Strategies for Library Information Literacy Research

1. Basic Steps
How to find and
use information
on your topic.
STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY
INFORMATION LITERACY
RESEARCH

2. Work from broad to narrow. Find background information. Become more
specific with your topic. Use books and journal articles, and other sources
if possible depending on the topic. Use current sources as well.
Write down the complete citation of the sources you used for the paper to
cite as your reference.
SEARCH TIPS

3. Write the topic as a research question
For example, what do you want to know about the topic, state the
question, “What is the effects of homelessness on children”.
Pick out the main concepts or keywords in the question.
The keywords are: homelessness, children and effects.
WHAT IS YOUR TOPIC?

4. Use general Encyclopedia
Use subject encyclopedia
Use books if possible
FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

5. Write down the call number to locate the book on the shelf. If it is in an
electronic format click on the Internet link for full access to the
information.
USE THE ONLINE CATALOG TO FIND BOOKS

6. Select the appropriate databases for the topic being searched. Some
databases provide full text articles in addition to the citation and
abstracts.
Search the databases using the keyword in the basic search mode. The
Advanced search mode can also be used with boolean operators “AND”,
“OR”, “NOT” to narrow or broaden your search.
USE THE DATABASES TO FIND JOURNAL ARTICLES

7. Use GoogleScholar Search Engine
FIND INTERNET SOURCES

8. Read the abstracts to critically analyze the articles.
Identify scholarly/Peer Reviewed journal articles.
Evaluate the authority, currency, objectivity, coverage, accuracy and
relevancy on search engine sources and books.
EVALUATE WHAT YOU FIND

9. Use the citation style for your discipline or the style suggested by your
professor for the citations on all the book titles, journals, videos,
newspapers, etc. used to write your paper.
CITE YOUR RESOURCES

10. Use the citation style for your discipline or the style suggested by your
professor for the citations on all the book titles, journals, videos,
newspapers, etc. used to write your paper.
CITE YOUR RESOURCES