How College Students Can Improve Their Research Skills

What Is Information Literacy?

Experts define information literacy as a set of abilities individuals use to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."

Information literacy drew attention in the 1980s and 90s when the American Library Association's (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy produced two reports on the value of this skill. The focus on information literacy, especially within higher education, resulted in the creation of the Association of College and Research Libraries' Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. The ACRL task force identified five standards and 22 performance indicators that are still implemented in colleges and universities today.

When you're in college, you'll be called upon to use your information literacy skills frequently. Academic research will be required whenever you write papers, when you report on individual or group projects, and possibly when you engage in classroom or online discussions. Specifically, you'll need to conduct research whenever you want to support your own position with data, expert opinions, or real-life examples, or when you want to challenge or refute an alternate position. 

Information Resources

Mastering information literacy begins with knowing what resources are available to you. Your school's library is full of information in the form of books, scholarly journals, encyclopedias, audio and video recordings, newspapers, and more. Librarians are there to help you locate and access these resources, even if you're an online student working remotely. Many university libraries offer in-person or virtual workshops on how to use research tools, such as the EBSCO or LexisNexis databases, so try to attend one if you can.

Of course, there is also a wealth of information available online whenever you need it, but this can be more challenging to access. When researching on the internet, you have to be more discerning about sources of information. It's not enough to simply grab the first tidbit of information that pops up on your Google search. Rather, you need to dig a little deeper to ensure your sources are accurate, credible, and current.

Information Literacy Step By Step

Let's imagine that you've been assigned to write a research paper on the current U.S. economy. Information literacy examples for this assignment might include collecting economic data on changes in income and unemployment rates, gathering information on the most significant drivers of the economy, and assembling expert projections on the future of the economy, all of which need to be cited according to your instructor's formatting requirements. 

How do you learn to do all that correctly? Following these seven steps will allow you to hone your information literacy skills, which is likely to be one of the learning outcomes for your program or school.

• Step One: Brainstorm Through Research

College instructors often describe their assignments in fairly broad terms, giving you the opportunity to decide what's of greatest interest to you and what you want to focus on in your response. One way to begin the process of identifying a research topic is to gather some general information. Using our example assignment, you might start looking online or at the library by using broad search terms like "U.S. economy" or "economic drivers in the U.S." 

At this early stage, it's acceptable to use sources like Wikipedia to gather background information. Hyperlinks may be useful in exploring related terms and identifying potential topics for your assignment. However, most college instructors do not consider Wikipedia to be credible, so you should avoid using it as a final source for your assignments.

• Step Two: Sharpen Your Focus

In some cases, a great research topic will emerge on its own with relatively little effort on your part. In other cases, however, you may need to put more effort into evaluating what you've learned about your general topic so far. You may want to use some trusted brainstorming techniques combined with online research to zero in on your specific topic.

Some options include brainstorming ideas with classmates or a study group, using a search engine to explore keywords and synonyms, reviewing the People Also Asked feature on Google, or mind mapping. Mind mapping is a visual and written process in which you write down the main topic in the center of a piece of paper, add subtopics around it, and break down each subtopic into even smaller topics. This may help you make some interesting connections that can lead you to a thesis for your assignment.

The more you can refine your subject and information needs at this stage, the less time you'll spend on research in the next stage because you'll know what you're looking for.

• Step Three: Use A Variety of Search Strategies

Now that you have a clear research question or research topic in mind, it's time to start identifying potential sources where you might find relevant information. Again, these could be sources found in academic libraries or online, just as long as they are trusted, scholarly sources.

One place to start is with the bibliographies of the sources you've already examined. Wikipedia pages, for example, often have citations at the end that may lead you to scholarly sources, as do many white papers and books. Google Scholar and other databases like EBSCO and J-Stor may also direct you to viable sources. You can also search LibGuides if they're available for your program or school. Some of these resources are free to use, while others may need to be accessed through your school's digital library.

If your online searches are producing an overwhelming amount of responses or, conversely, too few options, you can refine your methods with Boolean search operators. These are words and symbols that you type into the search bar along with your search terms to refine the results. 

