INS1502/501/3/2020

Tutorial Letter 501/3/2020

Developing information skills for lifelong

learning
INS1502

Semester module

Department of Information Science

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Tutorial Letter 501 is the study guide for INS1502.

BARCODE
 CONTENTS

Page

LEARNING UNIT 1 ................................................................................................................................... 9

ORIENTATION TO INFORMATION LITERACY ....................................................................................... 9
1.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 9
1.2 WHAT IS INFORMATION? ......................................................................................................... 10
1.2.1 Data, information and knowledge ................................................................................................ 11
1.2.2 Characteristics of information ...................................................................................................... 12
1.2.3 Types of information ................................................................................................................... 12
1.2.4 The creation, recording and distribution of information ................................................................ 13
1.2.5 The quality of information ............................................................................................................ 14
1.3 THE INFORMATION SOCIETY .................................................................................................. 15
1.4 INFORMATION OVERLOAD ...................................................................................................... 16
1.5 THE ROLE OF ICTs ................................................................................................................... 16
1.6 ICT LITERACY ........................................................................................................................... 18
1.7 INFORMATION LITERACY ........................................................................................................ 19
1.8 IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING ............................ 21
1.9 INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS ........................................................................................... 22
1.10 CONCLUDING REMARKS ......................................................................................................... 22
1.11 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................... 22
LEARNING UNIT 2 ................................................................................................................................. 24
PLANNING INFORMATION TASKS AND WORK PLANS ...................................................................... 24
2.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 24
2.2 WHAT IS AN INFORMATION TASK? ......................................................................................... 26
2.3 THE WORK PLAN AS A TOOL IN ACADEMIC WRITING ................................................................ 27
2.4 INTERPRETING THE INFORMATION TASK ............................................................................. 28
2.4.1 What is the topic of the assignment? .......................................................................................... 29
2.4.1.1 Identify keywords ........................................................................................................................ 29
2.4.1.2 Brainstorming.............................................................................................................................. 31
2.4.1.3 Mind mapping ............................................................................................................................. 32
2.4.2 What do I already know about this topic? .................................................................................... 34
2.4.3 Identify the instructions ............................................................................................................... 35
2.4.3.1 Instructional terms....................................................................................................................... 35

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2.4.3.2 Identify any other instructions or aspects .................................................................................... 38

2.4.4 What type of information is required? .......................................................................................... 38
2.4.5 How much information do I need?............................................................................................... 38
2.5 SURVEYING THE INFORMATION SITUATION ......................................................................... 39
2.6 COMPILING A WORK PLAN ...................................................................................................... 40
2.6.1 Thoughts and ideas .................................................................................................................... 41
2.6.2 Assignment headings.................................................................................................................. 41
2.6.3 Finding sources .......................................................................................................................... 41
2.6.4 Example of a work plan ............................................................................................................... 42
2.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS ......................................................................................................... 45
LEARNING UNIT 3 ................................................................................................................................. 46
PLANNING FOR INFORMATION RETRIEVAL ...................................................................................... 46
3.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 46
3.2 READING SKILLS ...................................................................................................................... 47
3.2.1 Pre-reading ................................................................................................................................. 48
3.2.2 Speed (rapid) reading ................................................................................................................. 48
3.2.3 Skim reading (skimming)............................................................................................................. 49
3.2.4 Scanning..................................................................................................................................... 49
3.2.5 Key reading................................................................................................................................. 50
3.2.6 Study reading.............................................................................................................................. 51
3.2.7 Practical suggestions to ensure efficient reading ........................................................................ 52
3.2.8 Comprehension .......................................................................................................................... 52
3.3 NOTE-TAKING ........................................................................................................................... 53
3.3.1 Methods of taking notes ................................................................................................................. 54
3.4 TOOLS AND RESOURCES FOR THE INFORMATION TASK ................................................... 58
3.4.1 Generations and tools ................................................................................................................. 58
3.4.2 Mobile learning ........................................................................................................................... 59
3.4.3 Electronic mail (e-mail) and mailing lists ..................................................................................... 60
3.4.4 Groups ........................................................................................................................................ 61
3.4.5 Internet Relay Chat (IRC)............................................................................................................ 61
3.4.6 Skype (voice-over-internet protocol) ........................................................................................... 61
3.4.7 Web 2.0 ...................................................................................................................................... 62
3.4.8 Library 2.0 ................................................................................................................................... 62
3.4.9 Social networking ........................................................................................................................ 62
3.4.10 Blogs........................................................................................................................................... 64
3.4.11 Wikis ........................................................................................................................................... 66

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3.4.12 Podcasts ..................................................................................................................................... 68
3.4.13 Social bookmarking..................................................................................................................... 69
3.4.14 Web-based programs ................................................................................................................. 70
3.4.15 Social libraries ............................................................................................................................ 70
3.5 CONCLUDING REMARKS ......................................................................................................... 70
3.6 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................... 71
LEARNING UNIT 4 ................................................................................................................................. 80
INFORMATION SOURCES .................................................................................................................... 80
4.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 80
4.2 INFORMATION SOURCES ........................................................................................................ 81
4.2.1 Information types ........................................................................................................................ 82
4.2.2 Formats in which information is stored ........................................................................................ 84
4.3 BOOKS ....................................................................................................................................... 86
4.4 PERIODICALS............................................................................................................................ 88
4.4.1 Scientific journals ........................................................................................................................ 88
4.4.2 Magazines .................................................................................................................................. 88
4.4.3 Newspapers ................................................................................................................................ 89
4.5 READY REFERENCE SOURCES .............................................................................................. 90
4.5.1 Dictionaries ................................................................................................................................. 90
4.5.2 Encyclopaedias ........................................................................................................................... 92
4.5.3 Directories .................................................................................................................................. 93
4.5.4 Yearbooks and almanacs............................................................................................................ 93
4.5.5 Handbooks and manuals ............................................................................................................ 94
4.5.6 Statistical sources ....................................................................................................................... 95
4.5.7 Geographical reference sources ................................................................................................. 95
4.6 OTHER REFERENCE SOURCES .............................................................................................. 96
4.6.1 Government and official publications .......................................................................................... 96
4.6.2 Theses and dissertations ............................................................................................................ 97
4.6.3 Reports ....................................................................................................................................... 97
4.6.4 Conference records .................................................................................................................... 98
4.6.5 Patents ....................................................................................................................................... 99
4.6.6 Standards ................................................................................................................................... 99
4.6.7 Trade literature ........................................................................................................................... 99
4.6.8 Archival records ........................................................................................................................ 100
4.7 OPEN ACCESS TO INFORMATION ........................................................................................ 100
4.8 INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES ............................................................................ 101
4.9 BIBLIOGRAPHIC, INDEXING AND ABSTRACTING SOURCES .............................................. 101

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4.10 CONCLUDING REMARKS ....................................................................................................... 103

4.11 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................. 103
LEARNING UNIT 5 ............................................................................................................................... 104
USING LIBRARIES .............................................................................................................................. 104
5.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 104
5.2 TYPES OF LIBRARIES ............................................................................................................ 105
5.2.1 Public and community libraries.................................................................................................. 106
5.2.2 National libraries ....................................................................................................................... 106
5.2.3 Special libraries ........................................................................................................................ 106
5.2.4 Academic libraries..................................................................................................................... 106
5.2.5 Virtual libraries .......................................................................................................................... 107
5.3 ACCESSING AND USING A LIBRARY..................................................................................... 107
5.4 THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM ............................................................................................. 110
5.5 THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE ................................................................................................... 112
5.6 BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE SOURCES ............................................................................. 117
5.6.1 Bibliographies ........................................................................................................................... 117
5.6.2 Indexes ..................................................................................................................................... 118
5.6.3 Abstracts................................................................................................................................... 118
5.7 THE LIBRARY WEBSITE ......................................................................................................... 119
5.8 CONSULTING THE LIBRARIAN............................................................................................... 120
5.9 WHY ARE LIBRARIES STILL IMPORTANT? ........................................................................... 121
5.10 CONCLUDING REMARKS ....................................................................................................... 122
5.11 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................. 122
LEARNING UNIT 6 ............................................................................................................................... 124
THE INTERNET AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB ................................................................................. 124
6.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 124
6.2 WHAT IS THE INTERNET? ...................................................................................................... 125
6.2.1 Internet uses ............................................................................................................................. 127
6.2.2 Advantages of the internet ........................................................................................................ 128
6.2.3 Challenges of the internet ......................................................................................................... 128
6.3 THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)............................................................................................ 130
6.3.1 Web developments ................................................................................................................... 131
6.3.2 The Deep Web.......................................................................................................................... 131
6.3.3 Uses of the Web .......................................................................................................................... 132
6.3.4 Advantages and disadvantages of the WWW ........................................................................... 132
6.3.5 Web myths ................................................................................................................................ 134

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6.4 UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATOR (URL)................................................................................ 135
6.5 PORTALS ................................................................................................................................. 137
6.5.1 Portal types ............................................................................................................................... 137
6.6 INTERNET APPLICATIONS IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES............................ 139
6.7 WEB SEARCH TOOLS ............................................................................................................. 141
6.7.1 Web directories ......................................................................................................................... 141
6.7.2 Search engines ......................................................................................................................... 142
6.7.3 Metasearch engines.................................................................................................................. 145
6.8 CONCLUDING REMARKS ....................................................................................................... 146
6.9 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................. 146
LEARNING UNIT 7 ............................................................................................................................... 148
THE SEARCH STRATEGY .................................................................................................................. 148
7.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 148
7.2 SEARCH STRATEGY ............................................................................................................... 149
7.3 BOOLEAN OPERATORS ......................................................................................................... 150
7.4 TEXT OPERATORS ................................................................................................................. 153
7.5 SEARCHING VIA WEB TOOLS ................................................................................................ 155
7.5.1 Web directories ......................................................................................................................... 155
7.5.2 Search engines ......................................................................................................................... 158
7.5.3 Metasearch engines.................................................................................................................. 163
7.6 SEARCHING DATABASES ...................................................................................................... 166
7.6.1 What is a database? ................................................................................................................. 167
7.6.2 How to access databases ......................................................................................................... 167
7.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS ....................................................................................................... 172
7.8 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................. 173
LEARNING UNIT 8 ............................................................................................................................... 174
ORGANISING INFORMATION AND PREPARING AN ASSIGNMENT ................................................ 174
8.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 174
8.2 ORGANISING INFORMATION ON YOUR COMPUTER/TABLET/SMARTPHONE .................. 176
8.3 EVALUATING INFORMATION ................................................................................................. 178
8.4 SYNTHESISING INFORMATION ............................................................................................. 182
8.5 ACADEMIC WRITING .............................................................................................................. 186
8.6 IDENTIFYING THE AUDIENCE ................................................................................................ 187
8.7 WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT .................................................................................................. 188
8.8 WRITING STYLE FOR THE FINAL ASSIGNMENT .................................................................. 188
8.8.1 Use a simple and clear style ..................................................................................................... 188
8.8.2 Use paragraphs ........................................................................................................................ 189

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8.8.3 Avoid sensational and emotive language .................................................................................. 190

8.8.4 Use of the first person ............................................................................................................... 190
8.8.5 Use an appropriate style and tone ............................................................................................ 190
8.8.6 Using quotations and in-text referencing ................................................................................... 190
8.8.7 Punctuation ............................................................................................................................... 191
8.9 STRUCTURING THE ASSIGNMENT ....................................................................................... 192
8.10 FINALISING THE ASSIGNMENT ............................................................................................. 193
8.10.1 Revising the assignment ........................................................................................................... 193
8.10.2 Producing the assignment......................................................................................................... 195
8.10.3 Proofreading the assignment .................................................................................................... 195
8.11 CONCLUDING REMARKS ....................................................................................................... 197
8.12 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................. 197
LEARNING UNIT 9 ............................................................................................................................... 199
ETHICAL USE OF INFORMATION ...................................................................................................... 199
9.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 199
9.2 ETHICS .................................................................................................................................... 200
9.2.1 Information ethics ..................................................................................................................... 200
9.2.2 Cyber ethics .............................................................................................................................. 203
9.3 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ..................................................................................... 203
9.4 COPYRIGHT ............................................................................................................................ 204
9.5 HOW DO YOU AVOID COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT? .......................................................... 206
9.6 PLAGIARISM ............................................................................................................................ 208
9.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS ....................................................................................................... 211
9.8 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................. 211
LEARNING UNIT 10 ............................................................................................................................. 212
REFERENCING ................................................................................................................................... 212
10.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 212
10.2 WHAT IS REFERENCING? ...................................................................................................... 213
10.3 THE STRUCTURE OF INFORMATION SOURCES .................................................................. 214
10.3.1 The structure of books .............................................................................................................. 214
10.3.2 The structure of journals ........................................................................................................... 218
10.3.3 The structure of internet sources............................................................................................... 222
10.4 IN-TEXT REFERENCING ......................................................................................................... 224
10.5 COMPILING A REFERENCE LIST AND/OR BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................. 226
10.5.1 Books........................................................................................................................................ 226
10.5.2 Journal articles.......................................................................................................................... 228

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10.5.3 Online sources .......................................................................................................................... 229
10.6 REFERENCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS/SOFTWARE ....................................................... 231
10.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS ....................................................................................................... 232
10.8 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT ................................................................................. 232
Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 233

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LEARNING UNIT 1

ORIENTATION TO INFORMATION LITERACY

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Have you ever tried to find your way around a new place, such as a new town, province or country? You
might have used a map, a GPS system on your smartphone or asked people for directions. You were
able to find your way because you knew what information you needed, where to find the information and
how to use the information you found. You were information literate in terms of this specific information
need (adapted from Bothma, Cosijn, Fourie & Penzhorn 2017:3).

However, can you always easily find the information you need in every situation in your life? Do you
know what information is available, where and how to find it and how to evaluate it (to decide whether
the information is correct and sufficient for your needs)? If you can accomplish these tasks, you are
considered to be information literate. Information-literate people have the necessary skills to find and use
information for various aspects of their lives, such as their studies, work, research and everyday
activities. In other words, information literacy makes lifelong learning possible. Lifelong learning means
that the knowledge and skills you acquire through learning can be used throughout your life and enable
you to continue learning throughout your life (Behrens, Olën & Machet 1999:28).

In this module we look at information, information literacy and information tasks and learn how to apply
information skills to information tasks, specifically in an academic environment, but also to enable
lifelong learning.

The purpose of this first learning unit is to provide you with background on the topic of information,
information literacy and information skills for lifelong learning. You may already have some idea of these
concepts because we use them frequently in everyday language and you read or hear about them in the
media. The main focus of this module is on information – how to find it, organise it and use it. We need
information skills in order to do this.

Activity 1.1

Watch the following short YouTube video entitled ‘Information literacy: why it is important’ at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciSWknQ98o8 and try to answer the following questions:

 Think about the term ‘information’. What do you think this term means? What kind of information
do you think people are involved in every day? Write down your reflections.

 Think of the information you, as a student, would probably encounter and need in an academic
environment. List as many needs as possible.

 Why is it important to be information literate in today’s information-driven world? Write down as

many reasons as you can think of.

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  What could be the consequences if appropriate information is not used in personal, research and
work situations? Consider the examples mentioned in the video, as well as any examples in your
own life that you can think of.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit, you should be able to

 explain the concept ‘information’ in your own words

 explain the concept ‘information society’
 explain the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the information society
 distinguish different types of literacy
 explain the concept of information literacy
 explain why it is important to be information literate
 identify the competencies of an information-literate person
 explain why information literacy is important for lifelong learning
 identify the skills needed to be information literate

KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts that we will use in this learning unit are

 information
 information society
 ICTs
 information literacy
 information era
 information overload
 information skills
 lifelong learning

1.2 WHAT IS INFORMATION?

‘Information’ is a term that is used daily in a number of our activities – consider the use of information for
work, studies and leisure. You need information in order to compile a report for work or to write an
assignment for your studies. You also need information if you want to plan a holiday or organise and
prepare for your next stokvel meeting.

Information – whether used in occupational and professional contexts or as part of a person’s leisure
requirements – is considered an essential resource. In many occupations, information has become a
strategic resource because the work is centralised around the organising, flow and use of information.

Information and knowledge have not always been formally recorded and even today, in certain societies,
there are no formal recording systems (think, for example, of indigenous knowledge, where formal
recording is still limited). Before recording systems were in place, individual people formed the repository
of information and knowledge. However, the amount of information and knowledge that can be passed
on in this way is limited. Thus society began to record information and knowledge – at first in relatively
primitive forms, for example rock carvings and hieroglyphs on papyrus. Information and knowledge
become useful only when they are made available; therefore, by recording information or knowledge, we

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ensure that it is permanently available to anyone (an individual or an organisation) who may need it.
Today, information is recorded in various formats: text, still images, sound, moving images, digitised
(electronic) formats and various combinations of these formats.

1.2.1 Data, information and knowledge

You will notice that we have already used the concepts ‘information’ and ‘knowledge’ in the same
context. Another term that is often used interchangeably with information is ‘data’. For the purpose of this
module, we will not dwell at length on the differences between data, information and knowledge, but will
just provide brief definitions to clarify the concepts somewhat.

Data:
The word ‘data’ is the plural of the Latin word ‘datum’, which means a given fact. A fact can be a number,
a statement or a picture. By themselves, data symbols have little use: they serve a purpose only once
they are converted into information. Organisations collect and store all sorts of data, such as facts about
their daily operations, products and customers. The difference between data and information is
determined mainly by how they are used in various contexts, for example in a business context. Raw
data are seldom meaningful or useful as information. Data need interpretation and the interpretation
needs to be communicated (Cameron 2008:327).

Information:
Information is data that have meaning within a context – meaning has been added through interpretation.
Information is data that have been manipulated or processed to be meaningful and useful (Oz 2004:9).
According to Dalkir (2011:60), it is “a message, usually in the form of a document or an audible or visible
communication”.

Information has the potential to be converted into knowledge. When information is adequately
interpreted, understood and remembered, it becomes knowledge, which modifies an individual’s mental
store of information and benefits his/her development and that of the society in which he/she lives and
works.

Knowledge:
Knowledge is organised, synthesised or summarised information that is given meaning and integrated
with other contents of understanding.

To simplify matters, think of knowledge as information acquired through education and experience and
what is now known to you. Knowledge is information that you personally possess. A textbook, a
newspaper and a website contain information on a subject. But unless you receive this information (e.g.
by reading it) and consider it, it does not affect you. However, if you read, see or hear this information
and it becomes meaningful to you (i.e. it sinks into your mind), you then possess those particular facts;
you have internalised the information so that it has become part of your mental knowledge base.
Knowledge that has been obtained through integrating information with other contexts can then also be
recorded or “set down in documentary form for the purpose of being communicated” (Smiraglia 2008:27).
For example, you conduct research to obtain information for an assignment. You integrate the
information (it becomes part of your knowledge about the topic) and then write (document) the
assignment. The assignment thus becomes a new information source on the topic.

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For the purpose of this module, we will conclude by stating that information is data processed into
meaningful and usable form. We need to understand information to have knowledge to function and
make good decisions in our daily lives, work and studies.

1.2.2 Characteristics of information

Information has a number of attributes or characteristics that makes it such a useful resource. We
highlight a few of these characteristics below:

 Information does not diminish when used.

 Unlike other resources, which tend to be scarce, information is infinitely expandable – that is, it is
not depleted with use.
 Information sharing enhances and increases its value.
 Accurate information is error-free, whereas inaccurate information is sometimes generated when
inaccurate data are introduced – known as ‘garbage in, garbage out’ (GIGA).
 Information consists of new ideas.
 Information can be used as a meaningful basis for human actions.
 Information decreases (lessens) uncertainty.
 Information helps people make sensible decisions.
 Information can be stored, retrieved and transferred.
 Information transfer can take place only if the information user understands the particular
message.
 Information broadens the user’s knowledge of a particular subject.
 Information is used to achieve a specific objective, such as completing an assignment.

1.2.3 Types of information

It is important to know that different types of information are relevant in different situations, for example
you need different types of information when writing an assignment and when planning a holiday, party
or meeting.

Consider the following types of information:

 General information is background information that you need to function in your daily life, such as
advertising billboards, television, weather reports, news websites, and so on.

 Popular information is information to fit or reflect the tastes of many people, such as popular
magazines and social media.

 Sensational information and opinions are information to arouse your interest and curiosity and
elicit a reaction from you, such as news headlines and posts on social media.

 Scholarly/academic information (also information required for work-related projects and research)
is well-researched material, usually written in a serious style, such as textbooks, reference works,
journals and reports.

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1.2.4 The creation, recording and distribution of information

Information is created by people known as information creators or authors. These creators are people
who are responsible for creating the intellectual content of information as part of their daily work.
Examples of information creators are individual researchers, scientists and authors, as well as research
organisations or institutions and government bodies or departments.

The latest web developments also allow ordinary people, that is, not professional creators of information,
to add information. For example, anyone can create a website or a blog and write content on this site.
Social media (e.g. Facebook and Twitter) is used nowadays as a platform on which people can post
content, opinions, commentary, updates, etc. All these inputs are pieces of information that are
constantly being added.

Once information has been created, it has to be distributed to the general public (i.e. information users).
The most important distributors of information are publishers. A publisher is a person or a company
responsible for recording, printing and distributing an author’s ideas in a particular publication, such as a
book or journal article. In other words, information has to follow a particular process before it can actually
be used. This process is summarised in the following paragraph.

An information creator, such as an individual author, records his/her thoughts or research results and
presents the text (manuscript) to a publisher, who acts as an intermediary between the author and the
information user. The publisher then evaluates the content of the author’s text and decides whether
information users will be interested in the information. The publisher then prepares the text for printing
and sends it to a printer, who is responsible for the physical printing of the text. After the text has been
printed and bound, it is distributed to bookshops or other outlets, where information users may buy it.
Institutions, organisations and governments can also buy the information sources for their libraries,
where users can go to borrow the sources. It is important to note that many information sources, such as
books and journals, are nowadays also made available in digital (electronic) format, for example e-books
and e-journals. In this case, the process from creator to publisher to distributor remains the same, except
that the format does not require printing and binding. Instead, digital specifications are followed to create
the format and specific devices or e-readers are necessary to access the content of the information
source.

Other formats in which information is also available are as follows:

 Print formats, such as magazines, newspapers and maps.

 Visual formats containing images that can be observed by the human eye, such as filmstrips,
slides, transparencies and microforms (microfilm and microfiche). Note that new information is
seldom being stored in these formats, as digital storage is mostly used nowadays. But you may
still come across some older sources of information in these visual formats. Many organisations
also digitise their existing older visual formats.
 Audio formats are sound recordings, such as spoken language and music, and are accessed by
listening to them. Examples include audiotapes (cassettes), compact discs (CDs) and digital
recordings accessible via devices such as computers, smartphones and tablets.
 Audiovisual material refers to formats on which both image and sound are stored, such as text
and graphics and audio information. Examples include motion pictures, videotapes, video discs
(DVDs) and digital formats accessible via devices such as computers, smartphones and tablets.
 Electronic formats refer to physical formats on which electronic (digital) information is stored, for
example computer hard disks, magnetic tapes and removable disks.

