Information Literacy for Environmental Science.

1. Beyond Google...
Making the most of library
resources

2. Learning Outcomes
1) Identify keywords to construct a basic search strategy
2) Awareness of reference sources to develop knowledge and
vocabulary
3) Where to look for information and understand how different sources
of information vary in their quality and purpose
4) Identify criteria for evaluating information
5) Understand what peer review is and how it relates to information
quality
6) Construct a reference for a journal article

3. Why is Using the Library Important?

4. 1) Analysing the Assignment Question
• Identify the keywords from your
assignment question
• Expand your vocabulary and think of
alternative key words and variations in
spellings
• Link up your search terms to find the right
information

5. Identifying Key Words
Example assignment Q:
Discuss the possible roles of GIS in hazard management, including long-term
planning, detailed evacuation planning and management of an actual incident.
GIS Planning
Incident
‘Hazard
Evacuation Management’

6. Mapping the Question

7. Boolean Logic

8. 2) Reference Sources
Oxford Reference Online:
Incorporates subject dictionaries and reference works
• A Dictionary of Earth Sciences
• The Oxford Companion to the Earth
• The Oxford Companion to Global Change
• A Dictionary of Geography
• A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation
Access Oxford Reference Online via the Library Catalogue
http://www.liv.ac.uk/library/e-library/e-reference.html

9. 3) Where should you look for
information for your assignments?
Library catalogue should be your first
port of call when looking for resources:
• Books; print and electronic
• Journals; print and electronic
• Online databases
• Websites, blogs etc…



10. Information quality
Blogs
Twitter
More reliable
Websites
More recent
Newspapers
Magazines
Academic Journals
Books

11. 4) Evaluating your results
• The effectiveness of the search is related to the
relevancy of retrieved items.
• Relevancy is:
– Subjective: Depends upon your own judgment.
– Situational: Relates to your current needs.
– Cognitive: Your perception of the resource.
– Dynamic: Changes over time.
Entire document collection
Relevant Retrieved
documents documents
11

12. Evaluating information
When evaluating information, take CARe:
• Currency - is it up-to-date?
• Authority - is the author and/or publisher
credible?
• Relevance – how does it benefit my
research?

13. Evaluating websites
• Anyone can publish material on the internet so there is no
guarantee of its reliability
• Things to look for:
• Who produced the site? Are they credible?
• When was the site last updated?
• Does the look and feel of the site inspire confidence?
• Look at the web address – .com, .co.uk, .ac.uk, .org, etc.
• Is the site trying to sell something – a product or a point of
view (bias)?
• Look at www.dhmo.org and consider the questions above

14. Recommended Websites
• Office for National Statistics
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html
• Resource for Urban Design Information
http://www.rudi.net/
• Design Council
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/
• Earth Trends
http://earthtrends.wri.org/

15. 5) So, what are Journals?
Scholarly journal articles:
• are regular publications that contain articles on current
research
• are written for and by academics
• report the latest research on a topic
• are peer reviewed or refereed (reviewed by academics before
being accepted for publication)
• include a bibliography of references
• are often published by a professional or scholarly organization
Example:
d’Albergo (2010) ‘Urban Issues in Nation-State Agendas: A
Comparison in Western Europe’ Urban Research & Practice. 3 (2)
pp.138-158.

16. Finding articles for your assignment

17. Using Discover… 01

18. Using Discover… 02

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20. Using Discover… 04

21. Using Discover… 05

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23. Using Discover… 07

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27. 6) Don’t forget to reference!
• You must acknowledge in your assignment when you
have used ideas or words that are not your own
• The term for not identifying where your information has
come from is Plagiarism
• Your tutor will confirm which referencing style to adopt

28. In Text Citation

29. How a reference is constructed
Author(s) Publication date Article title
Gallagher- Heffron, S. & Valmond, K. (2011) ‘Teaching About
Global Climate Change’ The Geography Teacher 8 (2) pp.91–95.
Journal name Volume Page no.
and issue

30. Thank You