Searching

Information literacy is key to effective searching. The amount of information available online can sometimes seem overwhelming. The ability to identify reliable, high quality sources, and sift out unreliable data and fake news is called ‘information literacy’. In an increasingly online world information literacy is a valuable transferable skill which will help in your university studies, your future workplace and your everyday life. Being information literate means you are competent and confident in your ability to evaluate and use online sources and information. 

Studying at university differs from studying at school or college in three main respects: 

• The range of sources you will be expected to use 
• The volume of information you will need to work with 
• The independence you will be expected to show when working with information you need for your course

The range of information sources you will be expected to use include: 

• Library catalogues 
• Print and electronic books 
• Print and online journals 
• Online databases 
• Web search engines 

So, where do you start? The short answer is – if you have a reading list, use the library catalogue to find the books or journal articles suggested. However, what if you need to search for information about a topic by yourself? In this section we will focus on finding information online, searching techniques and how to distinguish between reputable sources and fake news.