Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Frame: Research as Inquiry

Standard One: The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed
 
Standard Two: The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
 
Standard Three: The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.

From: Hovious, Amanda. “Alignment Charts for ACRL Standards and Proposed Framework.” Google Docs, January 23, 2015.

• Start with what you already know. Begin by drawing upon your knowledge base.
• Learn as you go! Be open to shifting your research as you discover new areas of knowledge.
• Research is like building with Legos. It builds upon itself through searching, browsing existing research, and asking questions.
• Seek the experts. Don’t forget to ask for insights from professors and librarians.
• Be persistent and don’t get discouraged. Research can be challenging. If you don’t find something right away don’t give up.

• Describe via reflection how the research process is iterative, requires persistence and open mindedness, and may lead to more questions.
• Discover and refine/adjust key concepts and related terms in order to locate relevant sources.
• Use knowledge gained through coursework and personal experience, along with curiosity, to identify gaps in information or available data that may suggest research questions.
• Realize that new questions may lead to more lines of discovery, applying research methods that are appropriate for the need, context, and type of inquiry.
• Analyze sections of a research article in order to conceptualize the research process used, to identify possible gaps in the literature or new areas of inquiry.
• Identify content experts (instructors, librarians, etc.) as knowledgeable and approachable, and feel comfortable coming to them at service points for help.

• Use research article to model research process used by experts.
• Jigsaw groups each tackle one part of a research article summarizing what that section says what purpose that section serves then students disperse & share with new formed groups
• Chalk talk have students list out resource they use & branch out with experiences, feelings, facts, etc.
• Concept mapping, give class a topic, brainstorm keywords. Use Prezi to have students create a visual map with a list of keywords.
• Evaluate sources cited in an article, review sources. Decade what value thing add to the article. Sort sources into types (books, articles, reports, statistics) using clickers
• Individual group brainstorming, using Padlet, students share as many synonyms as they can for research question concepts, then as a group we group them by concept in preparation for boolean searching
• Keyword brainstorming students write down presentation idea and pass around. What questions do their peers have about the topic ( review to create keywords), roundtable writing.

This guide was created by a task force of PALNI librarians. 

Task Force Members:
Eric Bradley | Goshen College / PALNI
David Dunham | [formerly] Taylor University
Ula Gaha | [formerly] Saint Mary's College
Sally Neal | Butler University
Amber Pavlina | University of Saint Francis
Catherine Pellegrino | Saint Mary's College

Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education by PALNI's ACRL IL Framework Task Force is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless marked otherwise. PALNI’s logos and branding template are not covered by this license, and all rights to such material are reserved.