An information literate individual is able to:
Source: Association of College & Research Libraries, Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.
Also see: AALL Principles and Standards for Legal Research Competency
Websites, blogs, social networking sites- the web has grown and continues to add content.
The difference between web resources and paper publications
Materials in academic libraries have gone through several evaluations before they are added to the library’s collection. This includes paper as well as academic electronic databases. Here are the basic steps for academic publications:
1. The author gets feedback from peers on his/her research proposal.
2. The author may post a draft on pre-publication databases to get additional feedback. See SSRN https://www.ssrn.com/ and SelectedWorks https://works.bepress.com/
3. The author works with the publisher, through many edits, citation checks and reference checks (fact checking).
4. Librarians may read reviews or recommendations by other librarians before purchasing the material.
5. Librarians evaluate the need for the new material and the quality of the new material using all of the criteria listed in this guide. Librarians do this daily with all information they encounter.
There is no evaluation process for web postings. The web is a self-publishing media. The good, the bad and the ugly all reside on the web and show up in searches. Quality of information, author credibility, and fact checking all vary from high quality down to the lowest extreme.
Caveat lector: Let the reader beware!
You have to learn to evaluate what you read on the web. Apply critical thinking skills and question everything on the web. This library guide gives you some evaluation tools to use when searching for and using information on the web.
Criteria to use
A. Authority
B. Accuracy
C. Scope
D. Currency
AND cross-check the information using other sites. Investigate the site using other sources.
To access the complete list of tutorials visit http://www.cali.org/
Click here for information about the CALI authorization code for UA Law students.
Lessons:
...and get great results!