Honors Information Retrieval

• Information Need
• Accessing the Needed Information
• Evaluating the Information Retrieved
• Use of Information
• Legal and Ethical Use of Information
• Using the APSU Library website to retrieve information

Information Need

• Consider what types of sources your professor wants you to use
• Consider time you have to find the information and the cost of information
• Consider what search tools you must use in light of the above factors

Accessing the Needed Information

• Select the proper search tools (e.g. catalogs, databases and web search engines)
• Construct your search strategy using search protocols (e.g. boolean operators, truncation)
• Sort through the sources retrieved and begin the evaluation process

Evaluating Information

• Does it support the content of your project?
• Does it meet the requirements of your professor?
• Is it appropriate to your audience?

Use of Information

• Integrate new information into your knowledge base
• Organize the content for your project
• Communicate the content through the appropriate medium

Legal & Ethical Use of Information

• Obtain permission to use copyrighted materials; fair use in an educational setting
• Avoid plagiarism
• Use proper documentation style to cite sources

Cost of Information

• Publishers hold the copyright to articles and books, and make money by selling books and periodicals in paper or electronic form to libraries and individuals
• We may use a copyrighted source for educational purposes, but must not resell the source

Cost of Information

• Very few periodical articles are available on the Web, and those that are usually cost a fee
• Libraries pay database producers for access to articles for which producers have paid the articles’ copyright holders (e.g. publishers)

APSU Library Website <library.apsu.edu>

Remote Patron Authentication

Electronic Databases (articles)

InfoTrac Search

Results in InfoTrac

ERIC Search

Modifying an ERIC search

Results in ERIC

Felix Online Catalog (books)

Felix Search Results

Felix Record with subject headings

Using those Subject Headings

Google (websites)

Evaluating Information

• Currency
• Accuracy
• Authority
• Coverage
• Objectivity

APSU Library Website <library.apsu.edu>

Citing Sources
<library.apsu.edu/guides/1_3_14.htm>

Citing Sources – MLA Style Examples

Plagiarism
<library.apsu.edu/guides/1_3_20.htm

InterLibrary Loan (borrow materials from another library)

• Requests should be submitted at least two weeks prior to your needing the item
• The cost is $1.00 per item (book or periodical article)
• Photocopies of articles are sent and you may keep them
• Books are sent; they must be returned to the lending library