Kresge Library Oakland University

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LS 500 Information Literacy for Educators
Kresge Library Oakland University August 14-15,
2007
Instructor Beth Kraemer
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Learning Outcomes

• Participants will . . .
• identify inquiry-appropriate sources of
  information for student research at the high
  school level
• enhance or acquire skills in formulating,
  executing, and revising search strategies for
  successful information retrieval.
• engage critical examination of information to
  evaluate its authority, currency, and utility for
  the research process.
• promote ethical use of information by students
  through analysis of common student pitfalls in
  using and citing sources.

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Information Literacy Defined
To be information literate, a person must be
able to recognize when information is needed and
have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use
effectively the needed information.
--ACRL Presidential Committee on Information
Literacy Final Report (released on January 10,
1989)
http//www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/whitepapers/p
residential.cfm
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Evaluating Web Sites

• Authority

• Currency

When was the site first created? When was the
site last updated? For your topic, how important
is it to have the most up-to-date information?
What person or organization made the site? What
are their qualifications? On which type of domain
is the site hosted?
How accurate do you feel this information is? Can
you spot check any information on this site to
that found in a periodical or book?
Is the information on this site stilted to one
point of view or another? If so, have you
considered the reasons why this might be
so? Might it be useful to find an additional
source with an opposing viewpoint?
Is the information on this site a match for the
level of research youre doing? Is this the best
resource you can find to meet your needs?
Does this site truly provide useful information
for your research? Will the information on this
site add value to your research?

• Relevancy

• Accuracy

• Objectivity/Bias

• Appropriateness

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Plagiarism Defined
The Council of Writing Program Administrators
defines plagiarism in the following terms In
an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when
a writer deliberately uses someone elses
language, ideas, or other original (not
common-knowledge) material without acknowledging
its source. The WPA Statement on Best
Practices Defining and Avoiding
Plagiarism http//www.wpacouncil.org/node/9
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Plagiarism Defined
The Student Academic Conduct Code at Oakland
University defines plagiarism in this
way Plagiarism is using someone elses work or
ideas without giving that person
credit. Oakland University Academic Conduct
Regulations http//www4.oakland.edu/?id1610sid
75
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Academic Conduct Case Count
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2005-2006 Academic Conduct Plagiarism Cases

• Total Number of Conduct Cases 75
• Plagiarism Case Count 48
• Number of Students Involved 52

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Avoiding PlagiarismWhose Responsibility?

• Students should understand research assignments
  as opportunities for genuine and rigorous inquiry
  and learning. Such an understanding involves
• Assembling and analyzing a set of sources that
  they have themselves determined are relevant to
  the issues they are investigating
• Acknowledging clearly when and how they are
  drawing on the ideas or phrasings of others
• Learning the conventions for citing documents and
  acknowledging sources appropriate to the field
  they are studying
• Consulting their instructors when they are unsure
  about how to acknowledge the contributions of
  others to their thought and writing
• The WPA Statement on Best Practices Defining and
  Avoiding Plagiarism
• http//www.wpacouncil.org/node/9

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Avoiding PlagiarismWhose Responsibility?

• Faculty need to design contexts and assignments
  for learning that encourage students not simply
  to recycle information but to investigate and
  analyze its sources. This includes
• Stating in writing their policies and
  expectations for documenting sources and avoiding
  plagiarism
• Teaching students the conventions for citing
  documents and acknowledging sources in their
  field, and allowing students to practice these
  skills
• Avoiding the use of recycled or formulaic
  assignments that may invite stock or plagiarized
  responses
• Discussing problems students may encounter in
  documenting and analyzing sources, and offering
  strategies for avoiding or solving those problems
  
• Selections from The WPA Statement on Best
  Practices Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism
• http//www.wpacouncil.org/node/9

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Avoiding PlagiarismWhose Responsibility?

• Administrators need to foster a program- or
  campus-wide climate that values academic honesty.
  This involves
• Publicizing policies and expectations for
  conducting ethical research, as well as
  procedures for investigating possible cases of
  academic dishonesty and its penalties
• Providing support services (for example, writing
  centers or Web pages) for students who have
  questions about how to cite sources
• Supporting faculty and student discussions of
  issues concerning academic honesty, research
  ethics, and plagiarism
• Providing faculty development opportunities for
  instructors to reflect on and, if appropriate,
  change the ways they work with writing in their
  courses
• Selections from The WPA Statement on Best
  Practices Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism
• http//www.wpacouncil.org/node/9