Welcome to your SPCC Library Information Literacy 101 Research Guide. Here you will find information on:
What information literacy means,
How to access library resources,
APA and MLA citation styles,
How to use a database for research, and
how to develop research questions.
Read this introduction page, then click through the questions in green boxes on the left side of the screen to increase your information literacy and learn how to do the research you'll need for all of your assignments.
Information literacy is the process of learning what information is, how it’s created, how to choose the right information to answer questions, and how to use information ethically. For English 111 students, information literacy means learning where to find the right information you need to do your class assignments, and properly citing that information to give credit to its authors.
The Association of College & Research Libraries has created a “framework” for instructors and students to talk about information literacy. It’s based on six core concepts that sound very theoretical, but have very practical applications. The six core concepts are
• Information Creation as a Process (understanding the different types of information)
• Authority Is Constructed and Contextual (understanding what makes information credible)
• Searching as Strategic Exploration (effectively using databases to do research)
• Research as Inquiry (formulating good research questions)
• Scholarship as Conversation (understanding scholarly conversation)
• Information Has Value (understanding why we use citation and how to properly cite sources)
Please take this short, 10-question quiz to test how much you already know about information literacy.