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  Online, for example websites and cloud services. Cloud storage is an internet service specifically
designed to allow information creators to upload files to servers (computers) that belong to a third
party. These files can then be accessed over the internet from a computer, tablet, smartphone or
another networked device.

We have mentioned previously that the Web allows anyone to add and, therefore, create information.
Because information can be added immediately, it is also immediately available to access and distribute.
For example, a person may post content on or a link to Facebook. This is a form of information
distribution. This information is further distributed when other people share the post with their friends,
groups, etc.

1.2.5 The quality of information

We have mentioned how easy it is to create and distribute information via the internet. But just because
anyone can add and distribute information via the internet, it does not necessarily mean that it is quality
information. Information of a high quality is useful in fulfilling an information need, but a vast amount of
the information available via the internet does not meet the criterion of quality. The following criteria are
used to define the quality of information:

 Reliability and accuracy. Information should preferably be created and presented by an expert in
the particular field in order to be correct, precise and accurate.
 Comprehensiveness: Information should be as complete as possible, without being too dense.
 Recency. Information should not be outdated; it should still be valid for the current need.
 Comprehensibility. In order to be useful, information has to be comprehensible to the user – in
other words, the user has to understand the information.
 Relevance. Information should be relevant/applicable for the particular needs of the information
user. The most accurate, comprehensive, recent, comprehensible information has no value for
the information user if it does not fulfil his/her information need or solve his/her information
problem.

Activity 1.2

You are required to complete an assignment on the development of South African protest literature in the
sixties as a reaction against the policy and laws of apartheid. The following information sources are
available. Evaluate each source in terms of quality and give an indication of which ones are suitable for
your information need:

 a textbook on the history of South African literature

 articles in literary journals on the role of literature in the struggle against apartheid
 articles in popular magazines, such as DRUM and YOU
 reviews in newspapers on individual protest literary texts
 anonymous information on the Web
 a post in which a Facebook friend gives his/her opinion on the value of protest literature

(Adapted from Geyer & Jacobs 2002)

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1.3 THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

You will often hear or read references to the ‘information age’ and the ‘information society’. The
‘information age’ refers to our present time in history, where society regards information as a key product
or resource and where political decisions, economic development, quality of life and social change
depend on the use of information. It is characterised by the utilisation of information and communication
technologies (ICTs) – predominantly in digital format. It is therefore also known as the computer age,
digital age or new media age.

In many different countries, information plays an increasingly important part in economic, social, cultural
and political life. Information can be considered a cornerstone on which a society is built. Our society is
therefore often referred to as the ‘information society’. This phenomenon is taking place regardless of a
country’s size, state of development or political philosophy. Both developed and developing countries are
being transformed into information societies.

‘Information society’ is a term for a society in which the creation, distribution and manipulation of
information has become the most significant economic and cultural activity. Economies are no longer
based mostly on industrial development, labour and capital. They are now based on information and
knowledge. Economies are now also becoming global (Bothma et al 2017:4).

The ‘information society’ can be defined as “a society characterised by a high level of information
intensity in the everyday life of most citizens, in most organisations and workplaces; by the use of
common or compatible technology for a wide range of personal, social, educational and business
activities, and by the ability to transmit, receive and exchange digital data rapidly between places
irrespective of distance” (IBM Community Development Foundation 1997).

According to Moore (1997:271-272, 279), information societies have four characteristics or features:

1. Information is used as an economic resource. Organisations make greater use of information to

increase their efficiency, to stimulate innovation and to increase their effectiveness and
competitive position, often through improvements in the quality of the goods and services that
they produce. There is also a trend towards the development of more information-intensive
organisations that add greater amounts of value and thus benefit a country’s overall economy.

2. It is possible to identify greater use of information among the general public. People use
information more intensively in their activities as consumers, for example to inform their choices
between different products, to explore their entitlements to public services and to take greater
control over their own lives. They also use information as citizens to exercise their civil rights and
responsibilities. In addition, information systems are being developed that will greatly extend
public access to educational and cultural provision.

3. The development of an information sector within the economy. The function of the information
sector is to satisfy the general demand for information facilities and services. A significant part of
the sector is concerned with the technological infrastructure, that is, the networks of
telecommunications and computers. Increasingly, however, the necessity is also being
recognised to develop the industry generating the information that flows around the networks,
that is, the information-content providers. In nearly all information societies, this information
sector is growing much faster than the overall economy.

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 4. Emphasis on education and the creation of a learning society. Technology has revolutionised our
ability to deliver education in many ways, for example in the form of multimedia and online
through the internet. Such developments have already made a real impact in rural areas, on
specialised courses and on adult learners.

Activity 1.3

Watch the following YouTube videos entitled ‘Information society’ at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0keWDqLKEFM and ‘What is information society?’ at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQqxr9ZHYQ and then answer the following questions:

 Based on the information in this section of the learning unit and the videos, describe your
understanding of the ‘information society’.

 What is ‘a digital citizen’? Would you describe yourself as a digital citizen? Why/why not?

1.4 INFORMATION OVERLOAD

One of the essential characteristics of modern society is the need for information and the enormous
amount of information available. The rapid development of technology since the 1940s has increased not
only the amount of information available, but also the speed at which information is produced and
distributed.

The great need for information has led to an information explosion. Today, many people spend a great
part of their daily lives either creating, looking for or using information. These are signs of the information
age and information society. The term ‘information explosion’ is used to describe the flood of information
in all subject fields, which started after the Second World War (1939-1945) and is still continuing today.
Sometimes we feel snowed under by all this information – a situation we call ‘information overload’.

The internet plays a huge role in the information overload and has some profound effects on us. The
following YouTube video entitled ‘What the Internet is doing to our brains’
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKaWJ72x1rI) briefly explains what the overload of information via
the internet is doing to our brains.

Activity 1.4

Describe how you cope with the information overload in your daily life. Specifically consider your use of
internet-based information, such as e-mails, social media and results from Google searches. Do you
think you require some skills to improve your ability to cope with the information overload?

1.5 THE ROLE OF ICTs

From the above discussion about the information society, it is clear that technology is an integral part of
such a society; here we are referring specifically to technologies that are used to communicate
information – known as information and communication technologies (ICTs).

The abbreviation ICT encompasses the concepts ‘information’, ‘communication’ and ‘technology’. We will
briefly define each of these concepts before we define the concept of ICT.

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We have already defined ‘information’ in section 1.2. To refresh your memory, we consider information to
be comprised of data; thereafter, selected, analysed and processed information becomes knowledge.

Bovée and Thill (2012:41) define communication as “the process of transferring information and meaning
between senders and receivers”.

Information can be packaged in the form of a message. When we refer to persons, we can include
organisations because organisations also communicate with one another. A person or organisation
communicates with another person or organisation to convey a message that contains information.

The one person or organisation sends the message and is referred to as the ‘sender’, while the other
person or organisation receives the message and is called the ‘receiver’.

Everyone communicates and, therefore, the ability to send and receive information accurately and
quickly is vital. Wherever you work and study and whatever you do, you are likely to be surrounded by
documents and messages and you are expected to communicate regularly with your lecturers, fellow
students and colleagues in your own environment and in other organisations.

People are constantly communicating at work, while busy with their studies and socially at home and
among friends. They talk on the telephone, write letters, reports and proposals, meet in the corridor to
chat or exchange ideas, transmit information by computer, television monitors, fax, notices, in meetings,
via reports, e-mail and instant messaging systems. Other systems that are used in the communication of
information include radio, television and satellites. These devices are examples of the technology that is
used to communicate information.

Increasingly, rapid technological advancements have had a major impact on the transmission of
communications in the areas of speed, reduced cost, ease of use and the wide availability of ‘user
friendly’ equipment. Mobile telephones or cellphones (today, mostly smartphones), fax, text messaging,
picture messaging, e-mail and, of course, the internet have revolutionised the transmission of
communications and made it relatively easy to send and receive messages rapidly over both short and
long distances and at a relatively low cost.

During the 1990s, the developments in information and communication technology (ICT) started to affect
the way organisations performed their business activities dramatically, including in their handling and
communication of information. ICTs are at the centre of collecting, manipulating and storing information.

The term ‘information and communication technology’ (ICT) is used to refer to the range of computer
technologies that are used for gathering, storing, retrieving, processing, analysing and transmitting
information in electronic format.

‘Information and communication technology’ (ICT) can be defined as follows: “The software applications,
computer hardware and network used to create information systems” (Chaffey & White 2011:G7).

Bovée and Thill (2012:54) point out that technology is simply a tool and a means by which to accomplish
tasks. It is an aid to communication and not a replacement for it. Technology cannot think or
communicate for a person. Technology has business value only if it helps deliver the right information to
the right people at the right time.

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ICTs include wireless networks, shared workspaces, unified communications, virtual meeting spaces,
podcasts, blogs, wikis, social networking, web-based meetings, teleconferencing and videoconferencing.

As ICTs become more and more widespread, speculation about their role in the information society is
expanding. Feather (2013:203) describes the information society in this narrower sense “as a society
that has developed information technology and is learning how to use it”.

1.6 ICT LITERACY

Based on our discussions so far about the information society and ICTs, it seems that it is very important
for members of the information society – or digital citizens – to be familiar with the use of ICTs, in other
words, to be ICT literate. But what does this mean? Firstly, we have to clarify the meaning of ‘literacy’. In
the next section we will also introduce the concept of information literacy.

Literacy is often simply regarded as the ability to read and write. But literacy includes oral literacy skills,
that is, the ability to communicate a message by means of speaking and using language in such a
manner that the receiver understands the message. Literacy also includes numeracy skills, that is, the
ability to process, interpret and communicate information in numeral format, such as statistics.

Today, we also deal with various literacies, which acknowledge different abilities and competencies. For
example, ‘functional literacy’ is when people can recognise signs and symbols, such as MacDonald’s,
Coca-Cola, bank signs, petrol signs and food packaging.

‘Book literacy’ is the ability to read a book, that is, understanding that it is must be read from left to right,
as well as its divisions into chapters, the contents and title pages, etc.

‘Academic literacy’ is learning to read academic texts at all levels of education. Academic texts include
study material, textbooks, reference works, journal articles and web pages containing academic
information. ‘Academic literacy’ means that a person is able to understand content and facts, remember
certain content and apply the content to real/practical/authentic situations. Academic texts stretch the
mind beyond everyday newspaper, magazine, novel or short-story reading. These texts teach something
and the reader must learn something. We will deal with academic literacy skills in more detail as we
proceed with this module.

‘Cultural literacy’ is the ability not only to understand and appreciate our own culture, but to learn more
about and understand, respect and appreciate other people’s cultures. As tertiary students, you are
future potential leaders and a wide general knowledge of what is happening in the world and of various
cultures is very important.

‘Computer literacy’ involves knowing about and understanding computers and being able to use them
effectively.

‘Media literacy’ is the ability to access, analyse, assess, create, contribute to and take part in messages
in many formats – ranging from print, audio, video and the internet (Bothma et al 2017:4).

‘ICT literacy’ means that a person has the skills to use ICTs effectively to communicate information. This
usually includes reading, writing, oral, numeracy, computer and media skills. For example, a person has
to be able to read a text message on a screen, write text messages and e-mails, speak over a
smartphone or Skype, and understand and interpret statistical information from a website. In addition, a
person has to be able to handle the technological devices, such as how to work with a computer and

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connect to the internet, how to access and use the applications on a smartphone or tablet and how to
access the internet and search effectively for information – to name but a few skills. These specific skills
are what we refer to as ‘ICT literacy’.

Activity 1.5

To what extent do you consider yourself to be ICT literate? Be honest with yourself and write down a list
of the skills that you believe you have that qualify you to be called ‘ICT literate’. Then write down which
skills you think you should still improve on to be considered ICT literate.

1.7 INFORMATION LITERACY

Being able to work with a computer or smartphone and access the internet does not necessarily mean
that a person is information literate. For individuals to be able to work with and manage information, they
have to be information literate.

“Information literacy broadly refers to the ability to access and use a variety of information sources to
solve an information need. Yet, it can also be defined as the development of a complex set of critical
skills that allow people to express, explore, question, communicate and understand the flow of ideas
among individuals and groups in quickly changing technological environments” (Education for All Global
Monitoring Report 2006:150).

In simpler terms, we can define ‘information literacy’ as the ability to access and evaluate information
effectively for problem-solving and decision-making.

Bothma et al (2017:4) define information literacy “as the ability to know when information is needed, and
to be able to find the information, evaluate the information and use the information that has been found.
This includes having the technological skills to access and use these information sources.”

To be information literate means to

 survive and be successful in an information and technological environment

 be able to recognise when information is needed
 find appropriate information and evaluate and use it effectively for personal and professional
problem-solving
 be proficient in reading, writing and speaking
 be proficient in ICT skills
 be successful in your studies, research and work and cope with your everyday living and leisure
activities

In short, information-literate people know how to be lifelong learners in an information society. They
know how to learn because they know

 when information is needed

 how information is organised
 how to find information
 how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them

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The information-literate person can

 identify situations in which information is needed (recognise the need for information) or interpret
an information task
 locate information sources and access the information recorded in these sources
 evaluate the information he/she has found
 use the information effectively in solving an information-related problem
 understand the relevant legal issues regarding the use of information so that he/she uses it in a
legal and responsible way

We conclude from these skills that being information literate involves a number of characteristics,
including the following:

 Information literacy can be acquired by any individual who needs to cope with the large amounts
of information available.

 Information literacy can be applied in an individual’s occupational and personal life.

 An information-literate person is able to participate in actions such as problem-solving and

decision-making, which enable others to learn from him/her.

 Information-literate individuals know how to learn because they know how to find and use
information.

 An information-literate person is able to deal effectively with new technologies to handle

information.

When we study the skills and characteristics of an information-literate individual, it becomes clear that
there are other related skills involved in the concept of information literacy. These skills, which are
related and contribute to information literacy, include the following:

 library and media skills, which enable the individual to find and access information
 information skills, which make it possible to interpret, evaluate and present information
 computer skills, which are applied in the retrieval (finding), processing and presentation of
information
 learning skills, by means of which the information-literate person becomes a lifelong learner

The following diagram illustrates the skills related to information literacy:

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Figure 1.1: Skills related to information literacy

1.8 IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING

As we indicated in the section on the characteristics of information literacy, information-literate people

know how to learn because they know how information is recorded and organised, how to find relevant
information and how to use information effectively. In other words, information-literate people are
prepared for lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is the application (use) of acquired knowledge and skills
in order to continue the learning process throughout life (Behrens, Olën & Machet 1999:28). Information
literacy is an integral part of learning – the individual obtains information skills (i.e. becomes information
literate) through the learning process. These information skills can be transferred and, therefore, the
individual can use them in other situations in order to keep on learning.

It is not possible to learn everything you need to know for your future occupation in the few years at
school and university. Yet if you are information literate, you have the skills required to become a lifelong
learner. This means you have the ability to apply and transfer these skills to many other areas of
learning, research, work and in your social life.

According to Bothma et al (2017:5), “becoming information literate is part of lifelong learning and being a
lifelong learner is part of being information literate”.

If you regard information literacy as a tool for lifelong learning, you will be better prepared to function in
the information society.

Activity 1.6

Watch the following YouTube video entitled ‘Information literacy in the digital age’ at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=559wIQMJAtQ Based on the information in this section and the
video, answer the following questions:

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  Why is it important to be information literate as an individual in your personal life and as an
individual who could be employed in any work environment?
 What are the competencies of an information-literate person?
 How are information literacy competenices acquired?
 What are the benefits of being a lifelong learner?

1.9 INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS

The aim of this module is to teach you how to search for, find, evaluate, synthesise, use and manage
information in order to perform a specific task – in other words, to become information literate.

There are a number of skills or competencies you need in order to develop into an information-literate
person. These skills include

 recognising and understanding your information task

 knowing that you need information for the task
 identifying what information you need
 knowing where and how to find the information
 knowing how to organise the information so that you can use it
 being familiar with the legal and ethical issues regarding the use of information
 understanding whether the information you found is the right information for your task
 knowing how to apply the information in the performance of your task
 integrating new information into your existing body of knowledge

We will cover all these skills in more detail in the following learning units.

1.10 CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this learning unit we introduced you to some of the most important concepts related to information
literacy, namely information, ICTs, the information society, information overload and lifelong learning. We
identified the basic principles of information literacy and the characteristics of information-literate people.

Based on the introduction, you probably already realise how important it is for you, as a lifelong learner,
to develop information literacy skills (identified in section 1.9). In the next learning unit we will start with
the first skill, namely recognising and understanding your information task.

1.11 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT

 What are the differences between data, information and knowledge?

 Why is today’s society described as the ‘information society’?
 What is information overload and how should we try to cope with it?
 What are the differences between computer literacy, media literacy, ICT literacy and information
literacy?
 Why is it important to be information literate?
 How can information literacy help you in your everyday work life, studies and leisure activities?
 How is being information literate important for lifelong learning?
 What are the characteristics of an information-literate person?

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 What are the skills that a person should acquire to become information literate?

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LEARNING UNIT 2

PLANNING INFORMATION TASKS AND WORK PLANS

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Many students will agree that they often do not give themselves enough time to complete their
assignments. They quickly scan the topic and instructions, consult their study guides, do a quick Google
search and download the first documents retrieved. Then they start reading and making some notes. As
soon as they think they have enough information, they write their assignments. However, when they
receive their results, the lecturer/tutor/marker often indicates that a lot of the information is irrelevant,
while some aspects have not been covered sufficiently.

Activity 2.1

 What problems can you identify in the above scenario?

 Do you take time to read and analyse assignment questions and instructions?
 Do you approach your assignment according to a plan?
 Do you identify the keywords in the assignment topic before you begin to look for information?

Could you answer ‘yes’ to the last three questions? If not, why not?

One of the problems that many students experience is related to time. They do not allow themselves
enough time to plan for their assignment and want to start writing as soon as possible. Another problem
is their lack of planning for the assignment: They skip the interpretation phase of assignment planning
and immediately look for information. They also retrieve irrelevant sources and take notes without a clear
idea of what is relevant.

If you experience these problems and answered "no" to any of the last three questions in the activity
above, this learning unit is very important for you. In this unit we approach an assignment as an
information task – a task that requires careful planning in order to execute it successfully.

Activity 2.2

 Think about the term ‘information tasks’. What do you think this term means? What kind of
information tasks do you think people are involved in every day? Write down your reflections.

 Think of the information tasks that you, as a student, would probably encounter in an academic
environment. List as many of these tasks as possible.

 What do you think a work plan entails in an academic setting?

There are various examples of information tasks. For example, assignments and examination questions
may be described as information tasks. Essentially, an information task is any task that requires the use
of information.

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Assignments are information problems. In many courses at Unisa, students are required to write
assignments in the form of essays. The main objectives of assignments are to

 guide you in working through the course material (study guides, prescribed books and
recommended books) systematically
 teach you how to use bibliographical tools in a library or information service in order to locate
information sources
 familiarise you with the information sources in your particular field of study
 guide you in the interpretation and evaluation of available information in order to decide which
information is relevant to the topic of the assignment
 teach you to integrate all available information into a logical piece of writing

Based on these objectives, it is clear that assignments require information-handling skills – a

characteristic of information literacy and writing skills.

Completing assignments is a fundamental part of the formal learning process. You may not have
realised that you were actually applying information skills in this way. If you struggle to answer
assignments, or fail to achieve high marks for your assignments, the problem might lie in the technique
you use to apply the information skills. In this module you will learn how to apply information skills to
complete an assignment effectively. You will thus improve your ability to cope with assignments and
learn the skills that information literacy requires. Moreover, you will learn these skills in such a way that
they can be transferred to any situation in which information is needed to solve a problem. Assignment
writing is an information task to which information skills have to be applied.

In the examination, students have to demonstrate that they have achieved certain learning outcomes. In
most cases this is done by showing evidence of increased knowledge of a subject by writing down
answers to questions. Therefore, you may consider examination questions as information problems that
require solutions. All the preparation you do for an examination (e.g. studying, reading and completing
assignments) involves accessing, evaluating and using information to increase your knowledge of a
particular subject.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit, you should be able to

 recognise scenarios where information is needed

 explain the concept ‘information task’ in your own words
 identify specific information tasks related to your studies
 explain the use of a work plan in completing an assignment task
 identify various ways in which to compile a work plan
 interpret the topic and identify the instructions of an information task
 identify the keywords and concepts in an assignment topic
 explore other means of pinpointing the topic, such as by using brainstorming and mind mapping
 identify the verbs (action words) in the topic
 understand the meaning of verbs commonly used in assignment topics and examination
questions and what they require you to do
 identify the instructions and limitations in an assignment topic
 identify the audience and format for a specific information task

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  construct a work plan using various techniques such as mind mapping

KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts that we will use in this learning unit are

 assignment
 brainstorming
 information task
 instructional terms
 interpret
 keywords
 mind mapping
 topic
 work plan

2.2 WHAT IS AN INFORMATION TASK?

Behrens, Olën and Machet (1999:25) summarise an information task as “any job which requires the use
of information”.

An information task is any task or situation that requires (the right) information to solve a problem or
make decisions in order to complete the task. An information task requires a certain amount of work to
solve a problem that is information-related. In other words, the solution to the problem lies in finding and
applying the right information.

When you are facing an information task, you need to go about it systematically. You have to devise a
work plan or framework that will guide you to complete the information task successfully. The information
skills you need to complete the information task include planning, finding and retrieving information and,
finally, organising the information. In this learning unit we look at information tasks in more detail to learn
more about applying information skills to specific tasks, with specific reference to academic information
tasks.

Activity 2.3

Study the following situations and indicate which of them involve an information task and the application
of information skills. Also try to indicate what type of information you would need for each task – in other
words, what information do you need to complete this task?

 applying for a bursary to complete your studies

 registering for your formal studies at a university
 completing your income tax form
 compiling an assignment on how to deal with the drought crisis in the Western Cape
 completing a crossword puzzle
 deciding on a holiday destination
 applying for a job
 explaining the use of a photocopying machine
 deciding for which political party to vote

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You can probably add many more examples to the list. That is because we need information for
decisions and choices on a daily basis and for situations in all aspects of life. In other words, we are
continuously expanding our knowledge by performing information tasks that enable us to deal with the
demands of our daily lives.

Every information task involves different information needs. For example, in order to complete your
income tax form, you need information about your income and expenditures for the applicable tax year.
You retrieve this information from statements and salary advice documents issued to you. But for an
assignment on the drought crisis in the Western Cape, you need statistical information, research
findings, government officials' statements, and so on. You have to conduct more research by finding and
reading reports, newspaper articles, journal articles, etc.

