose.
      
5. Use Information Ethically and Legally (required for GT-HI1)
   • Demonstrate a full understanding of the ethical and legal restrictions on the use of information from a variety of sources through correct citation practices.

The Association of College & Research Libraries 
Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education 

This Framework draws upon an ongoing Delphi Study that has identified several threshold concepts in information literacy, but the Framework has been molded using fresh ideas and emphases for the threshold concepts. Two added elements illustrate important learning goals related to those concepts: knowledge practices, which are demonstrations of ways in which learners can increase their understanding of these information literacy concepts, and dispositions, which describe ways in which to address the affective, attitudinal, or valuing dimension of learning. The Framework is organized into six frames, each consisting of a concept central to information literacy, a set of knowledge practices, and a set of dispositions. The six concepts that anchor the frames are presented alphabetically:

• Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
  Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise and credibility, and are evaluated based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used. Authority is constructed in that various communities may recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of authority required.
   
• Information Creation as a Process
  Information in any format is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences.
   
• Information Has Value
  Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. Legal and socioeconomic interests influence information production and dissemination.
   
• Research as Inquiry
  Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.
   
• Scholarship as Conversation
  Communities of scholars, researchers, or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations.
   
• Searching as Strategic Exploration
  Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops.