Information Literacy Rubric

Definition

Information literacy-- knowing how to find information, evaluate it, and use it effectively.
For Colorado's Information Literacy Rubrics go to: http://www.cde.state.co.us/download/pdf/inforubr.pdf

Information sources:

Books (hard back, paperback, electronic)
Journals (Scholarly, Trade, Popular)
Newspapers
Reports
Databases
Internet sites
Media (videos, CD-ROM, television broadcasts, etc)

How to Critically Analyze Information Sources is located at Wells College Library's Home Page  http://www.wells.edu/library/skill26.htm

Primary Sources:

Autobiographies, interviews, journals, research reports, photographs, letters, telegrams, and oral history accounts.

Go to View Primary Source Material for more information  http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jmargeru/websense/primary.html

An excellent web site for Colorado History primary source materials is Denver Public Library's Western History Photographs at: http://gowest.coalliance.org/

Secondary Sources

Books, and journal articles "about", biographies, editorials.

For more information on secondary sources visit the Bowling Green State University, Library User Education Web page at: http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/infosrv/lue/primary.html

Books

--Reference Material
--Government, Association, or Organization Press
--Scholarly Press
--Popular (Trade) Press
--Self published

BOOKS RUBRIC

POINTS

4

3

2

1

100 % of the book resources cited are reference materials, government, association, or organization or scholarly press publications

90-95% of the book resources cited are reference materials, government, association,  organization, or scholarly press publications with one source from popular  self published.

75% of the book resources cited are reference materials, government, association, organization, or scholarly press publications with 25% of the sources from popular  or self published presses.

50% of the book resources cited are reference materials, government, association, or scholarly press publication, with 50% of the citations from popular or self published presses

Journals

Scholarly, Trade, and Popular:

Scholarly Journals

Publications of a organization -- Title often begins with "Journal of…", "Bulletin of…:; or ends with "…Review"
Articles are written by professionals and researchers

Trade Journals

Publications of a specific industry, trade, or profession
Articles are written by people in the profession
May contain ads specific to the industry, trade, or profession

Popular Journals

Articles are usually written by journalists, not specialists
Articles cover popular subjects
Journals contain ads

Quick Guide to Evaluating Book and Journal Sources:

Information source:

--An index;
--A review;
--A reference (footnote) in a publication;
--A trade book from a local book store

Type of source:

--Scholarly (probably primary sources);
 --Governmental  (probably primary sources);
 --Popular (probably secondary sources)

Author's or producer's qualifications to write on the subject:

--Education (education relates to writing)
--Experience (experience relates to writing)
--Occupation (occupation relates to writing)
--Position (position supports expertise)
--Affiliation (affiliation suggests expertise)
--Publications (at least five articles on the subject)

Date of publication:

--Within the last several years; the last year; the last six months (if current information is needed AVOID books and DATE LIMIT index searches).
Note: when doing a historical report, date is less important than reputation of book and author.
--The book is a first edition, a revision, a reprint, rerun

The publisher's, producer's, or distributor's reputation:

--University (good)
--Publishing Company (good)
--Alternative Press (use with caution)
--Private/Political Organization (use with caution)

The material was:

--Edited for publication
--Reviewed for publication
--Self published (use with caution)

The material is documented:

--Bibliography of works cited
--Research

JOURNALS RUBRIC

POINTS

4

3

2

1

100% of the journal resources cited are scholarly or trade publications.

90-95% of the journal resources cited are scholarly or trade publications, with one source from a popular journal.

75% of the journal resources cited are scholarly or trade publications, with 25% of the sources from popular journals.

50% of the journal resources cited are scholarly or trade publications, with 50% of the citations from popular or self published presses

Databases

May be scholarly or popular (MEDLINE  versus Reader's Guide)
May be an index or full text (Ingenta versus EBSCO Host)
Institution subscribes to commercial database and provides access to patrons.  For example: PCC Library subscribes to: FirstSearch, GaleNet, L.O.I.S, and EBSCO Host and provides access to registered PCC students, faculty and staff.

DATABASES RUBRIC

POINTS

4

3

2

1

100% of the databases cited are scholarly and/or subscription databases, and all journals cited are scholarly or trade publications..

90-95% of the databases cited are scholarly and/or subscription databases, with one popular journal cited from a database.

75% of the databases cited are scholarly and/or subscription databases, with 25% of the sources from databases incorporating popular journals.

50% of the databases cited are scholarly and/or subscription databases, with 50% of the citations from databases incorporating popular journals.

COMBINED BOOKS, JOURNALS, DATABASES RUBRIC

POINTS

4

3

2

1

100% of  sources cited (books, journals, and databases) are scholarly and/or subscription databases.

90-95% of the sources cited (books, journals, and databases) are scholarly and/or subscription databases.

75% of the sources cited (books, journals, and databases) are scholarly and/or subscription databases.

50% of the sources cited (books, journals, and databases) are scholarly and/or subscription databases.

INTERNET RUBRIC

Internet Sites:

The full text for Evaluating Internet Resources  produced by the University of Maryland, University College Library may be found at: http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webeval.htm

Evaluate a Web site using five criteria:

Authority

An authoritative site MUST answer all of the following:

--The creator of the page is identified
--The person who maintains the page is identified
-- The legitimacy of the page's sponsor can be verified
-- Anyone who contributed materials is identified

Accuracy

An accurate site MUST meet all of the following:

Sources are identified so they can be verified
The person/organization responsible for the accuracy of the information is named
If statistical data is presented, it is clearly labeled

Objectivity

Measure the page against the following:

The page and information is provided as a public service
The page is free of advertising
If advertising is present, it clearly separate from the informational content

Currency

Can  you determine the following:

When the page was written
When the page was first placed on line
When the page was last revised or edited
If the information is published in print in different editions, it is clear what edition is used on the web page

Coverage

Does the Web site tell you:

The page is complete or still under construction
When the Web page is taken from a print equivalent, whether the entire work or only portions of it are available on the Web site

Reliable Web Publishers:

Education (.edu)

A Brief History of Radiology may be found at the Harvard Web site: http://radiology.bidmc.harvard.edu/Headings/History/history.html

Government (.gov)

Example:  The Library of Congress' American Memory database at: http://memory.loc.gov/

Associations (.org)

Example:  The American Red Cross site: http://www.redcross.org/

Shared Information Site (.net)

Walt Howe's Internet Learning Tree http://people.ne.mediaone.net/walthowe/ilrntree.html

Sites needing more evaluation:

Commercial sites (.com)

The Merck Manual is located at:  http://www.merck.com/  This manual is also available in print; it is important to identify when the online edition is being used.

Sites to use with caution:

Personal sites
Chat Rooms
E-Mail

For more in depth information on web resources visit:

"Evaluating Web Resources" by Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate.  Widener University, Wolggram Memorial Library.  http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webeval.htm

POINTS

4

3

2

1

100% of the Internet sources cited are authoritative and meet the criteria for accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage.

90-95% of the Internet sources cited are authoritative and meet the criteria for accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage.

75% of the Internet sources cited are authoritative and meet the criteria for accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage.

50% of the Internet sources cited are authoritative and meet the criteria for accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage.

Media

Reputation of the publisher, producer, or distributor:

Companies in the education business (high reliability) For example: Bergwall Productions, Inc.  http://www.bergwall.com/
Companies in the entertainment business (emphasis on entertainment NOT facts)  such as Time Warner http://www.timewarner.com/corp/

Credentials:

The contributors have appropriate credentials
The sources are cited
The information is presented clearly and objectively

The format is appropriate.

The medium presents information you cannot find elsewhere.

MEDIA RUBRIC

POINTS

4

3

2

1

100% of the media is produced by a reputable publisher with credentials and sources cited.

90-95% of the media is produced by a reputable publisher with credentials and sources are cited.

75% of the media is produced by a reputable publisher with credentials and sources are cited.

50% of the media is produced by a reputable publisher with credentials and sources are cited.