In order to complete the information task successfully, you have to plan for it. Such a work plan consists
of certain phases and steps. We will explain the compilation of such a work plan in this learning unit.

2.3 THE WORK PLAN AS A TOOL IN ACADEMIC WRITING

A plan is an outline of something that has to be done. The purpose of a plan is to explain the method by
which something is to be done. This plan helps to organise everything that is to be done. Plans are used
in many situations, both formal and informal. For example, a shopping list is a plan of what must be
bought at the shops; and if you are planning a holiday to visit your grandmother’s home in Ulundi, your
itinerary may be seen as a work plan.

The work plan for completing an assignment is very much like a shopping list or a holiday itinerary.
There are many ways to compile a work plan for an assignment. For example, you could use a single
sheet of paper, several smaller sheets of paper or cards, paper files or folders or even a computer
program. It is important to remember that a work plan is your personal way of preparing for an
information task and, therefore, can and should be individualised.

You do not have to include the work plan in your final assignment of any given information task because
it is part of your rough draft. Your work plan becomes the framework or blueprint for the information task.
The work plan represents the results of the various information-handling activities that are performed in
order to complete the information task successfully. It is quite acceptable for the plan to be untidy, since
it is just a draft. However, keep it as neat as you can so that you can read your handwriting and follow
your arrangement of ideas.

The following diagram shows the main phases and steps within each phase of a work plan for an
information task.

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 Figure 2.1: Phases and steps of a work plan

(Adapted from Geyer & Jacobs 2002; Machet 2012)

In this learning unit we look specifically at the first phase, that is, the planning phase. The first step
involves interpreting the information task.

2.4 INTERPRETING THE INFORMATION TASK

Planning an information task involves various information-handling skills. Just as reading and writing
skills have become second nature to you, so should information-handling skills.

In order to interpret the information task successfully, you must identify

 the content of the assignment

 the topic
 the keywords
 the action words or verbs
 any other instructions

Before you can perform an information task, you have to make sure that you understand exactly what
the task requires of you and what is involved in completing the task. We do this for even simple tasks,
such as grocery shopping: Before going to the shops, we first check what we need and compile a
grocery list. In that way, we are more likely to get everything we need and therefore complete the task
successfully. Similarly, if you have to write an assignment, you are more likely to complete the
assignment successfully if you understand exactly what is required by the question/s. You will have a
good idea of what you already know about the assignment and what information you still need, so your
reading and note-taking will be more efficient.

The title of the assignment consists of a number of keywords and a number of instructional terms. The
keywords indicate the topic or information content of the assignment. By studying the keywords, you
should be able to answer the following questions:

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 What is the topic of the assignment?

 What do I already know about this topic?

In the following subsections we will take a closer look at each of these questions.

2.4.1 What is the topic of the assignment?

A topic is the subject of any given information task. One of the skills you need involves interpreting the
topic. The topic can be reflected in the title or the assignment could give a separate heading entitled
‘topic’. The topic or title of an assignment is very important because it tells you what the assignment is
about. Therefore, you should read the title of the assignment attentively several times. The topic refers to
the main idea, subject or person(s) with which the assignment deals.

In order to determine the topic of an assignment, you should read through the title to get an overview
(broad picture) of its content. That gives you the general idea of what is expected of you. Thereafter, you
should determine more specifically what the detailed aspects of the assignment are. This can be done by
identifying keywords and using techniques such as brainstorming and mind mapping.

2.4.1.1 Identify keywords

Keywords are those words in a topic that indicate what the topic is about or what is discussed in the
topic. When you retrieve information for an information task, you will use these keywords to find relevant
information. Determining the keywords is important as they indicate the focus of the assignment topic
and have an impact on the assignment discussion. If you are uncertain of the meaning of a specific
keyword, it is always a good idea to consult a dictionary and an encyclopaedia. (You will learn more
about these reference sources in learning unit 4.) If you are still not sure about the topic of the
assignment, it may be a good idea to get the advice of your lecturer, a tutor or a fellow student.

You should the read the topic of the assignment a second time and underline the keywords that indicate
the actual content.

Look at the following examples:

 Investigate the impact of fuel price increases on public transport costs in Gauteng.

 Review the influence of outcomes-based education on the pass rate of matric learners in
KwaZulu-Natal.

 Outline the basic reading needs of newly literate library users.

 Describe the role of public libraries and community libraries in providing access to ICTs to
communities in Limpopo.

 Evaluate the impact of protest action at tertiary institutions in South Africa on students' access to
library resources.

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 Now let’s consider the type of information task that is familiar to you as a student. Look at the theme
below. This is a typical example of an assignment or examination question.

In an essay of 1 200 words, explain why South Africa needs more social workers to play a role in
combatting AIDS in especially the rural areas. Consider the Children’s Act of 2005.

In this instance, the keywords are ‘social workers’ and ‘AIDS’, although you may also include ‘the
Children's Act’.

Activity 2.4

Underline the keywords in the following assignment topics. Make sure you understand the exact
meaning of the keywords and write down brief explanations of any unfamiliar words.

 Define the concept ‘media literacy’.

 The concept of ‘literacy’ has changed according to changing needs in society. Write an essay on
the information society and discuss why information literacy is essential in an information society.

 Describe the role of the internet in modern society.

 Discuss the influence of computer games on the reading patterns of young adults.

 Report on the effect of community policing on the crime rate in Johannesburg.

 Compare the impact of the Second World War (1939-1945) on the economy of Germany with that
of Japan.

 Investigate the influence of communism on the social conditions of the working classes in the
Soviet Union during the 1980s.

 Analyse the role of Nelson Mandela in the political reform process in South Africa from 1995 to
2000.

 Investigate the influence of child abuse on the psychological development of urban children
between the ages of six and twelve in the city of Cape Town.

 Explain what Boolean operators are and briefly discuss each of these operators. Give examples
of how and when you would use each of them.

 Compare the internet search engines Google and Yahoo.

 Read all the assignment topics for the modules that you are registered for this year and underline
the keywords, as you have done in the previous examples.

(Adapted from Geyer & Jacobs 2002:9; Machet 2012:125)

Apart from underlining the keywords, there are also a number of other techniques, such as brainstorming
and mind mapping, that you can use to identify the topic of an assignment (Geyer & Jacobs 2002:10).

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2.4.1.2 Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a technique that helps you think creatively about an assignment topic and consider all
possible aspects related to the topic. You write down all your ideas and thoughts on the topic of the
assignment. These ideas do not have to be in any particular order or to make any logical sense – there
are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ ideas.

Study the following example:

Assignment topic:

Investigate the impact of fuel price increases on public transport use in Gauteng by comparing the costs
of using private vehicles with the costs of using public transport modes.

Keywords identified by underlining:

Investigate the impact of fuel price increases on public transport use in Gauteng by comparing the costs
of using private vehicles with the costs of using public transport modes.

Thoughts/ideas resulting from the brainstorming technique:

Fuel prices
Fuel price increases
Travelling costs
Public transport in Gauteng
Private vehicles:
 cars
 motorbikes
Types of public transport:
 taxis
 trains
 buses
 integrated transport systems
Costs of public transport:
 taxi fares
 train fares
 bus fares
 integrated transport system fares
Increases in public transport costs
Trains do not use fuel and should not be affected by increases in the fuel price.
Use of private vehicles includes other costs in addition to fuel costs.

Activity 2.5

Use the brainstorming technique and write down your ideas and thoughts on the following assignment
topics:

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  The concept of ‘literacy’ has changed according to changing needs in society. Write an essay on
the information society and discuss why information literacy is essential in an information society.

 Explain what Boolean operators are and briefly discuss each of these operators. Give examples
of how and when you would use each of them.

 Investigate the influence of child abuse on the psychological development of urban children
between the ages of six and twelve in the city of Cape Town.

 Investigate the influence of communism on the social conditions of the working classes in the
Soviet Union during the 1980s.

2.4.1.3 Mind mapping

Some people find it is easier to display their understanding of a topic visually. Mind mapping is a
technique that involves creating a visual presentation, or a ‘map’, on the topic of the assignment. You
write down the main subject of the topic in the centre of a piece of paper and draw a circle around it.
Then you draw lines radiating out in various directions from these circles and write down the subdivisions
of the topic in circles linked to these lines. Continue with the process until you have included all the
subdivisions in the presentation. The mind mapping technique assists you in organising the topic of the
assignment into subdivisions, which can later serve as headings and subheadings in the assignment.

Study the following example:

Assignment topic:

Investigate the impact of fuel price increases on public transport use in Gauteng by comparing the costs
of using private vehicles with the costs of using public transport modes.

Keywords identified by underlining:

Investigate the impact of fuel price increases on public transport use in Gauteng by comparing the costs
of using private vehicles with the costs of using public transport modes.

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A mind map may look as follows:

Fuel Public
Fuel price prices transport
increases Gauteng Gauteng

Fuel price
increasing
Gauteng
Fuel Public
prices transport

Buses, trains, Costs of

taxis, integrated public Public
systems’ fares transport transport
options

Buses, trains,
taxis, integrated
Costs of systems
private Private
vehicles vehicles

Figure 2.2: Example of a mind map

Activity 2.6

Use separate pieces of paper to create mind maps with divisions for each of the following assignment
topics.

 Investigate the influence of child abuse on the psychological development of urban children
between the ages of six and twelve in the city of Cape Town.

 Investigate the influence of communism on the social conditions of the working classes in the
Soviet Union during the 1980s.

 Analyse the role of Nelson Mandela in the political reform process in South Africa from 1995 to
2000.

Activity 2.7

Read all the assignment topics for the modules that you are registered for this year and use
brainstorming and/or mind mapping techniques to determine the aspects related to the content of the
assignment.

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If you have mastered the techniques discussed here to determine the keywords and content of the topic
of any given information task, such as an assignment, it is time to move on to the second question in
interpreting the information task: What do I know about this topic?

2.4.2 What do I already know about this topic?

Once you have established what the topic of the assignment is, you have to decide whether or not you
already know something about it – what existing knowledge do you have about this topic? For example,
you may realise that you recently read a newspaper article about it or listened to a related discussion on
the radio or television. Existing knowledge may also be knowledge you obtained from previous studies,
such as at school or from other modules that you have completed. In other words, you have a certain
amount of existing knowledge about the topic.

Determining your existing knowledge about the assignment topic is an important step because you
should relate your existing knowledge to the new information at hand. You can use brainstorming and
mind maps to assist you in connecting your prior knowledge with new information.

An assignment is intended to create a learning experience and therefore you will have to expand your
prior knowledge by finding, reading and processing new information.

Study the following example:

Assignment topic:

Investigate the impact of fuel price increases on public transport use in Gauteng by comparing the costs
of using private vehicles with the costs of using public transport modes.

What do you know about the topic?

Maybe your prior knowledge includes the following information:

 You studied economics at school and can remember that there are certain factors that determine
the price of fuel, such as the oil price, supply and demand and inflation.

 There were announcements in the media about an increase in the fuel price at the beginning of a
certain month. You can easily retrieve these announcements to see exactly what the increase will
be.

 Based on these announcements, an economist wrote an article in a newspaper in which he

compared the costs of various public transport modes, as well as analysing the costs of owning a
car. You have a copy of the newspaper and see that the article provides some interesting facts
related to the costs of public and private passenger transport.

Activity 2.8

Indicate your existing knowledge about the following topics by writing down keywords and phrases that
reflect your prior knowledge.

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 Analyse the role of Nelson Mandela in the political reform process in South Africa from 1995 to
2000.

 Compare the internet search engines Google and Yahoo.

 Investigate and report on the main causes of violence among spectators at soccer matches.

At this stage you should be able to determine the topic, as well as your existing knowledge of the topic,
of a given information task such as an assignment. The next step is to determine what to do with the
topic – what are the instructions of the assignment?

2.4.3 Identify the instructions

In this section we will focus on identifying and interpreting the instructions for an assignment. Once you
are familiar with the instructional terms, you should be able to make the following decisions:

 How much information do I need?

 What type of information is required?

2.4.3.1 Instructional terms

Instructions or instructional terms are verbs or action words or process words in the assignment that
indicate how you should actually deal with the content of the assignment. In other words, the
instructional terms indicate the process that you should follow to complete the assignment successfully.
Action words are important as they indicate whether you are required to investigate a situation, discuss
the topic or offer an explanation. You will be able to determine your action by looking at the verbs used in
the information task.

Examples

Investigate the impact of the fuel price increases on public transport costs in Gauteng.

Review the influence of outcomes-based education on the pass rate of matric learners in KwaZulu-Natal.

Describe the role of public libraries and community libraries in the African Renaissance.

Study the list below, which includes the most commonly used instructional terms, before you attempt the
next activity.

Instructional What it means

term
Answer Reply, respond or react to a question.
Analyse Look at carefully and discuss the work, section by section. Examine the
subject in detail: break it down into parts, describe the parts and indicate
how the parts relate to one another and to the subject as a whole.
Argue Debate something and give supporting or opposing reasons – use opinions,

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 facts and evidence.
Assess Consider, evaluate and calculate.
Comment State your opinion, remarks or criticism on the assignment topic and support
your views with valid arguments or evidence.
Compare Look for and explain the similarities and differences between two or more
matters.
Consider Think about carefully, contemplate and pay attention to.
Contrast Explain how two things are different/dissimilar.
Convey Impart, transmit or communicate ideas and information.
Convince Sway the opinion of the reader(s).
Debate Discuss both sides of an issue in order to reach your opinion.
Define Give an accurate meaning of the term or concept with enough detail to show
you really understand it. Write a brief paragraph on the precise meaning of a
concept.
Depict Portray or describe something.
Describe Explain or give a detailed account of something in order to paint a picture in
the mind of the reader. Tell how something looks or happened, including
how, who, where and why. Give the characteristics of something.
Determine Find out, establish, decide or settle.
Discuss Talk or write about, debate the issues, introduce alternative viewpoints.
Investigate or examine important characteristics and main points of a topic
by giving various opinions or explanations of the topic and indicating how
these agree or differ.
Distinguish Indicate differences and similarities that make a thing different from other
things.
Enumerate Mention or indicate individual items or points, without a detailed discussion.
Evaluate Make a judgement about the value or significance of a topic according to
specific criteria or standards and substantiate/justify your judgement (i.e.
give reasons for your judgement).
Explain Make something clear or easy to understand, provide reasons or
explanations. Interpret a particular topic so that important aspects and their
connection(s) are made clear.
Explore Investigate something in order to learn about it.
Identify Name or classify something.
Illustrate Use examples, figures or diagrams to explain or to make the meaning clear.
Indicate Give a broad outline of the topic or main idea, without giving details.
Inform Tell or notify.
Interpret Give your particular viewpoint or understanding of something.
Investigate Carry out research or study a subject/topic in order to report on your
findings.
Justify Back up your answer/opinion with reasons, evidence or examples.
List/name Write down a group of items in a particular order (if an order is requested),
without giving any additional information, explanation or interpretation.

Outline Give the main features or principles of a topic, with relevant supporting
details.
Paraphrase Rewrite something in your own/other words, without changing the meaning.
Portray Describe vividly in words (in a way that produces strong, clear images in the
mind of the reader).
Prove Demonstrate the truth by evidence or argument.

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Quote Repeat, in inverted commas, the exact words that someone else has said or
written.
Relate Tell or narrate/show the connection between various aspects.
Report Give a spoken or written account of something that you have/someone has
observed, heard, done or investigated.
Show Support your position with facts or evidence.
State Express fully or clearly and specifically. Present information clearly and
concisely.
Substantiate Support or add weight to your answer with facts, reasons or opinions.
Summarise Give a concise (brief) account of the main points of a particular topic.
Trace Follow the development from the starting point.

(Adapted from Geyer & Jacobs: 2002:17-18; Machet 2012:127)

Activity 2.9

Underline the instructional terms in the following information tasks (assignments) and give a brief
indication of what you are supposed to do with the information (content).

 Define the concept ‘media literacy’.

 The concept of ‘literacy’ has changed according to changing needs in society. Write an essay on
the information society and discuss why information literacy is essential in an information society.

 Describe the role of the internet in modern society.

 Discuss the influence of computer games on the reading patterns of young adults.

 Report on the effect of community policing on the crime rate in Johannesburg.

 Compare the impact of the Second World War (1939-1945) on the economy of Germany with that
of Japan.

 Investigate the influence of communism on the social conditions of the working classes in the
Soviet Union during the 1980s.

 Analyse the role of Nelson Mandela in the political reform process in South Africa from 1995 to
2000.

 Investigate the influence of child abuse on the psychological development of urban children
between the ages of six and twelve in the city of Cape Town.

 Explain what Boolean operators are and briefly discuss each of these operators. Give examples
of how and when you would use each of them.

 Compare the internet search engines Google and Yahoo.

 Read all the assignment topics for the modules that you are registered for this year and underline
the instructional terms, as you did in the previous examples.

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2.4.3.2 Identify any other instructions or aspects

Once you have identified the keywords and instructional terms, the next step is to check if there are any
specific instructions and limitations, as well as what format the assignment answer must take.

Now read the assignment topic again and think about other aspects that have to be established, for
example

 other instructions (e.g. length of an essay, usually specified in the number of words, such as
1000 words)
 format of the task (e.g. an essay, notes, a video, a blog entry). The format of a PowerPoint
presentation looks different from the format of an academic essay.
 level of presentation (this is usually also indicated by the instructional terms). For example,
investigating and reporting on a subject will be on a more detailed level than only listing items.
 audience (usually an academic audience, such as a lecturer or a tutor/marker)
 purpose (mostly an academic task). For example, ask yourself: Why am I doing this task? Is it an
assignment to complete my studies, or did my tutor ask me to give a talk on a certain topic?

We explain the different formats in which assignments can be presented in learning unit 8.

2.4.4 What type of information is required?

The type of assignment and the instructional terms in the assignment title largely determine the type of
information that you will need and how much information you will need.

You may ask yourself the following questions if you are not sure about the type of information to use:

 Do the instructions indicate that only factual information is required?

 Am I supposed to give my own opinion, based on my experiences and existing knowledge?
 Do I have to generate new information by conducting a survey, for example?
 Is there an indication of how recent the information sources should be?

Owing to the enormous amount of information available, you should be able to find relevant information
on any topic. However, it may be a problem to decide on how much information is actually necessary for
a particular information task.

2.4.5 How much information do I need?

Students often make the mistake of retrieving a large amount of information and trying to present all the
information in an assignment. Unfortunately, this often results in copying (rewriting) information word for
word from the information sources, without interpreting it and relating it to prior knowledge. Not only does
this practice result in a bad assignment mark, but students also make themselves guilty of plagiarism,
which is a serious crime. Plagiarism refers to the act of copying another person’s work and presenting it
as your own. We will discuss the ethical use of information, including how to avoid plagiarism, in more
detail in learning unit 9.

The amount of information needed is mainly determined by the following factors:

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 the topic and instructions of the assignment

 the amount of existing knowledge (prior knowledge)
 the form in which the assignment is to be presented

If, for example, you have to write an assignment on a topic that is unfamiliar to you and on which you do
not really have any prior knowledge, you will need a large amount of information to complete the
assignment. Remember, all the information that you retrieve and read while preparing the assignment is
not necessarily presented in the final product – some of the information is merely used to familiarise
yourself with the topic and to increase your existing knowledge of the topic.

If you read the list of instructional terms and their interpretations (meanings) again, you will notice that
the instructional terms also give an indication of the amount of information needed. For example,
instructions such as ‘discuss’ and ‘compare’ usually imply the retrieval and use of a large amount of
information, while ‘define’ and ‘outline’ require only the essential information on a topic.

There are different forms of assignments, such as an academic essay, a report, an article, a paragraph,
a visual presentation (e.g. PowerPoint), which also determine the amount of information needed for an
assignment. In learning unit 8 – where we discuss the organisation and presentation of the information
task – we will focus on the different formats of assignments.

Up to this point, we have been dealing with the first step in the planning phase, that is, the interpretation
of the assignment topic, as reflected in the title. However, the planning phase will be complete only once
you have assessed your present information situation. This will be our focus in the next section.

2.5 SURVEYING THE INFORMATION SITUATION

Now that you are familiar with the topic and instructions of the assignment, it is time to focus on the
second step of the planning phase, namely the information involved in completing the assignment. Here
you have to plan a strategy (an action plan) for finding information sources in order to explore the theme
of the assignment. Surveying the information situation should enable you to answer the following three
questions:

1. What information sources do I have?

2. What other information sources do I need?
3. In which order should I search the information sources?

The first step in surveying the information situation involves taking stock of and listing the information
sources at hand. This is an important part of the planning phase because we often overlook useful
information in our immediate surroundings (Behrens, Olën & Machet 1999:66). Information from our
immediate surroundings includes the radio, television and the Web.

When an information task involves the writing of an academic assignment, you should have internal
information sources, such as your tutorial letters, study guide(s), textbooks and prescribed and
recommended books, readily available. However, an assignment at higher education level usually
cannot be completed successfully by using only the information sources at hand – it is necessary to
consider and look for other (external) information sources as well.

1. What other information sources do I need?

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When you are a registered student at an academic institution, the obvious place to start looking for
external information sources is the library collection, where you should be able to find a large variety of
information sources in different formats. In learning units 4, 5 and 6, we focus on the different formats of
information sources.

2. In which order should I search the information sources?

Once you have investigated and listed all the possibilities of internal and external information sources,
you should decide in which order these sources should be searched. In other words, you should decide
which resources you will consult first to find relevant information for your assignment. The idea is to list
internal and external information sources in order of importance. The sources with the highest
information potential for your assignment should appear at the top of the list.

The order in which information sources are to be searched depends entirely on your individual situation.
For example, if you have a prescribed book available, it will probably appear high on the list because you
will use it as a starting point. The prescribed book may be followed by recommended books or titles that
you find in the bibliography of the prescribed book. If you need more information, you should consult the
library catalogue for relevant sources on the assignment topic.

2.6 COMPILING A WORK PLAN

The third step of the planning phase is to actually compile the work plan. The plan is based on the first
two steps – determining the topic and instructions and the information situation. Compiling the work plan
means that you write down headings and subheadings related to the task. These headings are based on
the topic of the assignment, in other words, the keywords and/or ideas generated from brainstorming and
mind mapping.

In addition to these headings, there will be various other components of the plan, such as written notes
to yourself, written blocks of textual information, the mind maps and references to sources with relevant
information.

You can write down your work plan on sheets of paper or cards, which can then be filed in folders. Files
and folders are especially helpful for large information tasks. You can also use files and folders for
photocopies and printouts of information sources, for example journal articles, web pages and small
sections from books. The advantage of hard copies is that you can write on them, for example by
highlighting important sections. However, you should never make notes on a source that does not
belong to you, such as a library journal or book.

If you prefer to do your planning on a computer, there are many computer programs that can assist you
in organising information. For example, Microsoft’s Word, Excel and Access software can be used
effectively to compile work plans and organise information. These programs enable you to create folders
and files for different topics, type notes and other details and create a record for each source you have
located. In addition, the program MindManager provides ways to visualise information in mind maps and
flowcharts (https://www.mindjet.com/mindmanager/)

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2.6.1 Thoughts and ideas

So far you have identified the keywords and the audience and have determined the instructions and the
form or format of the information task. On a piece of paper or cards, write down all the details that could
assist you with your work plan for the assignment topic. Spread your keywords over a whole page so you
have room to write down your thoughts. Alternatively, use one card per keyword. As you are writing, ask
yourself questions such as What? Why? When? How? Where? Who? At this stage you may not know
the answers to these questions, but they will help you identify the information you will need to complete
the information task (Machet 2012:129). If you know the answers to some of these questions – or where
to find the information to answer them – make notes on your paper or cards. For example, if your
textbook or study guide has a chapter on the topic, make a note of this; or if you know that recent media
reports included relevant articles, make a note so that you will remember to search for those articles.

This exercise helps to stimulate your thoughts and enables you to focus on the topic. You could also
determine whether you know anything about the topic and write down any thoughts or ideas you have as
a starting point. These thoughts should form part of your work plan.

2.6.2 Assignment headings

Based on the above interpretation of the topic, you can start identifying headings for the following
assignment example:

Investigate the impact of fuel price increases on public transport use in Gauteng by comparing the costs
of using private vehicles with the costs of using public transport modes.

1 Introduction Why fuel price When? Check with

2 Definitions increases? lecturer if I should cover
specific periods
2.1 Fuel price
2.2 Public transport
2.3 Private transport
3 Fuel price increases over the last number of years in Gauteng
3.1 Effect on taxis
3.2 Effect on bus transport Check the
3.3 Effect on trains newspaper
reports of last
3.4 Effect on integrated transport systems month
3.5 Effect on private transport
4 Other private vehicle-related costs
5 Conclusion
6 List of sources

2.6.3 Finding sources

We will look quite extensively at finding information for information tasks in learning units 3 to 7. Finding
accurate and reliable information sources is an essential information skill. Knowledge of libraries, the
internet and various information sources – including published and electronic sources – is essential to
the information-literate person.

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2.6.4 Example of a work plan

The work plan is a rough draft and does not have to be too long or detailed. It is a working tool and you
can use words, phrases or full sentences – whatever suits you. You can also include mind maps. It is
important that there be some structure to the plan, for example by grouping ideas logically under relevant
keywords and headings.

Note that this work plan indicates the rearrangement of headings and subheadings into a logical order. It
also includes the notes made of the relevant information for the specific assignment. Searches were
conducted and information appears under each heading. When you compile a work plan for an
assignment, it must be complete – otherwise it cannot serve as a framework to write an essay. The work
plan offers guidelines for writing an essay on an assignment theme.

Example

This is an extensive and completed example of a work plan. Remember that your work plan can be in
any format you feel comfortable with, but it must contain all the essential elements.

Assignment task

Write an essay of five typed pages, explaining why buying a pirated DVD or music CD is stealing.
Consider the Copyright Act.

WORK PLAN

Main topic: Explain why buying pirated DVDs or music CDs is stealing.

Keywords: piracy, copyright, intellectual property

Verbs: explain; consider

Audience: lecturer

Form: academic essay

My thoughts or ideas (Some of these could eventually be used for the introduction.)

 The topic asks me to explain why buying a pirated DVD or music CD is stealing. I must also
consider the Copyright Act. Piracy is the "unauthorized use or reproduction of another's work"
(South African Concise Oxford Dictionary 2002:888).

 Stealing also reminds me of ethical issues. I need to address information ethics as well.

 I have to include information on copyright and determine whether I may copy a DVD or music
CD. If I may do so, I need to know how much of the information on the DVD or CD may be
copied.

 The word ‘explain’ means that I really need to think about why buying a pirated DVD or music CD
is stealing and then convey it to my audience in such a manner that they understand why it is the
same as stealing.

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 My study guide and prescribed book do not include information on piracy, copyright, information
ethics or intellectual property. I will therefore have to begin looking for information in the Unisa
Library and on the internet. I should first use a dictionary to determine the exact meaning of the
keywords. An encyclopaedia may also be useful for background information. I will use the Unisa
Library catalogue to find information, using the words ‘piracy’, ‘copyright’ and ‘intellectual
property’ for my search.

 If I cannot find a suitable dictionary or encyclopaedia at home or in the library, I can access an
online dictionary or encyclopaedia on the internet.

 I first have to define the terms so that my audience is clear on what they mean in the context of
my essay.

 I must then discuss each keyword.

 My essay must not exceed five typed pages. This means that I do not have to discuss each
keyword in depth.

 My assignment headings:

1 Introduction

2 Definitions

2.1 Piracy

“The unauthorized use or reproduction of another's work” (South African Concise Oxford Dictionary
2002:888).

“The systematic unauthorized reproduction or use, without permission and recompense, of a work
protected by copyright law, usually for the purpose of profiting from such activity” (Reitz 2004).

“Pirated edition: an edition issued in violation of existing copyright law, without permission of the author
or copyright holder” (Reitz 2004).

2.2 Copyright

“The exclusive legal right to publish ...” (South African Concise Oxford
Dictionary 2002:255).

“The legal right granted by a government to an author, editor, compiler ... to produce, sell, or distribute
copies of a literary, musical, dramatic, artistic or other work ...” (http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_p.cfm).

“The right to publish, reproduce and sell matter and forms of a literary, musical, dramatic or artistic work”
(New Encyclopaedia Britannica 2002, 3:616).

3 Discussion on piracy

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Davies, G. Piracy of phonograms.

Segrave, K. Piracy in the motion picture industry.

3.1 Information ethics

4 Discussion on copyright

Davies, G. Piracy of phonograms.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 3:616.

Segrave K. Piracy in the motion picture industry.

4.1 Intellectual property

4.2 Electronic copyright

Rao, SS. Myths about electronic copyright (p 266).

Rao, SS. Protecting the enterprise (p 266).

Article by Rao (p 266).

4.2.1 Multimedia copyright

Article by Rao (p 266).

4.2.2 Copyright issues

Article by Rao (p 268).

4.3 Methods of copyright infringement

Hannabuss, S. Infringement is so easy. pp 185--86.

Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/copyright_infringement).

4.4 Penalties

Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/copyright_infringement).

5 Conclusion – Is it really stealing?

6 List of sources

Davies, G. 1986. Piracy of phonograms. 2nd ed. Oxford: ESC Publishing for the

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Commission of the European Communities Cultural Sector.

Hannabuss, S. 1998. Issues of intellectual property. New Library World 99(1143):185-190.

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2002. 3:616.

Rao, SS. 2003. Copyright: its implications for electronic information. Online

Information Review 27(4):264-275.

Reitz, JM. 2004. ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science.
http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_p.cfm [Accessed 14 November 2015].

Segrave, J. 2003. Piracy in the motion picture industry. Jefferson: McFarland.

South African Concise Oxford Dictionary. Edited by the Dictionary Unit for
South African English. 2002. Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa.

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org [Accessed 15 November 2015].

Machet (2012:130-132) also includes another example of a work plan.

Activity 2.10

Read all the assignment topics for the modules that you are registered for this year and compile work
plans for each assignment.

2.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS

The purpose of this learning unit was to make you realise that you need information in order to write an
assignment and that an academic assignment is an information task. You have to understand the topic
or content of the assignment (by means of keywords, brainstorming or mind mapping), the instructions
and the information situation. You also learnt that it is important to work systematically and plan your
information task by means of a work plan.

We therefore covered the planning phase of the information task by explaining the three steps:

 Step 1: Interpreting the information task: content, topic, keywords, action words, instructions
 Step 2: Surveying the information situation: available sources, what else is needed?
 Step 3: Compiling the work plan

In the following learning units we will cover the phases of retrieving and organising information for the
task. You will learn more about types of information sources and how to find relevant information in order
to handle information tasks.

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LEARNING UNIT 3

PLANNING FOR INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

3.1 INTRODUCTION

In the previous learning unit we spent some time on the planning of the information task, for example an
assignment. Once you have interpreted the information task and understand what is expected of you, it
is time to think about the retrieval of information for the task. In the following learning units we will
discuss a variety of information sources and how to use the information from these sources. But before
you can start with the retrieval of information sources, you need to consider your preparation for the
process. Therefore, in this learning unit we focus on two important preparatory aspects, namely reading
and note-taking and using some tools and resources for information retrieval.

Activity 3.1

Have you ever considered the process that you follow when you read, for example a section from a
textbook, study guide or article when you are working on an assignment, or when you read internet
articles about a hobby or sport that interests you, or a travel destination? How do you read a piece of
writing? Do you read every word or simply scan the text, article, etc for interesting phrases and then
focus only on those? Do you make some notes while you are reading? How do you record your notes?

Which devices do you mostly use when you are looking for information on any topic of interest: your own
computer or tablet, your smartphone or a computer terminal at the university or your workplace? Do you
always use the same websites and search engines? Do you use social media for information searches?
Are you aware of the tools available via myUnisa to assist you in your studies?

If you find it difficult to answer any of the above questions, this learning unit should assist you in
improving your information retrieval skills – specifically how to read, take notes and use available tools
and resources.

The ability to read and take notes efficiently saves time and enables you to understand and evaluate
information better. It is also the first step in writing the answer to your assignment.

The selection and use of information retrieval tools can also save time when you start with your
information searches.

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit, you should be able to

 apply basic reading techniques associated with studying

 take notes by means of different techniques
 identify and explore a variety of tools and resources that can assist in information retrieval

KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts that we will use in this learning unit are

 blogs
 e-mail
 information retrieval tools
 Library 2.0
 mobile devices
 note-taking
 podcasts
 reading
 social libraries
 social media
 Web 2.0
 wikis

3.2 READING SKILLS

You probably already realise how important it is to be able to read and understand (comprehend) a piece
of text (written communication). Reading skills are important for people throughout their careers. As a
student, you will spend many hours reading. This section suggests steps you can take to cut down on
these hours while increasing the effectiveness of your reading. There are two aspects to this: One is to
read more efficiently, which can reduce study time while improving your understanding and retention of
what you read. The second aspect is to think differently while you read by becoming more critical in your
reading. Both these aspects are important for your studies, as well as in the workplace. The ability to
take useful notes when you are gathering information is important for information tasks that form part of
your studies, as well as in a wide range of work contexts. Developing your skills in reading and note-
taking will mean that you spend less time reading – yet learn more in the process (Cameron 2008:79).

We use different reading techniques according to the material we are reading and our purpose for
reading it. For example, reading a telephone directory to find a telephone number and reading a legal
contract to ensure its fairness require different approaches. Reading information sources for an
assignment requires yet another approach.

For the purposes of this module, we will outline the following reading techniques: pre-reading, speed
(rapid) reading, skim reading (skimming), scanning, key reading and study reading (close reading for
comprehension) (adapted from Behrens, Olën & Machet 1999:229-230; Geyer 2009:7-11, 114-119).

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In the following subsections we will examine each of these reading techniques.

3.2.1 Pre-reading

Pre-reading a piece of text will provide you with a framework for the main ideas pertaining to your subject
of study. You should use pre-reading when your aim is to see whether a piece of writing is going to be of
value to you and whether you need to delve into it in more detail.

It works as follows: From any piece of written or printed material (your study guide, prescribed work or
any other study material) that you believe has the potential to fulfil your information needs, read only the
title, author, introduction and the topic sentences of each paragraph. (A topic sentence is the sentence in
a paragraph – usually the first sentence – that gives the main idea or topic that the rest of the paragraph
will deal with). Finally, read the concluding paragraph for a summary of the piece of writing you are
considering.

Activity 3.2

Pre-read the article in Annexure 1, entitled ‘How severe is the drought?’, with the aim of extracting the
main idea. From the following options, what would you consider to be the main idea of the article?

 the drought
 the rainfall data
 Cape Town weather

3.2.2 Speed (rapid) reading

Speed reading is a fast way of reading in which you do not skip anything, but you also do not stop to look
up words you may not understand or go over difficult sections. You read the text through quickly to get
an overview. Speed reading is a good technique to get a general overview of what is covered in the text
and to get background information that will help you to understand the topic better. When required, you
can read the text again. Speed reading helps you to decide whether it is necessary to study the text in
more detail. Having grasped the main idea from pre-reading, turn back to the passage and read it
completely – in its entirety – as rapidly/quickly as you can.

Speed reading can be done with any one (or more) of the following aims in mind:

 to gain a preliminary understanding of a text

 to get a general overview of the text
 to find background information on the topic that you are studying
 to expand your general knowledge
 to determine if a piece of text is useful to your purposes

Activity 3.3

You have an assignment that requires you to discuss the water crisis in the Cape Town region. In your
answer, you have to list the causes of the crisis and identify the measures taken to combat it. Speed-
read the article in Annexure 1, entitled ‘How severe is the drought?’

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Now answer the following questions:

 What is this article about?

 Will this article provide background information for my assignment?
 Will this article expand my general knowledge of the topic?
 Will I use this article for my assignment?

3.2.3 Skim reading (skimming)

We skim (skim-read) in order to get a general idea of the text or material in front of us. When you skim,
your eyes move quickly over the text while you note such things as headings or main ideas. Skimming is
reading quickly in order to get the main idea. In this case, you are not scanning, because you do not
know exactly what to look for. Instead, you are reading in order to discover the "bigger picture" and to
understand what the text is about generally. You therefore read selectively and leave out some parts of
the text deliberately. You look for important ideas and skip less important material. Skimming is a good
technique to use to

 get the general idea of a text before you read it more thoroughly
 see whether a text is relevant for your purposes
 check if the text has the information you are looking for
 review material already read

Skim reading is performed by

 looking at the title and subtitles in a text

 identifying boldface type
 reading the first paragraph and the last paragraph
 reading the first sentence of each paragraph
 studying the diagrams and other illustrations in a piece of text

Activity 3.4

Skim-read the article in Annexure 1, entitled ‘How severe is the drought?’ Note the title and subtitle.
Read the first paragraph and the last paragraph. Read the first sentence of each paragraph. Look at the
graphics in the article. As you perform these actions, write down a few keywords that stand out from the
parts that you have read.

3.2.4 Scanning

Scanning is the quickest and most ‘surface’ type of reading there is. It is a form of reading where you
move your eyes quickly over the page. We scan text when we already know what we are looking for. For
example, when you are looking for a telephone number in a telephone directory, you will flip the pages
rapidly to the relevant letter of the alphabet and run your finger down the list of entries until you spot the
one you are looking for. Another example is where you look for the name of somebody in a text. You
scan by, for example, looking for capital letters and looking only for that name or particular piece of
information. Scanning is a good technique to use

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  to go through quantities of information quickly when you want a specific piece of information,
such as a name or a number
 to find keywords
 to find short sections of information, such as definitions

In other words, scan reading is performed by looking for the following elements in the text:

 capital letters
 names
 numbers
 keywords

This technique involves speed reading across the page with the aim of extracting the basic framework
from your study material.

Activity 3.5

Scan the article in Annexure 1, entitled ’How severe is the drought?’, to see if you can identify the
following keywords within one minute:

 drought
 rainfall data
 stations
 South African Weather Service
 SAWS data

3.2.5 Key reading

This reading technique is similar to skimming and scanning and involves skipping unimportant words in a
piece of writing, such as ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘and’, ‘an’, ‘or’, ‘to’. In key reading, your aim is to locate/identify – as
quickly as possible – the words and phrases that contain the ideas and information you need for the
purpose of your field of study.

Example

The unimportant words have been skipped in the following news item:

Unusual car accident, argument — left, right? Both attempted steer, car went straight ahead — mounted
pavement through double doors, public bar, hotel. Waitron rose occasion successfully — had thrown out.

The basic meaning of this key reading example is as follows:

An unusual car accident occurred as a result of an argument between the learner driver of a car and her
boyfriend, who was supervising her driving. As they were approaching a T-junction, they began to argue
about which way to turn – left or right. The girl wanted to turn left, her boyfriend right. They both
attempted to steer the car in their preferred direction, but the car went straight ahead, mounted the
pavement and passed through the double doors of the public bar of a hotel. The waitron had them both
thrown out.

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Activity 3.6

Rewrite the following paragraph from the article in Annexure 1, entitled ‘How severe is the drought?’, and
see if you can identify and leave out all the unimportant words.

The DWS data do not span further back. But data from other sources do. The rainfall data from
the South African Weather Service (SAWS) for some stations in the Western Cape go as far back
as the late 1800s. Unfortunately, there isn’t any overlap between the DWS and SAWS rain
stations, so we cannot simply extend the record of the four stations used above. We need to
repeat the analyses on the entire SAWS dataset. If available SAWS data are screened in a
similar manner as the DWS data were (i.e. for continuity and consistency of record), we get five
stations with data covering the period 1933 to 2017. Only three are located in the WCWSS dam
region: Vrugbaar, Rustfontein and Nuweberg.

3.2.6 Study reading

Study reading, also referred to as close reading, is the reading technique that you will mostly use when
studying. It involves intense, concentrated and critical reading with the purpose of understanding and
remembering what you have read. When you are study reading, you will obviously read at a slower rate
than usual because your aim is to understand and remember the information content. Study reading
requires an in-depth approach to a passage, article or book and it often requires you to read a piece of
text more than once. It requires paying attention to detail and consciously considering the elements of
the text being read. Study reading is a good technique to use for

 material that you want to understand and absorb

 material that you want to evaluate carefully (e.g. check whether you agree or disagree with an
author, whether information is missing or whether it is logical)

There are a number of techniques that you can use in order to remember what you are reading. The
following may be regarded as effective approaches to study reading:

 Skim the text to get the main points. You should be able to answer the question: What is the text
about?
 Identify the topic pattern in each paragraph.
 Read the text a second time. Pay more attention to the detail of the text. If you still feel that you
have not understood the text, read it a third time.
 Underline the keywords and phrases. Try to keep these to a minimum. Identify only those words
or phrases that are essential to the meaning of the passage.
 Use a dictionary to obtain the meaning of all the words that you do not understand, as well as the
technical or jargon words in the passage.
 Draw a flowchart or diagram of the information in the text, if this will help you to understand or
remember it better.

When you are study reading, you should ask yourself the following questions:

 What is the general topic?

 What is the author’s main point?
 Do I agree with what the author is saying?

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  Why do I agree or disagree with the author?
 Does the author seem biased?
 Do I have any knowledge that could challenge the author’s ideas?
 Does there appear to be information missing?
 Can I relate (link) this information to my existing knowledge (prior knowledge)?

3.2.7 Practical suggestions to ensure efficient reading

Because reading is such a critical step in organising your assignment information, you need to practise
the different reading techniques as often as possible. Remember, your goal in reading is to determine
which information is usable and relevant to the assignment topic. It is therefore important to read as
critically as possible in order to ensure that you do not waste time on irrelevant information or miss
important information.

You may find the following practical guidelines useful to ensure that you read critically and selectively:

 Read only information sources that are relevant to the assignment topic.
 Read each information source selectively; do not read every source from cover to cover – rather
read the sections and paragraphs that relate to your topic.
 Think as you read. Ask yourself what it is that you are reading and how it relates to your topic.
 Read with curiosity: make the reading an act of exploration. Remember, you want to learn more
about the topic of your information task and each source holds a potential answer to your
problem.
 Use your hand and your eyes while you are reading: underline keywords and important passages
while reading, or write notes for yourself in the margins.

Activity 3.7

Study-read the article in Annexure 1, entitled ‘How severe is the drought?’, and then try to answer the
following questions:

 What is the general topic?

 What is the author's main point?
 Do I agree with what the author is saying?
 Why do I agree or disagree with the author?
 Does the author seem biased?
 Do I have any knowledge that could challenge the author’s ideas?
 Does there appear to be information missing?
 Can I relate (link) this information to my existing knowledge (prior knowledge)?

The purpose of reading is to gain comprehension. In the next subsection we briefly examine what it
means to comprehend what we are reading.

3.2.8 Comprehension

‘Comprehension’ is defined as the ability to understand what you see, read and hear (Schwikkardt
2013:27). During your studies and in the world of work, you will constantly have to respond to the content
of documents – either formally or informally – and, therefore, you will have to understand (comprehend)

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them. For example, you receive a ten-page report on emerging markets for your company's products.
Your manager or supervisor does not have time to go through the report and he/she calls you in for
some questions and answers. He/she may ask questions involving who, what, when, why and how.
When your information task is an academic assignment, you have to comprehend (understand) the
content of the information sources you read. Again, you have to be able to answer questions such as
who, what, when, why and how.

For these reasons, comprehension tests are often set as examination questions, since it is important to
test your ability to read, digest, evaluate and recall information.

A comprehension test assesses your ability to

 understand the main topic or theme of the passage

 understand certain words, terms or phrases
 understand how the language used in the passage conveys the meaning of the passage
 understand questions and follow instructions
 write answers that demonstrate an understanding of the passage
 write clear answers in an appropriately formal style

Activity 3.8

Test your comprehension of the article in Annexure 1, entitled ‘How severe is the drought?’, by
answering the following questions:

 List at least five causes of the water crisis in Cape Town.

 Why is it important to distinguish between a severe drought and a mild drought?
 Why is it not enough to look only at data of the last 36 years?
 What measures did the author take to make sure the data he analysed were accurate?
 Why is the drought considered to be less severe at the coastal plains than in Cape Town itself?

How easy/difficult did you find it to answer these questions? What type of reading technique is required
to answer a comprehension test?

You should practise your reading and comprehension skills as much as possible. When you retrieve
information sources for an assignment, it is important to apply the appropriate reading techniques to
evaluate the value of the sources efficiently. Comprehension is important in using the information and
integrating it with your existing knowledge. As we proceed with this module and discuss information
sources in more detail, we will also explain how you should read and evaluate these sources.

3.3 NOTE-TAKING

Note-taking is a crucial academic skill and a key component in the process of study reading and active
learning. When you take notes, you are basically thinking about the main ideas and selecting the most
important information in a piece of text. If you have underlined the topic sentences in each paragraph,
taking notes should be a relatively easy process.

Note-taking is an important part of studying and study reading in that writing is a tool for understanding
and thinking and study reading requires you to think about the information content and to really absorb

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what you have read. “When you read something and then rewrite it in your own words, you make it your
own. You now understand it. You are fitting that text into your existing knowledge base” (Behrens, Olën
& Machet 1999:234).

When you write notes, you should try to use your own words; avoid copying the words directly from the
information source(s). In this way you will make sure that you understand the content of information
sources and that you have actually made the information your own. It is also important to include your
own comments, interpretations and ideas in your notes.

The purpose of note-taking is to

 create a record for short-term storage and later use of information

 record important points, regardless of later use
 act as a brief reminder of important information
 serve as the basis for extensive new notes or broader reading
 support the reading and learning process

Note-taking supports the academic process (learning process) in the following ways:

Interacting with the text: When you are taking notes, you are extracting key points and
writing them down – in a way that makes sense to you. In this way
you are interacting with the text and you are actively part of the
reading and learning process.

Maintaining concentration: The interaction with the text keeps you focused; it keeps your mind
from drifting off. In other words, it helps you to maintain
concentration.

Absorbing key points: By taking notes, you are absorbing the key points that you have
identified.

Learning at a deeper level: Taking notes helps you to understand the information content of the
text better; to remember more; to understand better – In other
words, it helps you to learn at a deeper level than when you are
passively reading (Cameron 2008:94).

3.3.1 Methods of taking notes

You may use one of the following methods for taking notes:

 underlining and highlighting

 summarising
 compiling margin text
 outlining
 diagrammatic notes
(adapted from Machet 1999:234-243; Cameron 2008:93-98)

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a) Underlining and highlighting

Underlining and highlighting, which are the most common methods of note-taking, basically involve the
following actions:

 Reading the text and then underlining selected text. Do not underline or highlight while you are
reading the text.
 Keeping underlining and highlighting to a minimum. Underline or highlight major general ideas
and important facts only.
 Not underlining or highlighting entire sentences. Underline only enough text that it makes sense
to you when you reread it.
When you use underlining and highlighting, make sure that you do so only on your own copies of
materials. You should never do this with library books, journals or materials borrowed from somebody
else. You can, of course, also read some materials in electronic format and some electronic readers (i.e.
reading applications or software) have tools that enable underlining and highlighting.

b) Summarising

A summary can be regarded as a brief statement of the main ideas and concepts in a text. The purpose
of a summary is to reduce a large amount of information to a condensed form that reflects the most
important points only.

Behrens, Olen & Machet (1999:238) make the following suggestions for writing summaries:

 Identify the main point and write a statement that expresses the main point.
 Identify the most important information that supports or explains the main point and include that
in the summary.
 Include definitions of the key concepts in the text.
 Keep your summary brief, objective and factual.

c) Compiling margin text

In order to compile margin text, you need to follow the steps below:

 Read the text by using the study reading technique.

 Underline or highlight the information that you regard as important.
 Use the underlined sections to write margin text.

Margin text should be as cryptic (brief) as possible and should consist of keywords or key phrases only.
Margin text makes it possible for you to recap the content of a piece of text at a later stage, without
rereading the entire text.

d) Outlining

Outlining can be regarded as a type of ‘mapping’ in which you organise a text in a shortened format. In
an outline, you indicate important information, as well as the relationships (connections) between ideas.
The best way to compile an outline is to ‘label’ the different levels of information, such as by numbering
the levels consistently. Behrens, Olën & Machet (1999:241) give the following example of an outline.
(Note how the outline reflects the different levels of information).

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Example: Outline for the topic: the case for and against the death penalty

1. CASE FOR THE DEATH PENALTY

1.1 Justice is done
1.1.1 Sets an example
1.1.2 Family of victim feels that the perpetrator pays for crime
1.2 Acts as a deterrent
1.2.1 People contemplating violent crime should be deterred
2. CASE AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
2.1 The death penalty is inhumane
2.1.1 Death penalty dehumanises people who have to apply it

e) Diagrammatic notes

Diagrams are very effective for taking notes – particularly for the graphic representation of relationships
between ideas and for indicating levels. The mind map, in particular, is suitable for taking notes on a text
in which there is a main topic that can be divided and subdivided. In learning unit 2 we introduced mind
maps as a technique for establishing what the information task is about.

The mind map has the following advantages:

 The mind map provides an overview of a large piece of work.

 It enables you to collect and present a large piece of work or text.
 A mind map enables you to create routes of information and to make choices.
 A mind map defines and (visually) represents hierarchies and categories.
 A mind map helps you to explore creative possibilities and to plan creatively.
 Mind maps encourage problem-solving by exploring alternative pathways.
 Mind maps allow you to see the whole picture and the detail at the same time.
 You can ‘read’ a mind map at a glance.

Drawing up a mind map basically involves the following steps:

 Identify the main idea in the information that you are studying.
 Write down the main idea and encircle it.
 Draw lines that radiate out from the main idea (main topic) in different directions.
 At the end of each new line, draw more circles and insert a subdivision of the main idea in each
new circle.
 Repeat this process until you have covered all the divisions and subdivisions of the main idea.

Watch the following video entitled ‘How to mind map’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLWV0XN7K1g

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Figure 3.1 shows an example of a mind map.

Figure 3.1: Example of a mind map

(Source: Robinson 2008)

There are numerous computer programs (applications) available for drawing mind maps, which many
students find useful. Examples include

 Microsoft® Office PowerPoint

 Freemind (http://freemind.en.softonic.com)
 Mindomo (http://www.mindomo.com)

Computer-drawn maps look much neater, but they may be less memorable. When you want to
experiment with mind maps, start by using pen and paper.

Activity 3.9

Read the article in Annexure 1, entitled ‘How severe is the drought?’, by using the study reading
technique. Underline or highlight the major general ideas or important facts in the text. Make brief notes
(margin text) in the margin next to the text. Make sure that the notes reflect your interpretation and
understanding of the text. Use a piece of paper and a pen and draw a mind map to represent the content
of the article. Use your margin text and mind map to write a brief summary of the text. Make sure that

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your summary is brief (cryptic), objective and factual and that it reflects the main points of the information
content and the text.

Practise the techniques of note-taking on any other articles that you read, such as newspaper and
magazine articles, sections from textbooks and academic journal articles.

3.4 TOOLS AND RESOURCES FOR THE INFORMATION TASK

We use the term ‘tools’ to refer to any devices that will help you to access information and complete the
information task. Nowadays, there are many ICT-type tools available to assist in information work. Some
include hardware, such as computers and smartphones, and others are applications (i.e. software).
Some provide direct access to information sources and others are communication tools that can connect
you to providers of information.

It is, however, important to note that you do not always have to use every available tool or resource
when you are working on an information task, such as an assignment. Consider, for example, how a
handyman works: He/she has a toolbox full of useful tools for various tasks, but he/she uses only
specific tools for certain tasks; he/she will use different tools for fixing a leaking tap than for fixing a faulty
electrical wire. In the same manner, you have to decide which tools to use for specific information tasks.
For example, if you know that a colleague has a useful information source, you can send an e-mail or
text a message from your smartphone to request a copy of the source. This will save you from having to
conduct an internet search for the same source.

Keep in mind that a piece of paper or a notebook and a pen/pencil are also useful tools. If you are more
comfortable using these, this is completely acceptable. The purpose of this section of the module is to
familiarise you with available tools and resources for your consideration. Some of these tools are also
used on the myUnisa website, so it is to your advantage to visit your module pages on myUnisa to see
how some of these tools are utilised by the lecturers and how you should participate.

Note that at this point we are not yet discussing the specific information source; our focus here is mostly
on the tools that can help you to access information sources.

3.4.1 Generations and tools

Nowadays, the majority of students at tertiary institutions belong to what is known as ‘Generation Y’ and
‘Generation Z’. Generation Y refers to those people who were born between 1978 and 1990, so their age
in 2018 ranges between 28 and 40. Today‘s Generation Z follows right on their heels and comprises
anyone born in or after 1990, which means that in 2018, they are 28 years old or younger. These
students use laptops, text messaging and smartphones to connect to friends, experts and others in their
community and around the globe (Sieberhagen 2011:25). Students from these generations are
considered to be highly connected via their own devices, such as smartphones, as well as through
computer laboratories and internet access on their campuses. The technologies that they use include
blogs, social networking sites (e.g. Twitter and Facebook), text messaging and instant messaging (e.g.
WhatsApp Messenger, Facebook Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and Google™ Hangouts).

Generation Z is growing up surrounded by technologies and digital devices such as web browsers,
computers, broadband and wireless connections. These high-speed technologies enable them to have
access to a wealth of diverse information and vast digital collections via their smartphones and
computers (Sieberhagen 2011:33).

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Generation Z has been exposed to many high-tech influences, high-speed devices and high-speed
technologies, which allow them to communicate, access information and contribute to content. Electronic
multitasking mostly involves searching the internet for information while simultaneously keeping in touch
with social networking sites, such as Facebook, and keeping up to date by blogging and communicating
via smartphones.

In South Africa, smartphones are one of the preferred modes of access to the internet among students
(Sieberhagen 2011:34). Students use their smartphones for

 searching the internet for information for their assignments

 searching the internet for the meaning of words
 searching financial markets and distributing this information to, for instance, their parents
 searching for lecture notes and other academic information
 downloading course notes from the respective course web pages and transferring this to a
computer
 accessing university library sites, reserving and renewing books and checking if ordered books
have arrived

Note that we are not even mentioning cellphones nowadays, since the term ‘smartphones’ refers to
phones that are microcomputers in themselves and can perform many functions ordinarily associated
with computers.

3.4.2 Mobile learning

Members of Generation Y and Generation Z (as well as older individuals, in many instances) have
access to mobile devices such as smartphones. We live in the era of electronic and mobile learning.
Personal mobile and wireless technologies, such as handheld computers, tablets, smartphones and
personal media players, are now becoming part of education and learning. Mobile learning can take
learning to individuals, communities and countries that were previously too remote for other types of
education provision (Traxler 2011:17).

Mobile devices, systems and technologies also have a direct impact on how knowledge is generated,
transmitted, owned, valued and consumed in the information society. Mobile devices can deliver
information in smaller chunks, but with better navigation possibilities for the user. ‘Navigation’ means the
way in which you find your way through the information sources.

Mobile devices provide added accessibility to resources. Information that could previously be accessed
only by visiting the library, classroom or a location with a computer is now available in your hand,
anywhere and anytime you want it. Mobile devices also facilitate access to internet services and social
networks, which means they increase our exposure to information about most topics. Interpersonal
communication with friends, fellow students, lecturers or total strangers is also facilitated.

At this point it is important to mention that the huge increase in the quantity of information via ICTs, such
as mobile devices, may not be matched by an increase in the quality and value of the information
available. We will discuss these important aspects of information later in this module.

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Activity 3.10

Considering your age, to which generation do you belong? If not Generation Y or Generation Z, do some
internet research to find out what the other generations are and into which category you fall. What is your
preference in terms of ICTs such as mobile devices and computers? Why?

We will now explore some of the most popular ICTs and related tools used to communicate about
information and to complete information tasks.

3.4.3 Electronic mail (e-mail) and mailing lists

E-mail is the most popular communication application of the internet. It is fast, economical and an easy
way of exchanging messages and files. Instead of writing a message, placing it in an envelope and
dropping it in the mailbox, the sender can send the message across the internet to users anywhere in
the world.

Communicating via e-mail can be effective for the discussion of study-related and information task-
related issues. The following is a list of examples of e-mail uses in networking:

 sending single or multiple messages to individuals and groups

 sending and receiving documents, such as text files, spreadsheets and graphics (e.g. sending
articles related to an assignment topic to/from fellow students, lecturers or tutors)
 sending and receiving multimedia files, such as video clips
 broadcasting or updating notices to groups of individuals

Mailing lists are a special utilisation of e-mail for the distribution of information, such as discussions and
announcements to many users. Unlike regular e-mail, where you need the addresses of specific people
or organisations to communicate with them, mailing lists allow you to reach people you do not know, but
who share a common interest in a subject (Hock 2010:137).

Mailing lists can be useful for the following purposes:

 communicating information on topics with colleagues and contacts (existing and potential) from
all over the world
 keeping track of new developments on specific topics
 sharing common interests
 exchanging ideas and opinions pertaining to specific subjects

Some lists provide archives, which are searchable so that you can retrieve older posts about topics
of interest, while others provide an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file, which provides useful
information on the operation of the list.

E-mail and mailing lists can therefore be used as tools to receive and send information sources for
information tasks.

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3.4.4 Groups

Groups include newsgroups and a variety of other channels, variously referred to as ‘discussion groups’,
‘bulletin boards’, ‘message boards’, ‘forums’ and, sometimes, ‘communities’ (Hock 2010:138).

Groups can be found on websites that offer a collection of individual groups and on websites that host
one or more groups relevant to the specific area of interest of that site (Hock 2010:139).

A newsgroup is used to share information on a subject area. Newsgroups are similar to an electronic
bulletin board, where users can post or read messages. ‘Newsgroups’ was the first term to be used for
the application of groups, but these often have little to do with news. Therefore, another more descriptive
term to use is ‘discussion groups’. Often, however, we simply use the term ‘group’ to refer to newsgroups
and discussion groups.

When a person is looking for information on a specific subject and does not know which newsgroups are
available or where to search for them, he/she can use a Usenet searching tool to sort through the maze
of newsgroups. One such tool is Google Groups (http://groups.google.com)

It is important to note that groups are not moderated, which means that nobody checks the information
before it is posted. Therefore, information should be used with caution and has to be evaluated to
determine its value. We discuss the evaluation of information (regardless of the sources) in learning unit
8.

3.4.5 Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

Another useful way of communicating over the internet is by using Internet Relay Chat (IRC), which
allows internet users from all over the world to communicate with one another by typing messages on
their keyboards. The typed words are immediately relayed to participants’ computers throughout the
world and displayed on their screens. Because IRC works in ‘real time’ – meaning immediately – you can
read the words as they are being typed.

Moran and Padro (1997:72-74) state that if e-mail is like sending a letter, IRC is like conducting a
telephone conversation. It is an instantaneous exchange of messages while both the sender and
recipient are online. Multiple users can participate in the conversations.

For more information on IRC, including where to find IRC clients and basic IRC commands, visit the
website ‘Welcome to #irchelp’ at http://www.irchelp.org

3.4.6 Skype (voice-over-internet protocol)

Skype is the leading service that allows audio and video communication (computer-based) ‘video
meetings’ using a microphone and webcam for instant messaging and chats. The communication
between Skype-equipped devices is free. If you want to use other features, for example to send files, you
need to subscribe to those services for a fee. Skype also enables telephone calls between a Skype-
equipped device and a conventional telephone line for a fee. This is a valuable service where traditional
telephone infrastructure is not fully developed. Skype assists people to make contact and keep in touch
with colleagues, peers, customers, mentors and personal contacts around the world.

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3.4.7 Web 2.0

The Web contains not only static content, which is information that we can search and find; nowadays, it
has become a two-way platform. Websites enable people to collaborate, share information and create
new services and content online. We refer to these services as ‘second-generation, interactive internet-
based services’ – also known as Web 2.0 (Laudon & Laudon c2012:300). This term does not refer to an
actual version of the Web, but to the fact that the Web has changed from being mainly a place to go and
find information to being a place that has become much more personalised and interactive.

Dalkir (2011:289) explains that the combination of social networking, blogging, wikis and other related
technologies together define Web 2.0.

A key feature of Web 2.0 sites is that the users contribute to the content. You utilise web services when
you share photos over the internet, post videos to YouTube, create a blog or add a widget to your
Facebook page. Other Web 2.0 examples include eBay (a digital marketplace), Wikipedia (a user-
authored encyclopaedia site), viral marketing and open source software sites. Some Web 2.0 sites
contain RSS feeds, which allow someone to subscribe to a web page and be alerted to changes. RSS is
a way to feed your web pages, blogs, videos, photographs, etc automatically to people who subscribe.

We discuss some of the Web 2.0 applications in the following sections.

3.4.8 Library 2.0

We will discuss the use of libraries in much more detail in learning unit 5, but it is important to refer to
Library 2.0 within the context of Web 2.0. After the development of Web 2.0, libraries responded with the
development of what was known as Library 2.0. Library 2.0 is based on Web 2.0. It is not a specific
library, but more an environment. The focus is on the user as a contributor to the creation of information
and knowledge. In the Library 2.0 environment, library services are constantly updated and re-evaluated
to best serve library users, and users are encouraged to provide feedback and participate.

Some of the main features of Library 2.0 include the following (Bothma et al 2017:41):

 Library 2.0 allows users to tailor library services to meet their specific needs, for example
personalising library web pages.
 Library users can tag, comment on and rate library sources and services.
 Library users can comment, write reviews, create their own tags and share them with other users.
 Library resources are available to the wider Web, retrievable via search engines such as
Google™.

The implication of these features for you, as a library user, is that you are now able to customise the
library services to meet your information needs more effectively.

3.4.9 Social networking

Social networking has rapidly become a part of our everyday living and working. It is the simple act of
expanding the number of people you know by meeting your friends' friends, their friends' friends and

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their friends' friends' friends, and so on. We usually think of social networking in the context of online
social networks where we build and extend our contacts in ‘cyberspace’. It is important to realise that
social networking does not happen only online; face-to-face social interaction should also form an
important part of our work and studies.

Dalkir (2011:288) describes social networks as “dynamic people-to-people networks that represent
relationships between participants”.

From the definition above, we can see that a social network consists of people (individuals) and/or
groups that have a connection based on some common interest. They interact with one another to share
knowledge and information about topics in which they are interested.

Within the context of studying, networking is an activity for making, maintaining and using contacts for
study purposes. These contacts could be fellow students, lecturers and tutors. You often find that you
discover something important related to an issue that you are dealing with from someone you know.

Initially, the more ‘social’ sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, were used for friendship connections
and socialisation. In recent years, however, these sites have expanded and now include not only people,
but organisations, causes, common-interest groups, and so on.

Below we briefly describe a few of the most well-known and popular social networking sites (adapted
from Hock 2012:267-271; Bothma et al 2017:38).

 Facebook (https://www.facebook.com) is a social networking service. Users register before using

the site. After registering, they may create a personal profile, add other users as friends and
exchange messages, text, photographs, videos and more. Users may also join interest groups.
Facebook is probably the most popular social media network at present. It is estimated that in
2017, there were already more than 2.2 billion active users.

 Twitter (https://twitter.com) is a social networking site that provides a quick and easy way to send
very short messages to everyone who has chosen to follow you. It is a way of staying connected
and letting families, friends and colleagues know where you are and what you are busy with. It is
also a means of sharing ideas with colleagues and asking for and receiving advice.

 LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com) is a business-related social networking site. It is mainly used

for professional networking. The content is mostly business-oriented, with members’ profiles
often looking like résumés. The communications and network connections usually relate to
business and work topics. LinkedIn is a valuable resource for identifying individuals in a field or
profession.

 ResearchGate (https://researchgate.net) is aimed at researchers and is intended to improve

accessibility to knowledge about scientific research and make research publications more easily
available.

 Academia.edu (https://www.academia.edu) helps academics to follow the latest research in their

fields. The website allows its users to create a profile, upload their work and select areas of
interest. The user can then browse the networks of people with similar interests.

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  Google+™ (https://plus.google.com) is a social network owned by Google that also allows you to
share text, photographs, videos, etc with individuals and communities.

 Pass It Along (http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/forum.jspa?forumID=1296)

This is a social networking tool developed by IBM. It is used to promote knowledge sharing and
skills development. Pass It Along integrates knowledge management, social networking and Web
2.0 concepts to help users share and apply information (Dalkir 2011:290). Each user can decide
how widely they want their content to be shared and who they would like to collaborate with. You
can learn more about Pass It Along by watching the YouTube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrm3Zdfynko

Sites such as these also play an important role in professional networking and creating work- and study-
related connections.

Activity 3.11

Consider the social networks that you belong to (if any). How do you think you can use these networks to
help you with your information tasks?

Check the above-mentioned examples of social networks, especially those that you are not familiar with
or part of. To what extent do you think you would benefit by joining these networks? Consider specifically
your studies and information tasks.

3.4.10 Blogs

The term ‘blog’ is derived from the term ‘weblog’, which is a personal website. A blog typically contains a
series of chronological entries (from newest to oldest) about specific topics by its author, as well as links
to related news items and web pages. Most blogs allow readers to post comments on the blog entries as
well (Hock 2010:288; Laudon & Laudon c2012:301).

Blogs provide an easy means to gather and distribute news, commentary, advice, and so on. The main
purpose of a blog is to provide a place for short and frequently updated postings (Hock 2010:271).

In the academic world, blogs are created by groups of researchers to exchange information. Much of this
information is automatically archived and, therefore, available for retrieval when required.

Educational blogs are used to facilitate communication between lecturers and students, as well as
among students themselves. Blogs are one of the tools used by myUnisa. Figure 3.2 shows a
screenshot from a blog for a module from myUnisa. It shows the names of the bloggers – in this case,
students who added entries and the dates when these entries were made.

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Figure 3.2: Blog from myUnisa

The screenshot in figure 3.3 shows some of the entries from one of the student's blogging.

Figure 3.3: Entries from a student's blog

The screenshot in figure 3.4 shows a specific blog entry.

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 Figure 3.4: A blog entry

There are a number of sites and blogging tools that you can use to create blogs, for example

 Blogger.com (www.blogger.com)
 WordPress.com (www.wordpress.com)
 Movabletype.com (www.movabletype.com)

Another form of blogging is the use of microblogs. Microblogging is a combination of blogging and text
messaging that allows users to post a short message on their profile. Twitter (http://twitter.com) is a well-
known example of a microblog service.

3.4.11 Wikis

A wiki is a site created and maintained by internet users that allows fast and easy input and online
editing. The term ‘wikiwiki’ is a Hawaiian term meaning ‘quick’ or ‘very fast’. Wikipedia
(http://www.wikipedia.org/) is a well-known example of such a wiki.

Because wikis make information sharing easy, they have many uses. Wikis are easy to write and do not
require knowledge of the techniques needed to create web content. The contributors to wikis have the
freedom to post new or revised material without prior approval. Wikis promote collaboration by
simplifying the process of creating and editing online content. Anyone with access (some wikis are public
and some are private) can add and modify pages as new information becomes available (Bovée & Thill
2012:57).

Bothma et al (2017:37) describe wikis as “the perfect example of the social media concept of user-
generated content and the wisdom of crowds”.

Wikis are good tools if you want information to be updated by as many different people as possible. But,
again, it is important to realise that the information is not always verified for accuracy, and so on.
The screenshots in figures 3.5 and 3.6 show what the wiki tools on myUnisa look like.

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Figure 3.5: Wiki tool on myUnisa

Figure 3.6: Wiki tool on myUnisa

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Activity 3.12

Go to https://www.wikimedia.org/ and explore some of the other wiki sites made available by means of
the Wikipedia Foundation. Which ones would you consider useful tools for an information task?

3.4.12 Podcasts

Podcasts are downloadable audio recordings (broadcasts). As an online equivalent of radio or video
broadcasts, podcasts – or vodcasts, in the case of video podcasts – are now replacing and
supplementing conference calls, training courses and other communication networking activities. The
word ‘podcast’ is derived from Apple's iPod, except that podcasts are definitely not restricted to music.
Many devices are capable of playing the audio or video files associated with podcasts: computers,
PDAs, cellphones/smartphones and many other future-oriented devices still in the pipeline. The
advantage of a podcast is its visual and sound aspects (Botha 2012:48). As an avenue for reaching a
sight-impaired audience, podcasts are a very useful publishing option (Hock 2010:273).

Podcasts allow anyone to create their own talks, interviews, educational or training seminars,
presentations, speeches or music files, which can be distributed worldwide for people to listen to. Some
well-known podcast services include

 iTunes (https://www.aple.com/itunes) – for buying music and downloading audio podcasts

 PodBean (http://www.podbean.com) – a podcast hosting service

Educational institutions also create podcasts that are available to the students registered at their
institution. For example, if the lecturer for a certain module offers a group class discussion or a talk, that
discussion can be recorded and distributed via podcasting so that other students who could not attend
the live session can also listen to it at a later stage. Podcasts are one of the myUnisa tools, so you
should consult your modules for any available podcasts.

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Figure 3.7 shows an example of a myUnisa reference to podcasts for a module.

Figure 3.7: A myUnisa podcast

Activity 3.13

Access myUnisa and the specific modules that you are registered for. Check which tools are used for
each module. Also consult the tutorial letters for further guidance on the use of myUnisa tools.

3.4.13 Social bookmarking

Social bookmarking is a web-based service where people share internet bookmarks. Users store lists of
internet sources that they find useful on a public website and tag them with their own keywords (Bothma
et al 2017:39). Someone with a similar interest can view the links and be alerted to information sources
that may also be of interest to them. Social bookmarking offers services such as reviews, e-mail links,
the creation of groups and social networks, rating, commenting, adding notes and importing and
exporting. According to Bothma et al (2017:39), “social bookmarking is a useful way of collecting sources
to share with others and it opens new ways of organising and categorising resources”.

The following websites are examples of social bookmarking:

 Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com) uses pins as visual bookmarks to allow you to collect and
share what you like on the Web.
 StumbleUpon (http:///www.stumbleupon.com) helps you to discover and share great websites
about topics you are interested in.

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3.4.14 Web-based programs

Web-based programs allow you to create content and communicate it via the Web without using your
own computer programs. Instead of creating a document with your own word- processing program and
sending it as an attachment to others, you can use web-based programs to create documents and share
them with many other people.

We briefly explain two of these programs, namely Google Docs and PBworks (adapted from Hock
2010:266-267):

 GoogleDocs (https://docs.google.com) is a combination of a word processor, spreadsheet,

presentation program, drawing program and HTML forms processor. You can use it to create,
import, export, work with and share documents, spreadsheets, drawings and presentations
online. For example, a number of people can be working with the same document at the same
time and see changes made by others almost instantaneously. You can also decide who may
view the document – whether the whole world or only those to whom you have given permission.
You can also give permission that only certain people may edit a document, although many more
may view it. By utilising GoogleDocs, you have the opportunity to reach many more people – and
potentially valuable contacts – than if you had shared documents only with known contacts.

 PBworks (http://www.pbworks.com) allows anyone to set up a private or public wiki for free.
PBworks can be used for many situations where a number of people need to have collaborative
access to a document. As with GoogleDocs, reading, writing and editing permissions can be
selected.

3.4.15 Social libraries

Social libraries are websites (and not actual libraries) that allow users to keep track of their collections,
such as books, records and DVDs. Users can also share their collections. Users use ratings and
recommendations to evaluate the collections.

Examples include

 LibraryThing (https://www.librarything.com) – This enables you to link up with other readers,

review books, display what you are currently reading and display your library shelves to others
who are interested.
 Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com) – This enables you to build a shelf to display the books
you have read, want to read or are reading.

3.5 CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this learning unit we emphasised the importance of developing your reading and note- taking skills to
assist you in working on the information task effectively. We also explored some of the tools and
resources that you can access and use for information tasks. Some of these tools and resources can be
used in your work environment, as well as for leisure. In other words, you can access these tools and
resources for any information task you encounter in your life.

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Before you proceed with the next learning unit, spend some time practising your reading and note-taking
skills. Take another look at the tools and resources mentioned here and decide for yourself which ones
you think would be most useful for your information tasks.

In the following learning unit we will discuss various information sources.

3.6 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. Why is it important to use appropriate reading and note-taking techniques?

2. Explain the differences between the following reading techniques: pre-reading, speed reading,
skimming, scanning, key reading and study reading.
3. Identify and briefly explain the different methods of note-taking.
4. Why is it necessary to be aware of the different types of resources and tools that are available?
5. What role can e-mail, mailing lists, bulletin boards and interpersonal communication applications
play as tools to access information?
6. How would you utilise blogging as part of an information task?
7. Do you think wikis may be regarded as reliable sources of information? Discuss this critically.
8. How would you utilise social networking as a tool for information retrieval?
9. What advantages does the Library 2.0 environment offer library users?

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Annexure 1
How severe is the drought? An analysis of the latest data

By Piotr Wolski
22 January 2018

The causes of Cape Town’s water crisis are hotly contested. There is a drought, of course. But there are
also other reasons brought up in the public discourse, particularly on social media, such as population and
water demand growth, unreported agricultural use, invasive species sucking out water in catchments, poor
planning and mismanagement of water supply system, and lack of foresight in development of new water
sources. Are these significant contributors to the shortage? It’s very difficult to say without dedicated,
comprehensive analyses. But facts are few, opinions plenty.

Few people question whether there is a drought: what is questioned is its severity. This has important
implications. If the drought has been mild, then it should not have resulted in a major water crisis. If it has
been severe, then it has just been a bad ticket on the climate lottery, and all the other factors would be at
most aggravating factors but not the main cause. The issue is obviously socially tense, creating wedges
between authorities and citizens, between those who institute water restrictions and those who have to
bear the brunt of them.

In this article I look at the most up-to-date rainfall data to assess how severe the current drought is. I have
tried to answer that question before. But that article was based on very limited data, and was carried out
well before 2017’s rainy season had finished. Now I have a more comprehensive dataset, which provides
an opportunity to perform a more robust assessment.

There are a number of stations that measure rainfall in the vicinity of the Western Cape Water Supply
System (WCWSS) dams. Data for them are available from the Department of Water and Sanitation
(DWS) website.

Not all stations in this dataset have good records; there are numerous gaps. It appears that nine stations
have data available for recent years, but four are located in the region of the WCWSS dams, and have no
significant gaps or systematic errors from 1981 through 2017. Those stations are: Vogel Vallij,
Zacharashoek, Theewaterskloof and Kogel Baai.

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This is annual rainfall at these stations for 1981 to 2017:

Note that the year in the above figures is taken to be between November and October. This is because
October is more or less the end of rainy season, and the last month when an increase in dam levels may be
recorded. Also, because at the time of writing this, data are available only till October 2017. Putting the
end of the year in October allows me to use the 2017 data without estimating rainfall in November and
December.

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To make further analyses more robust, instead of analysing data from individual stations, I calculated
their simple average. And to account for the fact that the drought is likely of a multi-year character, I
created plots showing two-, three- and four-year average rainfall:

These plots tell a consistent story: 2017, as well as the preceding two-, three- and four-year average
rainfall in the region are the lowest since 1981. What it means is that the 2017 drought was at least as rare
as once in 36 years.

But looking at the last 36 years is not enough. We know that before that there were droughts in the 1920s
and 1970s. We need to compare the current drought to the old ones. Can we go back further in time?

The DWS data do not span further back. But data from other sources do. The rainfall data from the South
African Weather Service (SAWS) for some stations in the Western Cape go as far back as the late 1800s.
Unfortunately, there isn’t any overlap between the DWS and SAWS rain stations, so we cannot simply
extend the record of the four stations used above. We need to repeat the analyses on the entire SAWS
dataset. If available SAWS data are screened in a similar manner as the DWS data were (i.e. for
continuity and consistency of record), we get five stations with data covering the period 1933 to 2017.
Only three are located in the WCWSS dam region: Vrugbaar, Rustfontein and Nuweberg.

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Similarly to the above analysis, I plot below the mean rainfall for the three stations:

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The figures show that 2017 was the lowest rainfall year since 1933. They also show that the mean rainfall
in the three preceding years, 2015-2017, was unprecedented. However, the two-year mean as well as the
four-year mean leading to 2017, were not the driest.

We can even go back further in time to 1920, but then we can rely on one station only (Vrugbaar). This is
how plots for this station look:

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Again, the 2017 rainfall for that station, and importantly the mean of 3-years prior to 2017 were lower
than in any period experienced by this station since 1920.

Interestingly, if you look at the long-term rainfall data for the stations located near the coast, the situation
is slightly different:

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Here, although relatively bad, 2017 was not – either alone or in combination with preceding years — the
driest on record. But this is not the area where most of our water is supplied from.

So the long-term SAWS data from the WCWSS dams region shows that 2017 and the period 2015 to
2017 were the driest since 1933. This translates into a drought return period of once in 84 years, possibly
rarer. But how rare exactly? The statistical analysis I have done to calculate this are explained in my more
detailed blog version of this article. My findings are that this kind of drought occurs once in 311 years
with a 90% confidence that it falls between 105 and 1,280 years.

This is pretty rare and actually in the same range as the earlier estimates.

Of course, one may question that result in many ways. Are the stations used representative? Perhaps if we
had a different set of observations we would get a different result? Does it make sense to use the average
of several stations in the analysis? Perhaps there are errors in data?

I think this dataset is robust. I have taken care in the preparation of the dataset to find continuous, long-
term data. Using averages of several stations reduces the chance that data errors affect the result.

The drought, as manifested by rainfall in the region of WCWSS dams, is indeed very rare, and very
severe. Importantly, the analyses reveal that the drought was likely less severe in the coastal plains and in
Cape Town itself. A possible reason for that might be a weaker penetration of cold fronts that bring
winter rainfall to the region into the higher and distant inland regions.

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Before I conclude this story – one more figure to think about:

This figure shows a trend in rainfall in the WCWSS region over the last 84 years. That trend is towards
lower rainfall and it has a relatively strong magnitude – 17mm per ten years. It is barely statistically
significant, though. The important thing is that this trend may be an expression of human-caused climate
change, and may be affecting the magnitude of droughts. Simply, if that trend was not there, the 2017
drought would likely be less severe.

In summary – the analyses presented above, based on the best rainfall data available at this time, show
that the drought, manifested through low rainfall in 2015 to 2017, was very rare and severe.

Acknowledgements to SAWS and DWS for data, and Chris Jack and Stefaan Conradie (both
CSAG/UCT) for valuable discussions.

(Source: Wolski, P. 2018. GroundUp. https://www.groundup.org.za/article/how-severe-drought-detailed-

look-data/ )

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LEARNING UNIT 4

INFORMATION SOURCES

4.1 INTRODUCTION

At this point you have learnt how to plan the information task and prepare for information retrieval. We
now move on to the second phase of the work plan of the information task, namely the retrieval phase.
We start specifically with the first step of this phase, namely locating relevant information sources, which
includes the identification and retrieval of sources.

In this learning unit you will learn about the most commonly used information sources. Most of these
sources are available in or via libraries. Some, particularly reference sources, are used so regularly that
they are kept easily available at the information desk or in a separate reference collection. Many of these
reference sources, for example dictionaries and encyclopaedias, are probably well known to you. You
may even have some of them at home.

We will study books, periodicals (journals, magazines and newspapers), some of the best-known ready
reference sources, other sources (conference proceedings, geographic sources, government
publications, theses and dissertations, reports, etc), databases and open access sources. We will also
look at bibliographic, indexing and abstracting sources.

Bibliographic, indexing and abstracting sources are also reference sources, but they serve as indirect
reference sources since they refer you to the direct sources, such as books and articles, from where you
retrieve the actual information.

Please note that the library catalogue, also often referred to as the bibliographic database or OPAC, is
also an indirect source of information. In contrast, reference sources such as dictionaries and
encyclopaedias are direct sources of information where you access the information you need from the
reference source itself. We will explore the use of the library further in learning unit 5.

If you are a regular library user, you may find much of the content of this learning unit familiar. However,
you may learn some new techniques about consulting reference sources, or discover new categories
that you have not yet used.

Activity 4.1

If you are a regular library user, consider the information sources of the library you visit most frequently.
How many types of information sources can you distinguish and list? If you are not a regular library user
and find this activity difficult to do, you will need to pay extra attention to the content of this learning unit.

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit, you should be able to

 explain the purpose of a reference source

 distinguish between the different types of information sources
 establish the scope and purpose of a specific information source
 find information in an information source
 explain the difference between direct and indirect reference sources
 distinguish between different types of bibliographies
 identify retrieval aids for periodical articles
 distinguish between indexing and abstracting sources
 use references from indexing and abstracting sources to find articles in periodicals

KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts that we will use in this learning unit are

 almanac
 atlas
 bibliography
 dictionary
 directory
 encyclopaedia
 format
 handbook
 index
 indigenous knowledge
 journal
 periodical
 open access
 yearbook

4.2 INFORMATION SOURCES

“Information sources are the various means by which information is recorded for use by an individual or
organization. These are means by which a person is informed about something or knowledge is provided
or shared with someone, a group of people or an organization” (Ajuwon n.d.).

Basically, an information source contains potential useful information to assist in completing an

information task such as an assignment. Examples of information sources are numerous and some of
the most well-known sources are books, periodical articles, multimedia and web pages.

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4.2.1 Information types

Information and knowledge can be divided into types, for example

 fact vs opinion
 objective vs subjective information
 primary vs secondary vs tertiary information
 formal vs informal information
 popular vs scholarly vs trade information
 quantitative vs qualitative information
 structured vs unstructured information
 explicit vs tacit knowledge

We can summarise the most common characteristics as follows (adapted from Botha 2012:23-25):

Fact: A fact is a piece of information about circumstances that exist or

events that have occurred and of which its truth can be proven.
Facts use concrete language and specific details. Information
must be accurate, clear, convincing and ethical.

Opinion: An opinion is a personal belief or judgement that is not founded

on proof or certainty.

Objective information: Objective information is factual and has the ability to

acknowledge all sides of an issue. The information content must
be free from emotion and presented in fair and logical
arguments.

Subjective Subjective information forms the basis for opinions,

information: assumptions, judgements, rumours and suspicions, and does
not represent all views. It takes place within a person’s mind and
is modified by individual bias.

Primary information: A primary information source provides first-hand information

about an event or subject. It presents information in its original
form, which is not interpreted, condensed or evaluated by other
writers. It is created by the person who directly experienced the
event. Examples are correspondence and diaries,
autobiographies, audio and video recordings, speeches,
interviews, photographs, sheet music, poetry, visual art, posters,
newspaper reports, laws and legislative hearings, census or
demographic records, theses, patents, and plant and animal
specimens.

Secondary A secondary information source is published sometime after an

information: event. It contains information that has been selected,
interpreted, rearranged, commented on, analysed and
processed. It is an account written after the fact, with the benefit

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of hindsight, written by someone who did not have first-hand

experience of the event. Examples include textbooks,
dictionaries, encyclopaedias, interpretive journal articles and
book reviews. Secondary sources are often based on primary
sources.

Tertiary information: Tertiary information sources are works that list primary and
secondary resources in a specific subject area. They index,
organise and compile citations to primary and secondary
sources and show how secondary (and sometimes primary)
sources could be used. Examples include almanacs, directories,
population registers/statistics, fact books, abstracts, indexes,
bibliographies, chronologies, classifications, handbooks, guide
books and manuals.

Formal information: Formal information is disseminated in a consistent manner, for

example through company reports that use the same format.
The information is official, authoritative, accurate and relevant. It
is usually carefully prepared and presented in written form. A
formal information system relies on procedures for the
collecting, storing, processing and accessing of data in order to
obtain information.

Informal information: Informal information is less official and more casual. It is less
formally presented and often less reliable. Informal information
often takes place by word of mouth and e-mails between
colleagues. It is flexible, since there is freedom in the way the
information is structured and presented.

Popular information: Popular information contains facts and opinions. It is written by

professional authors and edited. It is aimed at a general
audience. The aim is to inform the general public while making
money from publication. It is published at a regular frequency,
for example weekly.

Trade information: Trade information includes case studies showing success

results in order to boost sales. It is written from a practical, not
theoretical, angle and is aimed at professionals. It aims to assist
others in the same field, while also making money. It is
published less frequently, for example monthly.

Scholarly information: Scholarly information is created by academics and is peer-

reviewed for content. It contains literature reviews, research
methodology and findings of research projects. The aim is to
advance knowledge and scientific progress. It can take between
months to years to publish an academic document, depending
on the scope of a research project.

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Quantitative ‘Quantitative’ refers to measurement, which is how quantitative
information: information is gathered. Quantitative information is hard, factual
data, such as statistics gathered through surveys, test scores
and numbers. It is not affected by interpretation, opinion or
experiences. Quantitative methods (e.g. experiments,
questionnaires and psychometric tests) provide information that
is easy to analyse statistically and is fairly reliable.

Qualitative Qualitative information comprises narrative reports of

information: experiences and is descriptive in nature. Qualitative information
is gathered with methods that are personal, direct and open-
ended, with minimal constraints on what the answers to the
questions may be. These methods include personal interviews,
case studies, formal focus groups and participant observation.
Explicit knowledge: Explicit knowledge is knowledge that is expressed formally using
a system of symbols or language; it can therefore be easily
captured, stored, communicated and shared. Explicit knowledge
includes published materials such as manuals, policies, rules,
routines, procedures, media reports and databases.

Tacit knowledge: Tacit knowledge resides in the heads (minds) of the knowers
and is unstructured and undocumented. Tacit knowledge is not
tangible – it refers to experiences of reacting to a situation when
many different variables are involved.

It is important to be aware of the different types of information because these characteristics also help to
determine the value of the information for an information task – an aspect that we will discuss further in
learning unit 8.

The types of information can be stored in various physical formats, which we explore in more detail in the
next subsection.

4.2.2 Formats in which information is stored

Information can be stored in many different formats. ‘Format’ refers to the physical entity or the mode in
which the information source exists.

Behrens (2000:5) explains that the storing of information in some form or another is not a modern
invention. It dates back thousands of years, for example the ancient Egyptians engraved hieroglyphics
on papyrus scrolls and temple walls. In Southern Africa, the San (Bushmen) painted pictures on rocks to
describe/record their daily activities, for example how they hunted animals.

Although we now live in a very strong technological age, we are still a visual culture. The most common
method of obtaining information from sources is through our eyes, that is, when we read words and
numbers and look at pictures, illustrations, diagrams, graphs, photographs, films, videos, maps, and so
on. These displays may be in print format (on paper) or in electronic format (on a computer, tablet or
smartphone screen). Another way of accessing information is through audiovisual methods, such as the
soundtrack of a film, a piece of music or voice recordings on a compact disc, as well as computer-

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generated sounds. A less common method of obtaining information is through touch, such as the Braille
system used by the visually impaired.

The following physical formats are the most commonly used for the storage of information (adapted from
Behrens 1996:16-17):

a) Hard copy

‘Hard copy’ refers to print on paper and is still a very popular format. The death of print formats, such as
books, has been predicted with every new communication or entertainment technology developed – the
telegraph, recorded speech, film, television, the internet and e-book readers. Yet print formats are still
thriving. Think of all the shelves of books, magazines and newspapers that you see in many retail stores
and libraries. An advantage of using hard copy is that we use it manually and special equipment is not
required to view the information.

b) Microform

In a microform, the print on paper has been reproduced

photographically by being reduced and stored as
images on a plastic medium, such as a microfiche or
microfilm. Electro-mechanical equipment, such as
microfiche and microfilm readers, are necessary to
read the information stored on microform. Nowadays,
information from hard copy and microform is often
digitised, in other words, preserved in electronic format.
But there are still many older sources of information
that are only available in microform, for example old
newspaper articles. These sources are often studied for
historical research tasks. Microforms are often kept in
libraries that also have the necessary equipment to Figure 4.1: Microfiche reader
read the source. It is also possible to print a copy of the
source if the reader wants to take it away with him or
her.
Source: Liseuse de microfiches
Micron 355 available at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zigazou
76/6309971664/

c) Digital (electronic) format

When a computer is used to store information, the information is converted to electronic impulses that
can be recognised by the computer. The electronic impulses represent characters or numbers, which are
referred to as digital data. The term ‘digital’ refers to the use of numbers. All digital data have the same
underlying structure, namely that of a ‘bit’. A bit is an electronic impulse that can be represented by two
states, ‘on’ or ‘off’, also written as ‘1’ (numerical one) or ‘0’ (zero). In learning unit 1 we defined ‘data’ as
the raw, unprocessed materials in the production of information. In electronic format, digital data are

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information symbolised in such a way that it can be read by a computer. The computer can store or
‘write’ the electronic impulses (data) on a variety of storage devices.

d) Databases

A computer-readable source of information is usually referred to as a database. Databases can be

stored on magnetic tapes, magnetic disks, optical discs and online.

“A database is an organised collection of information which has been stored as electronic impulses. The
electronic impulses are computer-readable, and are referred to as data. A database is thus an
information source in a computer-readable form” (Behrens 2000:28).

To access the information from a database, a computer system is required. The database from which
information is to be obtained could be stored in the same computer system from which the user is
searching, or it could be stored in another computer system that is linked to the user’s computer system
via a network. When a user searches for information in a database, it is referred to as an ‘online search’.
In online searching, there is interaction between the database, the user of the system and the computer
program. In an online search, a search strategy is employed, that is, a combination of the commands
that the user keys in on the computer keyboard. We discuss search strategies further in learning unit 7.

When a database is loaded onto the same computer system from which the search is being conducted,
the database is referred to as an ‘internal’, ‘in-house’ or ‘local’ database. Organisations may host a
number of databases on the organisation's computer systems. When a database is loaded onto another
computer system, which is separated from the computer system from where the search is being done, it
is referred to as a ‘remote’ or an ‘external’ database. Searching external databases occurs via a network
such as the internet. We discuss the internet in more depth in learning unit 6.

In the following sections we explore a variety of information sources that you will usually find in libraries;
nowadays, many can also be accessed online – either directly or via your library.

4.3 BOOKS

Books are probably the best-known information sources. A printed book consists of printed pages and a
cover. Subject-specific books usually contain valuable, basic information on a topic. That is the reason
why your modules will often refer you to textbooks to read as part of your study material.

Although this type of information does not become obsolete very quickly, it is important to keep in mind
that it takes a relatively long time to publish a book. Therefore, by the time the book is available, some of
the information might already be outdated. If you have to prepare for an assignment, it is a good idea to
find your basic information in books on the subject, but to supplement it with newer information from
journals, reports, conference papers and online sources.

Electronic books or e-books are becoming more popular. E-books require special devices or e-readers to
read them. Alternatively, you can download and install apps on your computer or tablet from sellers of e-
books.