This step may seem unnecessary, but your efforts will pay off. Don't settle for the first few options that appear at the top of your search results, but rather keep digging to identify as many potential sources as you can. In the end, you'll end up with better information that truly supports your thesis.

• Step Four: Evaluate Potential Sources

Diane Rubino, an adjunct instructor at New York University writing for the Wiley Network, noted that students often exhibit something called "confirmation bias" when conducting research. She explains: "I learned that students were unlikely to vet their sources carefully. If they could easily verify their beliefs and the site looked okay at first glance, their ideas must be accurate—or so they thought."

In other words, confirmation bias can easily lead to using bad data, incorporating misinformation, and arriving at incorrect conclusions if you're not careful. So before you start pulling information from any source, evaluate its credibility first. You don't want to waste time collecting information from unreliable sources that you'll either have to delete later or, if used, may lead to a poor grade on your assignment.

Here's what to look for when evaluating whether a source is credible and reliable:

• Confirm that the source is not a sponsored ad for a product or service, which is often what comes up at the top of your search results.
• Check to make sure that the writer is a real person with verifiable credentials.
• Avoid sources that don't link to or list the citations for the factual information contained in the text.
• In general, stick to sources that present information in a fair and unbiased manner, as opposed to text that is inflammatory or designed to persuade the reader to adopt a particular point of view.
• Consider the date of the publication and avoid anything more than two or three years old unless it's historical information that does not change with time.
• Look for .gov or .edu domains as they present information provided by the government or academic institutions, which may be more reliable than other data sources.

Of course, the most important quality to look for after checking these factors is the relevance of the content. Scan or skim the content first, or look for a synopsis or discussion summary, to see if the source is likely to contain information you can use in your project. If everything checks out, you can proceed with the next steps.

• Step Five: Follow Four Rules of Writing

We live in a world of snippets and soundbites, but our tendency to look at things quickly can cause problems when researching information. These four guidelines can help prevent mistakes.

• Thoroughly read the content you've found and get a sense of the context. Make sure you understand the true meaning and intention of the content before you decide to incorporate it into your writing.
• As much as possible, track any facts or data all the way back to the originating source. For example, if you come across a news article that includes data from a recent report published by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, take the time to track down the original report and confirm the data. Then, instead of citing the news article as the source of your data, cite the original report. This helps to ensure accuracy in your writing.
• Consider verifying your data by checking multiple sources whenever possible. If you find conflicting information, go with the source that appears to be more reliable by using the checklist in Step Four. If your instructor questions your data, you'll be able to show that you made every effort to obtain accurate information.
• Our obsession with speed can also prompt us to take shortcuts with information literacy. However, plagiarism — copying ideas or passages of text and claiming to have created them yourself — can have serious repercussions on your academic standing. What's more, all instructors have access to digital tools that immediately identify plagiarized content, so don't think your actions will go unnoticed. Just make sure you credit the original source when you're quoting a passage or repeating an existing idea.

• Step Six: Develop a Note-Taking System

Whether you use index cards, a document on your laptop, or an app designed for students, find a way to consistently take notes on any content you think you might use. You'll save yourself time by writing down all of the publication information for a source, including the full title of the article or book, the publication date, and the hyperlink if it's an online source. Keep these details with the original text so that you can quickly and easily lift an accurate quote and write a complete citation for it.

• Step Seven: Cite Your Sources Correctly

While many colleges use a single citation format — for example, the APA or MLA format — for all programs and classes, some instructors may use alternative formats. Before submitting each paper or final report, make sure you've used the correct citation style for the class. Also, double-check the attribution of each quote to see that they're done correctly.

Citation Machine is an easy digital tool that can help you construct citations according to the style you're required to use, or your school's library may provide access to a similar online tool called Citation Builder.

Information Literacy for College Students

Research and the use of information are integral to obtaining a college education. Not only does research provide you with new knowledge, it enhances student learning by introducing you to fresh ideas and diverse opinions and perspectives. 

Beyond your college years, information literacy is a skill you can implement in lifelong learning, especially in your career. People in many occupations obtain and analyze information every day. Becoming information literate just takes a little practice.