E-books offer a variety of digital features that are not available in paper-based books. Bothma et al
(2017:16) mention the following examples:

 a search function to find words and phrases in the book

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 the ability to highlight text in the book

 the possibility of annotating the text of the book (i.e. adding some notes)
 the option to share these highlights and notes with friends and colleagues
 the inclusion of multimedia (e.g. sound, animation and video)

There are several projects that make previously published paper-based books available in digital format
through the internet. Google Books™ (https://books.google.com) digitises the contents of books to make
them searchable. Where the copyright has expired or the publishers have given permission, the text is
made available online. If this is not the case, the site will link you to a library to borrow the book or to a
shop where you can buy the book.

Many people still prefer paper-based books and often mention that it is the feel, the handling and even
the smell of the printed book that they find appealing. It is completely acceptable to prefer paper-based
books and many book stores sell both formats. Many libraries also make books available in both formats.
When the printed copies are out on loan, you at least have the option, as a library member, to access the
e-version.

Activity 4.2

Explore some of the following e-book sellers to see all their available e-book categories:

 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/
 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/
 Takealot.com’s book department: https://www.takealot.com/books

Can you identify some books that may be potentially useful for any of your modules' assignments?

Explore the use of e-readers and e-books with your mobile device by doing the following:

 Find an e-reader app in your mobile device's app store.

 Install the app on your mobile device.
 Search the e-book store for any of your favourite titles or authors. You can also search for some
of your prescribed or recommended textbooks.
 You will notice that there are many free books available. So, if you do not want to spend any
money on e-books at this stage, select some of the free books.
 Download some of the books to your device.
 Read one of these books.
 Experiment with the search, highlight and annotation functions that are available.

You can also access the Unisa Library at

http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library and search the catalogue for book titles. You will
notice that many of the more recent publications are also available in e-format. E-books are indicated
with the following symbol:

Based on your experience, how likely are you to use e-books in future for study and leisure purposes?

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4.4 PERIODICALS

Another type of information source that you should consult for information tasks is a periodical. A
periodical or serial publication is an information source with a continuing title, issued at intervals and
containing several articles. Periodicals can include popular magazines, subject journals and
newspapers.

Periodicals are also valuable sources of information. Periodicals cover a variety of subjects, such as
finance, management, business, commerce, information technology and science, to name but a few.
Periodicals can provide information on new research findings, methods, formulae, discoveries and
inventions, or a fresh perspective on a subject, in a short period of time. Their purpose is to inform and
they often provide information that might not be available elsewhere. In many fields, especially ICT,
medicine, science and technology, economics, politics and statistics, the publication of current
information is essential to those working in the field.

4.4.1 Scientific journals

A subject periodical of a learned or scholarly nature is usually referred to as a ‘scientific journal’. These
journals specialise in specific fields, such as science, technology, economics, history and medicine.
Some journals are more academic in nature and they contain articles that are based on research results.
They have the following important characteristics, which make them valuable information sources:

 Authors are experts in their fields.

 Articles are usually peer-reviewed, that is, experts in the field critically evaluate the article before
it is published to ensure a high standard is maintained.
 Bibliographies and references are included.
 They provide the most recent scientific information currently available.
 Most of the information cannot be found in books yet.
 They are intended for scholarly audiences, such as students, lecturers and researchers.
 They are written in the academic or scientific language (jargon) of the field.
 Graphics, maps, tables and photographs support the text.

Activity 4.3

List at least five subject journals in your field of study. Ask an information librarian at any library to assist
you if you are not familiar with any.

4.4.2 Magazines

Magazines or general journals contain articles of a more popular nature, which cover almost any subject
that might interest its readers. These magazines aim to entertain the readers, sell products and/or
promote certain viewpoints. They usually include numerous graphics and photographs. They rarely cite
sources. The information is often second- or third-hand and the original sources are obscure. Articles are
short and written in simple language. There is often little academic depth in the content of these articles
and the research has little scientific credibility. You should keep this in mind when you evaluate any
information from these sources. You will find numerous examples in shops and on the magazine shelves

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of libraries. You can also visit ISSUU Inc. at https://issuu.com/ to get an idea of how many magazines
are published around the world.

Many magazines are available online in digital format and, often, the e-version complements the paper-
based version through extra content and multimedia. E-versions can be accessed via the websites of the
publishers or by using special apps on mobile devices.

Activity 4.4

Explore the free versions of Time (http://time.com) and National Geographic

(http://www.nationalgeographic.com) to get an idea of the types of articles and accompanying multimedia
they publish.

Magazine articles are not subjected to the same strict reviewing process as journal articles, so you
should use them cautiously in academic work.

4.4.3 Newspapers

A newspaper is an information source with a continuing title, usually issued daily or weekly, with the
intention of disseminating items of news (Behrens 2000:222). The primary purpose of a newspaper is to
convey the latest news – and various interpretations thereof – as quickly as possible to the public.
Different types of newspapers include general newspapers, local newspapers and specialised
newspapers. Most of the newspapers also have online versions, although the print editions still remain
popular. Because newspapers appear so frequently, there is no certainty of the verification and
evaluation of the information they contain. Often, in the rush to publish the news, untested and unreliable
sources are used. Sensation is also often used as a marketing tool for newspaper sales. Subjective
reporting can also lead to unreliable information. Mass information is generated and it is often difficult to
find specific information in this maze. Online indexing systems, however, enable searching by means of
keywords.

Newspapers, as information sources, are important because of the unique and recent material they
contain. Newspapers are usually the first sources to report to the general public on new advances in
science, technology and medicine, local and world politics, economics and natural and human-related
disasters. Behrens (1996:141) points out that newspapers bring us news that is not only of current
importance, but will still be important in years to come. The most valuable newspapers are those that
cover international and national events in detail. Newspapers often provide the latest statistical
information, for example the interest rates, the levels of dams in the country and the number of people
who have contracted a certain disease in a country during a certain period. Newspapers are also
valuable for retrospective or ‘old’ information because they reflect the spirit of the times as no other
source can. This is of great value for historical research. For example, consider the newspaper reports
about the World Wars and about the release of Nelson Mandela. Newspapers also often contain unique
photographs of an event taken immediately or very shortly after the event.

Activity 4.5

Page through any daily newspaper and see if it contains any articles that you might find useful for an
information task, such as an assignment.

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Periodicals are available in print, microform (especially older issues) and electronic format. Many
periodicals have an online version (website). Electronic journals or e-journals are journals that are
accessed via networked computer systems and the internet. Today, many e-journals are available only
in electronic form, but there are some that also have paper-based equivalents. Owing to copyright
issues, access to full-text articles is often not free and a subscription fee has to be paid to the vendor.

4.5 READY REFERENCE SOURCES

Reference works in general can be subdivided into ready reference works and bibliographic reference
works. Ready reference works contain the actual information, whereas bibliographic reference works,
such as bibliographies, indexes and abstracts, refer the user to sources that contain the actual
information. We discuss bibliographic reference works in section 4.9. The information in ready reference
works has been arranged to make it easily accessible (e.g. the words in a dictionary are arranged in
alphabetical order). Because these types of reference sources are simple to use, they are often referred
to as ‘ready-reference sources’.

Ready reference sources are usually kept in separate collections in a library and they have the letters
REF or R in their call number. They are there for everybody to use and usually cannot be borrowed or
taken out of the library.

Ready references can provide you with some information for your information task and/or point you to
where you can find the information. Ready reference sources have certain features that make them good
sources of information:

 Indexing. Significant terms are indexed/listed with relevant page numbers. The index usually
appears at the back of the book. You can therefore consult the source quickly, rather than having
to read through it.
 Conciseness. Ready reference works contain brief answers to frequently asked questions.
 Up-to-date. They are usually updated frequently – especially sources in digital format.

Activity 4.6

Visit your local library and ask the librarian to show you their ready reference collection. Take note of the
different sources that are available in the collection. Consider any of your assignments and see if you
can identify some sources in the collection that will be useful information sources.

4.5.1 Dictionaries

A dictionary is a useful information source that provides the correct spelling of words, guidelines on
pronunciation, meanings of words, translations and examples of how to use the words. Similar sources
to dictionaries include glossaries, lexicons, vocabularies and thesauri.

Many dictionaries are available in both hard copy and electronic formats. Examples of dictionaries
include Oxford English dictionary, Greater dictionary of Xhosa, Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse taal,
World book dictionary, Encarta world English dictionary, Multi-language dictionary and phrase book,
OneLook dictionaries, Galaxy and yourDictionary.com.

The content of a language dictionary is arranged alphabetically. Remember that there are 26 letters in
the alphabet when you want to look up a word in a dictionary. If you wanted to look up the word

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‘infrastructure’, you would think about the position of ‘I’ in the alphabet. You know that ‘I’ comes several
letters before ‘n’, which is halfway through the alphabet; therefore, you would open the dictionary a little
before the middle. Then you would look at the guide words at the top of the page, as these words
indicate whether you need to turn back the pages or go forwards. The guide word at the top left-hand
side is the first word on the page and the guide word at the top right-hand side is the last word on the
page. If you see the guide words ‘inflect’ and ‘ingenious’ on the same page, you would know that
‘infrastructure’ would be on this page because it comes after ‘inflect’ but before ‘ingenious’.

There are various types of dictionaries, for example

 language dictionaries, which provide information on the words in a particular language or deal
with the words in two languages (bilingual dictionaries)
 subject dictionaries, which deal with the terminology in a particular subject field
 biographical dictionaries, which contain brief summaries of the lives of famous people

When you write an academic essay, it is not acceptable to use only one information source to define a
term. You therefore have to use another dictionary as well – and preferably a subject dictionary.

Dictionaries are available in print and/or electronic format. Many dictionaries on the internet are
accessible free of charge, but you have to subscribe to others. Some examples of free dictionaries
include

 Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (https://www.merriam-webster.com)

 Cambridge Dictionaries Online (https://dictionary.cambridge.org)
 Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com)
 Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org)

Activity 4.7

Try to answer these questions about using dictionaries:

1. Which section of the dictionary would you turn to if you wanted to check the correct meaning of
‘typology’?

2. To which section would you turn to look up ‘metacognition’?

3. In which section would you find the word ‘discuss’?

4. If the guide words at the top of a page are ‘pry’ and ‘public’, which of the following words would
you expect to find listed on this page?

 pseudonym
 psalm
 publication
 psychic
 provisional

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 5. Consult a number of biographical dictionaries and compile brief notes, in your own words, on the
lives of the following people:

 Nelson Mandela
 Mother Theresa
 Chinua Achebe

4.5.2 Encyclopaedias

Encyclopaedias contain information on all branches of knowledge or they contain extensive information
on a limited subject field. The information is usually arranged alphabetically. An encyclopaedia is often
the first reference source that we consult to get an overview of a subject. An authoritative, up-to-date
encyclopaedia normally provides enough information for everyday purposes. The information is usually
in the form of in-depth written articles. These articles are arranged alphabetically or according to subject.
Many encyclopaedias provide a short bibliography of books and journal articles at the end of each
article. Online versions usually provide links to these sources. These sources can provide further
information on the subject. Information in encyclopaedias must be up to date, especially in fields such as
science and technology. Encyclopaedias have to be revised regularly and it is important to check the
date of publication and see whether the word ‘'revised’ appears after the date. Encyclopaedias in digital
format are easier to update than paper-based versions.

Most encyclopaedias are available in digital format, either directly through the internet or through CD
with links to more complete and updated information on the internet. Encyclopaedias usually require a
subscription fee to access them, but there are also several good encyclopaedias available on the
internet free of charge. If you have to access an encyclopaedia that requires a subscription fee, ask a
librarian at the institution where you study (e.g. the Unisa Library) to assist you. Many of these libraries
subscribe to the online versions, so as a registered student, you will be granted access via the library.

Encyclopaedias in electronic format (CD and online) incorporate multimedia (images, video and sound)
to enhance the presentation of the content. Examples of encyclopaedias include New encyclopaedia
Britannica, Encarta multimedia encyclopaedia, World book encyclopaedia, Encyclopedia.com,
HowStuffWorks and Wikipedia.

When we think of encyclopaedias, most of us probably think of the Encyclopaedia Britannica or the
World Book. These are the best-known encyclopaedia titles in printed form. Each title comes in a
number of volumes and they cover all subjects. Both are also available on CD-ROM and on the internet.
These general encyclopaedias are indeed the most useful sources for general information searches.
However, there are other types of encyclopaedia, such as subject encyclopaedias, which specialise in
one particular subject.

A very popular encyclopaedia, which is available on CD and the internet, is Encarta. However, you have
to be a subscribed member to search this encyclopaedia. If your library subscribes to Encarta, you
should be able to use it.

Once you have determined the meaning of the words in an assignment topic by means of general and
subject dictionaries, you can consult a relevant encyclopaedia for an overview of the assignment topic.

Activity 4.8

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Consult the index of an encyclopaedia such as World Book and give an indication of the volume and
page number on which you will find information on the following topics:

 pollution
 drugs
 conservation

4.5.3 Directories

A directory provides a systematic list of persons, organisations or services falling within a particular
parameter, such as a geographic area or type of service (Behrens 2000:253).

Directories are used to ascertain telephone numbers, addresses, names of persons and organisations,
and details about services relating to these organisations and the services they provide.

 The most well-known directory is the telephone directory, which provides the telephone numbers
and addresses of persons and organisations in a particular geographical area.

 Organisational directories list only organisations, as opposed to a combination of organisations

and individuals, in the case of telephone directories. An example is Prodder: the Southern African
development directory.

 Commercial directories usually contain a large amount of advertising material and organisations
pay to have their names listed. Commercial directories focus on organisations active in the trade
and business sectors, such as manufacturers, companies, industries and other corporations.
Examples include the directories published by Braby's.

 Government directories list departments, officials, services and activities relating to general,
provincial or local governments, for example National departments, which lists all the South
African government departments alphabetically.

 Institutional directories list institutions such as schools, colleges, universities, libraries and
hospitals. World of learning is an example of an institutional directory associated with learning.

 Professional directories list persons and organisations related to a particular profession, such as
law, engineering, medicine and education. These directories may be national or international in
coverage. Examples are Register of medical practitioners, interns and dentists for the Republic of
South Africa, Directory of South African publishers and Women in research.

Another type of directory that is found in the internet environment is web directories. These directories
assist in searching for information via the internet. We will discuss them further in learning unit 6.

4.5.4 Yearbooks and almanacs

A yearbook (also called an annual) records the activities of a particular year. It relates to a specific
subject or may cover many subjects. The scope may be national or international (Behrens 2000:261).

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Yearbooks are consulted to find the most recent information about a country, personality or subject.
Yearbooks may be general or specific as far as subject coverage is concerned. In South Africa, the
South African yearbook provides us with useful information on a yearly basis.

International and national yearbooks concentrate on information relating to various or specific countries
respectively. An international yearbook covers the whole world and all its regions, whereas a national
yearbook is devoted to one country. International and national yearbooks contain information about
countries' physical features, history, political structures and leaders, legislature, economy, tourism, and
so on.

A subject yearbook covers one subject and may contain directory-type information and statistics.

Examples of yearbooks are Statesman's yearbook: the essential political and economic guide to all the
countries of the world and South African yearbook.

In order to update their information, most encyclopaedias publish yearbooks, also known as
encyclopaedia yearbooks. These yearbooks provide us with the following information:

 important events in chronological order

 biographical information on newsmakers of the year
 statistical information
 sports news

An almanac contains a variety of miscellaneous facts and statistical information, presented in brief form,
and is usually published annually (Behrens 2000:260).

Modern-day almanacs are regarded as mini-encyclopaedias, containing current facts and figures on a
variety of subjects. Most almanacs focus on information relating to countries and their officialdom,
general personalities and major news events. They may also contain other information, such as
mathematical formulae, Olympic records and facts and figures that cannot always be found quickly in
other reference sources. Examples of almanacs are Whitaker's almanac and Information please
almanac.

Activity 4.9

Explore the South African yearbook at https://www.gcis.gov.za/content/resourcecentre/sa-info/yearbook

If you had to conduct an assignment on the drought in South Africa, which section of the South African
yearbook would you consult about drought relief during 2016/2017?

4.5.5 Handbooks and manuals

A handbook provides basic information on a specific subject. A manual contains rules, procedures,
methods, policies, etc relating to a specific subject (Behrens 2000:264).

Both handbooks and manuals limit their coverage to a particular subject, but a handbook concentrates
on basic information, whereas a manual concentrates on rules and procedures related to the subject,
that is, how to perform certain tasks. Handbooks contain information that is constant and not subject to
regular change. These sources provide a good overview of a subject field. An example of a publication
that has features of both a handbook and a manual – and is a useful source for businesses in South
Africa – is Business blue-book of South Africa.

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4.5.6 Statistical sources

Statistical sources provide information in the form of numerical facts (Behrens 2000:266).

Statistical sources are important information sources for managers, politicians, researchers,
administrators, businesspeople and decision-makers. Most organisations collect statistics related to the
activities of the organisation and these statistics do not necessarily become available outside the
organisation. These statistics are therefore internal sources of information.

Statistics that are publicly (externally) available are mostly collected by governments, for example a
population census. Statistics collected by governments or research institutions are referred to as primary
statistics. When these primary statistics are adapted and used in other publications, they are called
secondary statistics. Encyclopaedias and yearbooks are examples of information sources that contain
secondary statistics.

Statistical yearbooks may cover one or many different subjects; similarly, they may be confined to one
country or region or be international in scope. Official statistical yearbooks are issued by countries and
international organisations such as UNESCO and the International Labour Office (ILO).

Governments publish many statistical reports, bulletins, surveys, price indexes and yearbooks. In South
Africa, Statistics South Africa is an annual publication with statistics about important facets of South
African life.

For more information on statistical publications on South Africa, consult the following website: Stats SA
at http://www.statssa.gov.za/.

Activity 4.10

What are the key education statistics in South Africa with specific reference to the following:

 youth literacy rate

 adult literacy rate
 tertiary education income covered by tuition fees
 average rise in the cost of education: 2016

4.5.7 Geographical reference sources

Geographical reference sources provide information about the earth, countries and places. The main
types of geographical sources are maps, atlases, street guides, gazetteers, travel guides and field
guides. Examples include Times atlas of the world, Encarta interactive world atlas, Dictionary of southern
African place names, Getaway’s top 10, World travel guide online, Perry-Castañeda Library map
collection, Global gazetteer and World gazetteer.

Atlases are collections of maps and charts. These could be international, national or regional, depending
on the scope of the atlas. We would consult an atlas when we need geographical information. Page
through an atlas in your library or at home to determine what kind of information it contains.

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Maps are flat representations of parts of the surface of the earth. Maps are available in print and digital
form. Examples of maps in digital format are Google™ Maps (https://maps.google.com) and Apple Maps
(https://www.apple.com/ios/maps) These online maps also provide directions from one point to a
destination.

Activity 4.11

To what extent do you think geographical sources are useful for completing assignments? Can you
identify any assignments from the modules for which you are registered which would require you to use
geographical sources?

4.6 OTHER REFERENCE SOURCES

So far we have covered a number of traditional ready reference sources. There are also a number of
other types of reference sources that you may find useful in completing information tasks. We discuss
them briefly here.

4.6.1 Government and official publications

We have already referred to some government publications (yearbooks and statistical sources) in the
previous sections, but there are a number of other government publications that provide valuable
information to organisations and decision-makers.

A government publication is an information source that is published on the authority, and at the expense,
of a government body. Government publications are also known as official publications, official records
and government documents (Behrens 2000:352).

Government publications are important information sources in the country to which they relate, but they
are also used internationally as important reference sources. They are used within governments, but are
also consulted by individual persons and organisations for research purposes and in decision-making
processes. Government publications are primary sources of information and are regarded as
authoritative and objective sources. They are also current and provide the most recent information on
subjects such as health, the military, legislation, agriculture, industry, energy, education and consumer
affairs. They also provide the basis for much of the information that is subsequently included in
secondary reference sources such as directories, maps, encyclopaedias and yearbooks.

Some of the most important South African government publications are

 the Constitution
 Acts
 Bills
 Notices
 White Papers
 Green Papers
 state tenders
 statistical documents
 parliamentary documents (standing orders, order papers, question papers and minutes of
proceedings)

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 debates (Hansard)
 annual reports
 provincial documents
 documents for public comment
 international documents
 reports of commissions and committees of inquiry
 Government Gazettes

South African government publications can be accessed at https://www.gov.za/ by clicking on the

documents link.

Intergovernmental organisations (represented by a number of governments of various countries) also

issue official publications. These publications report on the activities of the organisations in the form of
reports, proceedings and general information sources about the field in which the organisations operate.
Like governments, these organisations collect extensive data and provide detailed information sources.
Intergovernmental organisations include

 the European Economic Community (EEC)

 the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
 the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
 the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
 the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
 the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
 the United Nations (UN)
 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
 the World Bank

4.6.2 Theses and dissertations

Theses and dissertations report on academic research projects undertaken by postgraduate students at
higher education institutions. The research forms part of the requirements for a higher degree. Theses
and dissertations are sources of primary information. They contain the reports of original research,
investigations, surveys and experiments. They provide new information to the existing knowledge in a
subject field. They are therefore the only sources of certain new information.

The NEXUS database system (http://stardata.nrf.ac.za/) records completed and current research
projects in South Africa.

4.6.3 Reports

A report is an account or piece of information about an event or situation. It provides a final written
description of an event or project, or an interim description of the progress made towards the completion
of an event or project (Behrens 2000:379).

Reports are a quick way of transmitting information to those who require it; this contributes to their value
as information sources. Many organisations, such as government departments, industrial and scientific
organisations, businesses, educational and cultural organisations, conduct investigations and research.
They then make the progress and findings of their work available in the form of reports. In many

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instances, reports are made available to the public and other organisations. But some reports contain
information that is confidential in nature, in which case the security of the information is safeguarded –
these are known as classified reports. Many classified reports become publically available once the
nature or security of the information is no longer considered desirable, important or necessary.

Reports are also primary sources of information and provide current information on a subject. Access to
the latest research results is essential in many fields. Scientists, researchers, economists,
businesspeople and many others need to know what research is undertaken in their specific fields and
what new information has been added to the existing knowledge base.

A large amount of the information that is originally issued in reports is eventually republished at a later
stage in more generally and easily accessible sources, such as periodicals and books. But until this
secondary publication of the information occurs, reports remain the only source of certain pieces of
information.

Many organisations use reports to make their activities known to the public. This is often a legal
requirement, where the shareholders of a company have to be kept informed about the activities of the
company and its financial position. In the case of government and semi-government organisations, which
are supported by public funds, the organisations are obliged to make their activities known to the public
that funds them.

Apart from final, interim and classified reports, we can also divide reports into the following categories:

 research and development (R&D) reports, which are interim reports about the current stage of
progress on a project
 technical reports, which provide information of a technical nature
 industrial reports, which provide information on industrial developments
 scientific reports, which provide information of a scientific nature
 law reports, which contain information of a legal nature
 market research reports, which contain information gathered through observation and surveys
 committee and commission reports, which provide information about the investigation of a
particular issue or problem
 annual/monthly reports, which describe the activities of an organisation for a particular period

4.6.4 Conference records

A ‘conference’ is a meeting at which topics related to a particular theme are discussed. Similar and
related terms are ‘congress’, ‘symposium’ and ‘workshop’. Conference records are the information
sources that result from a conference (Behrens 2000:382).

Conferences are held by organisations and focus on a selected theme or subject on which a number of
speakers present talks and papers. Various types of information sources result from a conference, for
example

 announcement notices about the conference and details about the papers to be presented
 programmes with more details about the conference, speakers, their papers, and so on
 preprints of the papers made available before the start of the conference
 transactions or proceedings of the conference, which may also contain the papers
 compilation of the papers – the record of the information that was presented at the conference
(the term ‘symposium’ is also used for such a collection)

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 subsequent publications of papers in the form of journal articles

The value of conference records is that they often also disseminate primary information, that is, if the
papers report on the findings of research that have not appeared anywhere else before. The conference
announcements are also useful because they indicate events at which new information will become
available and play an important part in keeping up with trends and developments in certain fields.

During conferences, additional information is usually also exchanged between delegates and speakers
during question-and-answer sessions, debates and discussions. Other information sources may include
submissions, decisions taken and solutions proposed at the conference. This information is often
included in the transactions or proceedings of the conference.

4.6.5 Patents

A patent is a government licence given to an individual or organisation as the sole right to make, use or
sell an invention for a set period. It is granted to an inventor or someone who has acquired the right to
apply for a patent from the inventor (Behrens 2000:384).

A patent provides an inventor with a form of protection, allowing the profit and advantages of the
invention to accrue to the inventor for the term of the patent. Patents are therefore legal documents that
safeguard specific inventions. Patents can also serve as valuable information sources for other parties in
the commercial, industrial, scientific and technological fields. They contain primary information – usually
technical details – about the invention (patent specification). Researchers and other inventors need to be
aware of inventions in order to avoid duplication. They also use the information to assist them in finding
solutions to problems that they encounter. The information may also serve as an incentive for further
research and inventions.

4.6.6 Standards

A standard is a document that provides rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results
(Behrens 2000:387).

Standards are established when groups of people, committees or organisations reach a consensus and
these are then approved by a recognised body. The purpose of standards is to ensure safety, uniformity
and reliability in manufactured goods, the use of terminology, dimensions, measurements, installations,
services rendered or codes of behaviour. Some of the organisations that approve standards are the
International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
and the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) in South Africa.

The type of information found in standards documents relates to how a product should be manufactured,
measured or tested, or how a service should be provided, etc. Manufacturers, industrialists, service
providers, developers, authors and bibliographers consult standards to ensure that their products or
services meet the set requirements.

4.6.7 Trade literature

Trade literature includes any sources that are made available by an organisation to provide information
about its activities and products, for example house journals, annual reports, catalogues, pamphlets,
booklets and brochures. Trade literature is distributed by mailing and e-mailing the sources to potential

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customers, inserting the literature in periodicals and newspapers, or making it available at retail stores,
trade exhibitions and conferences.

Trade literature is an important source of information in technical fields, where there is strong
competition. It is also very useful for people and organisations that need to know what products or
services are available to assist them in their work.

4.6.8 Archival records

An archival record is a source that has inherent historical and informational value (Behrens 2000:403).

Archival records are primary sources of information and relate to individuals or the activities of an
organisation. The record is preserved in a collection, namely an archive. Most archival records are
official information sources that relate to the activities of a formal organisation, such as a government,
business, institution or society. The records are no longer current, but they have historical value and may
be consulted in the future. They document the development and functions of an organisation, illustrating
its history through its activities. Archival records serve as proof that certain activities did take place and
this record is preserved for possible future reference. They are of value to the parent organisation or
private owners, as well as historians, genealogists, biographers, economists, students, academics and
researchers. They provide information on organisations, individuals, countries and events – both natural,
for example droughts and earthquakes, as well as those resulting from human actions, such as
constitutional changes.

So far we have looked at some of the typical reference sources that you might consult when you have to
complete an information task. These sources often require access via libraries or subscription fees. We
will now briefly touch on some alternative sources of information.

4.7 OPEN ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Open access (OA) is when publications are freely available online to all people at no cost and with
limited restrictions regarding reuse. Academic (higher education) institutions are examples of
organisations that produce original research, often published as journal articles and conference papers.
Accessing these sources can be expensive, however, and therefore the content is not always widely
available. Nowadays, however, more and more higher education institutions are hosting their materials in
their own online institutional repositories, which are accessible via the internet. Open educational
resources (OERs) are information resources that are available from academic institutions' repositories.

Open educational resources are not copyrighted by publishers, but the author(s) still hold the rights to
the intellectual content. Therefore, if you use an open educational resource in your assignment or for
research, you must still acknowledge the author(s), otherwise you will be guilty of plagiarism. We will
discuss copyright and plagiarism in more detail in learning unit 9.

Activity 4.12

Visit Unisa's web pages at http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Unisa-Open/Open-Access and

http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Unisa-Open/Finding-OERs These provide lists of open
access sources.

Select any of your assignments from the modules for which you are registered. Then visit an open
access website such as Directory of open access books (https://www.doabooks.org/) and search for an

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information source such as a book that will be applicable to your assignment topic. Access and
download this source.

If you require assistance with accessing open educational resources, ask your librarian to help you.

4.8 INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES

Indigenous knowledge, also known as traditional or local knowledge, refers to the large body of
knowledge and skills that has been developed outside the formal educational system. Focus areas are
agriculture, health care (medicinal practices), food preservation, education, natural resource
management and a host of other activities in rural communities. In local communities in Africa,
especially, there is a rich body of knowledge that has been handed down by word of mouth from
generation to generation. This knowledge has not been documented systematically; it is oral in nature –
usually transmitted through personal communication. As a result, the acquisition, preservation and
dissemination of indigenous knowledge are still being developed. This means that indigenous knowledge
cannot be searched and retrieved in the same way as the more conventional information sources.
However, technology such as digitisation is increasingly being used to capture, preserve and enable
access to indigenous knowledge.

Today, indigenous knowledge is increasingly regarded as a valuable source of information for certain
information tasks, for example tasks related to research on agriculture, climate change in Africa and
medicine. The use of indigenous knowledge is not confined to the community in which it originates, but is
useful to scientists, researchers and planners alike in designing development programmes and
conducting research.

If you ever have to complete an information task that requires indigenous knowledge sources, you will
have to contact those institutions that specialise in the management of indigenous knowledge. It is
important to be aware of the existence and increasing relevance of indigenous knowledge – especially in
today’s context of decolonised education.

4.9 BIBLIOGRAPHIC, INDEXING AND ABSTRACTING SOURCES

Bibliographic, indexing and abstracting sources are indirect reference sources. These indirect reference
sources refer you to other sources where the information can be located. In other words, two sources are
involved: the first provides details of where you can find the information you are looking for; the second
source contains the information. You should actually be familiar with this two-step process because a
library catalogue works on the same principle: you consult the catalogue and the catalogue directs you to
the place on the shelf where a particular book can be found. Reference sources such as dictionaries and
encyclopaedias provide the required information directly, whereas bibliographies, indexing and
abstracting sources provide references to other sources where the required information may be found.

Bibliographies are alphabetical lists of publications and are a tool that you use to find publications. If you
have ever used a list of books or articles recommended for a particular assignment, you have used a
type of bibliography.

In South Africa, the South African National Bibliography (SANB) is a well-known example. The SANB
contains a list with full bibliographic details of all South African publications within a given year. It is a
comprehensive record of South Africa's published documentary heritage and includes monographs,

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pamphlets, government publications, microforms, maps, electronic media, videos, periodicals,
newspapers, published conference proceedings, South African standards and specifications, etc. The
SANB is no longer published in book form, but is available on CD-ROM and as an online database. You
can read more about the SANB at http://www.nlsa.ac.za/index.php/sa-national-bibliography

Bibliographic databases do not contain full-text documents. They contain representations of documents
by means of providing details of the title, author(s), publication details, abstract and keywords. This
information is usually sufficient to decide whether the full-text document will be useful for the information
task. Sometimes there will be a hyperlink to the full text of the document, which makes it easier to
access the document. A library catalogue is a good example of a bibliographic database. We discuss
library catalogues and bibliographic databases in more detail in learning unit 5.

Bibliographical databases can be direct (e.g. full-text databases) or indirect information sources. Indirect
sources refer you to where you can find an information source that is relevant to your information need.
Examples of indirect bibliographic databases are online library catalogues or union catalogues, such as
SACat or WorldCat. A number of libraries have combined their catalogues to help their users find
information that is not available at the user's home library, but can be borrowed from another library.
National bibliographies such as the SANB or indexing databases such as ISAP are also examples of
such databases.

If you find it difficult to use a bibliography or a bibliographical database, remember that you can always
read the introductory pages as they indicate the scope of the work and the types of information sources
that have been included in the bibliography. These pages frequently provide guidelines for how the
bibliography should be used. Also remember that assistance is available at the information desk in a
library: ask the librarian to explain things to you, since librarians have specialist knowledge and skills in
using bibliographies.

Indexing and abstracting sources are mainly used to collect information that has been published in
periodical articles. A library catalogue or bibliography does not usually provide references to articles in
periodicals. You therefore need some other retrieval aid to help you find and access articles in
periodicals and newspapers. Indexing and abstracting sources are major retrieval aids and provide
access to many different periodical titles.

An abstracting source is similar to an indexing source. Both provide full bibliographic details of articles in
journals. The main distinguishing factor is the brief summary of the article that accompanies the
bibliographic description; this summary is also called an ‘abstract’. Nevertheless, both these sources are
used for the same purpose, namely to identify articles in periodicals – and, sometimes, in newspapers.

You should be aware that it is possible to access these retrieval aids by looking up a particular subject or
by using the name of a particular author. You should take note of cross-references, such as ‘see’ and
‘see also’. You should be familiar with the use of subject headings or descriptors if you are going to use
indexing and abstracting journals in printed form successfully. Electronic indexing and abstracting
databases are easier to use because it is possible to search for keywords; additional guidance or help is
also provided on the screen. However, you still need a sound knowledge of search techniques. An
example of an indexing database is the Index of South African Periodicals (ISAP), which is available on
CD-ROM and on subscription via the internet.

Full-text databases, such as Emerald, are direct information sources. These databases include the full
text of a journal article, which you can print at the time of your search. The Unisa Library subscribes to a
number of full-text databases; therefore, as a Unisa student, you will be able to access them.

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We will explain the use of bibliographic, indexing and abstracting sources further in the next learning unit
– which deals with using libraries – since you will normally access these sources via the library.

4.10 CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this learning unit, we familiarised you with some of the most important information sources. If you are
not familiar with some of the information-source categories discussed in this unit, we recommend that
you visit a library to look at them. Most public and community libraries have several examples of various
types of reference sources, while university libraries, such as the Unisa Library, hold hundreds of
different examples. Practical experience in using different reference sources will broaden your
knowledge base considerably and will give you confidence in using the sources in a library. This
confidence is important when you need to locate information for various reasons, especially for writing
assignments.

4.11 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. Distinguish between primary, secondary and tertiary information sources.

2. When you have to complete an information task such as an assignment, would you prefer
objective or subjective information sources? Justify your choice.
3. Explain why books are still considered very important and relevant information sources.
4. Explain why subject journals are important information sources for students and researchers.
5. Give an indication of the most important information types to be found in a newspaper.
6. Discuss the advantages of using information sources such as books and periodicals in electronic
(digital) format.
7. Explain the role of ready reference sources in the process of completing an information task.
8. Explain why conference documentation, reports, theses and dissertations are valuable
information sources.
9. Briefly discuss the role and functions of yearbooks, almanacs, handbooks and manuals.
10. Distinguish between direct and indirect information sources.
11. Study the following assignment topics and give an indication of which reference sources you
would consult to complete them:

 Compile an essay on the life and work of Albert Einstein.

 Identify the essential subdivisions of the study of philosophy.
 Trace the origin of the English word ‘quiddity’.
 List the results of cricket tests played in South Africa during 2017.
 Write a brief definition of ‘mathematics’.
 Trace the political developments at national government level in South Africa from 2017 to
2018.

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LEARNING UNIT 5

USING LIBRARIES

5.1 INTRODUCTION

In this learning unit we continue with the second phase of the work plan of the information task, namely
the retrieving phase, and the first step of that phase, namely locating relevant information sources, which
includes identification and retrieval of sources. In the previous learning unit we identified information
sources and we mentioned that you can access many of these sources via libraries. In this learning unit,
you will learn more about finding information in a library and how to utilise the services and sources
provided by libraries. With this in mind, several activities have been provided for you to practise and
improve your information-finding skills. In this regard, you should know the basics of the Dewey Decimal
Classification system and be able to use a library catalogue.

If you are not familiar with libraries – especially large libraries, such as those attached to universities –
you will come across many new concepts in this learning unit. If you are a regular user of the university
library or a public library, you probably know much of what is covered in this learning unit. However, you
may still be able to pick up some tips and ideas, especially about using an academic library and
consulting the librarian.

Activity 5.1

Read the following statements about finding information. In each case, tick the appropriate column to
show whether you agree or disagree with the statement.

Statement Agree Disagree

I regularly used a school library in the past.

I regularly use a public/community library these days.

I know which collections are usually kept separately in a library.

I can identify a reference source.

I know how much of an information source I am allowed to

photocopy.

I know the 10 main classes of the Dewey Decimal Classification

system.

I understand the function of a call number.

I have used a card catalogue in a library.

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I have used an online public access catalogue (OPAC) in a library.

I understand the function of a bibliographic record.

I understand the purpose of a subject heading.

I know when a citation refers to a book, a periodical article or an

internet site.

If you struggled to complete this activity, you need to work through this learning unit carefully because
you need to expand your knowledge of using a library.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit, you should be able to

 find the information desk in a library

 identify and locate different library collections
 find an information source in the catalogue and on the library shelves
 identify the elements used in a bibliographic record
 use subject headings and keywords to find information sources on specific topics
 access a library via its website
 consult a librarian

KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts that we will use in this learning unit are

 academic library
 bibliographic reference source
 bibliographic record
 call number
 catalogue
 classification system
 home page
 keyword
 portal
 reference sources
 subject heading

5.2 TYPES OF LIBRARIES

Libraries collect and preserve sources of information. They also make these sources available to people
to use and borrow. Many of the sources in libraries are still in physical (i.e. paper) format. But libraries
also provide access to numerous online sources in digital format, such as e-books and e-journals.

There are different types of libraries. If you attended a school that had a library, you may have gone to
the school library to find information for a variety of purposes (e.g. for a school project or assignment; to
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learn more about a specific sport, hobby or career; or to gain information about your legal rights or your
personal problems). If your school did not have a library, you may have used a public or community
library, or a mobile library service, to find information. You might also have consulted someone's
personal library to find information, for example your teacher, parents or someone in the community.

Library types can be defined in terms of the subject matter they contain, the format of the resources or in
terms of who has access to the library (Bothma et al 2017:43). We briefly distinguish the following library
types – perhaps you are familiar with some of them already.

5.2.1 Public and community libraries

Public and community libraries serve cities, towns and local communities. They are funded by local,
provincial and national authorities. Anybody can access a public or community library to use information
sources in the library, but if you want to borrow items, you have to register to join the library. Many
school learners and students make use of the public or community library, regardless of whether they
have access to a school or academic library.

5.2.2 National libraries

National libraries collect, record, preserve and make available the information sources of a country. For
every document published in a country, a certain number of copies must be supplied to the national
library. You can learn more about the National Library of South Africa at www.nlsa.ac.za

5.2.3 Special libraries

Special libraries are part of organisations and institutions and are funded and maintained by
these organisations. Examples include law libraries, government libraries, libraries of research
institutions, international organisations (e.g. UNESCO) and professional societies. Access to
these libraries is usually restricted to employees and certain categories of researchers. Other
libraries, for example, academic libraries, can also request sources from special libraries via
interlending services on behalf of their users.

5.2.4 Academic libraries

Academic libraries are part of academic institutions such as schools, universities and colleges. They
serve the students, staff and researchers. Their collections are focused on the teaching and research
work of the institution. As a registered student of such an institution, you have access to the sources of
the academic library, as well as the assistance of the librarians. The Unisa Library
(http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library) offers its users a variety of information sources
and access to external sources. You can learn more about the library from its website and by watching
the following videos about the Unisa Library:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XLU41tR92g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPDMg6ptU20

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5.2.5 Virtual libraries

The distinction of ‘virtual libraries’, as a type of library, is made on the basis of their format. A virtual
library can be defined as a ‘library without walls’ (also called an ‘online library’, an ‘electronic library’ or a
‘digital library’). This implies that an information service is provided mainly by accessing databases
online and that there might not be a core collection of traditional sources, such as printed books and
journals.

Unisa Library is not a virtual library, but it does offer some elements of a virtual library. Therefore, we can
call it a ‘hybrid library’, which is a combination of a traditional, physical library and a virtual library. Unisa
Library provides a number of sources in physical and digital format, such as books and journal articles.

You can use the internet to access the catalogues of a number of libraries. For example, you can search
the Unisa Library catalogue from your home or office and search the library catalogue of any other South
African university or the National Library of South Africa or the Library of Congress (i.e. the national
library of the United States). It is not necessary to visit the library to determine whether a specific
information source is available and what its call number is. Note that this is not the same as ‘searching
the internet’. The internet is merely the tool or means you need to access these information resources.

Although the virtual or hybrid library provides access to information sources outside the traditional
physical boundaries of a library, the role of any library is still to collect information sources, organise
them in order to facilitate access, preserve them and make them available for use. Many libraries digitise
content, especially rare historical manuscripts, to make them available online to a wider audience.

5.3 ACCESSING AND USING A LIBRARY

Most people feel anxious about using a library for the first time, especially students who visit a university
library for the first time. University libraries are very large, with thousands (and sometimes millions) of
books and other documents. In order to utilise library services successfully, it is important to identify your
information needs and familiarise yourself with the library layout, procedures and regulations. When you
have determined your information task, that is, you have analysed the assignment topic and understand
what is required of you, the library is a good place to start your information search.

Libraries have rules and regulations so that they can function in an orderly manner and every user can
benefit from the services they offer. Therefore, you should familiarise yourself with the rules before using
the library. Some of the rules are as follows:

 You require some form of permission to access the library, for example you have to be a
registered student of the institution. It is compulsory to have your student card with you, which
also serves as your library card, in order to enter and to borrow items from the library.
 You are not allowed to eat or drink in certain areas of the premises. This is important to protect
the collections, such as books, against damage.
 The library has certain operating hours during which you can study in the library, receive
assistance from the librarians and borrow items.
 You may borrow certain items for a specified period, but other items may be used only in the
library.
 Libraries usually provide photocopying facilities, but the Copyright Act prohibits the unlimited
copying of documents. For example, you may not copy a whole book. We discuss copyright

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 further in learning unit 9.
 Many libraries also provide computer terminals and internet access, but there might also be
restrictions on the use of these facilities, so make sure you know what is permissible.

You can compare finding information in a library to going on a shopping expedition: When you need
household supplies, you probably make a shopping list. You have to determine your needs when you
compile this shopping list. You do this by considering various categories of goods or products, such as
cleaning materials, vegetables, dairy products, condiments, sauces and beverages. When you arrive at
the supermarket with your list, you probably study the layout of the shop and follow the signs that guide
you to the appropriate shelves. Moreover, help is at hand if you cannot locate a specific item.

The process you follow when visiting a library is similar. When you want access to a wide range of
information sources (e.g. for complicated information tasks such as assignments), you need to use a
resource collection in a library or on the internet. Finding your way around a large library, such as the
one at Unisa, can be intimidating if you are not familiar with libraries. So be prepared to familiarise
yourself with the library layout and study the plan that indicates where collections are shelved on each
floor of the library. The layout of libraries differs, but most libraries have the following service areas
(adapted from Behrens, Olën and Machet 1999:120-121):

Information desk You may ask a librarian at the information desk for more information on
the library's rules and regulations, its layout and organisation or services.
The librarian at the information desk is there to help you. Many libraries
also provide information on their websites; therefore, you can familiarise
yourself with the library before actually visiting it in person.

Security The security staff protect visitors to the library, as well as the books and
checkpoint resources in the library. Make sure that you have taken out your books in
accordance with the library's rules, otherwise you might be stopped on
your way out. You might also be asked to show your student card.

Circulation desk You go to the circulation desk to borrow the sources (e.g. books and
DVDs) you want to take with you. You need a library card (which can be
your student card) for this purpose; the items you want to borrow will be
issued against this card so that the library knows who has its books and
other sources. Some libraries still use a date stamp in the sources you
borrow so that you know when to return the materials to the library. Other
libraries, such as the Unisa Library, has a self-help system (machine) that
allows you to issue and return items yourself; you then receive a receipt
indicating the due/return date. If someone else has already taken out a
book or other item that you want, you can fill in a reservation card at the
circulation desk. You can also ask the librarians at the circulation desk to
assist you in borrowing items.

Computer Many libraries have an area with computer terminals that you can use to
terminals, internet access the internet and the library catalogue – also known as the library’s
and catalogue bibliographic database or online public access catalogue (OPAC). Ask the
area librarians to assist you in the use of these facilities.

Reserve or study A collection of books that students use frequently for their assignments is
collection held in a reserve or study collection. These items can usually not be

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borrowed because so many students need them. You therefore have to

use them in the library.

Reference A reference collection is a collection of sources in which the books are

collection available for consultation only, rather than for loan. Many of these sources
include those that we discussed under ready reference sources in learning
unit 4.
Periodical Collections of periodicals, such as general journals, magazines and
collection newspapers, are kept in a separate section. Subject journals are often
kept with the other sources, such as books, at the subject classification
section for the subject. Complete issues of journals are usually bound.

Government Government reports, Gazettes, Green Papers, White Papers, etc form part
publications of government publications and some libraries have them available in a
collection collection.

Audiovisual Many libraries have collections of audio tapes, videos, CDs and DVDs.
collection Sometimes an audiovisual item, such as a CD, is issued with a book and
can be borrowed with the book.

Special collections Some libraries, especially academic libraries, have special collections,
such as archived collections of the institution's documents, including the
yearbooks of the institution. Special collections can also include rare
books. You may require permission and assistance from the librarian to
access these sources.

All university libraries provide orientation courses for students to familiarise them with the services that
they provide. University libraries also offer library skills programmes to train students how to use the
library. Many libraries also provide internet training courses. These courses and programmes are
important, since university libraries provide access to thousands of information sources in a variety of
formats (e.g. books, CD-ROMs, databases, full-text online journals and other e-resources and online
services such as the internet). Few students are aware of all the services their university library offers
and they usually possess very few skills in using a library and its related information services.

You should contact the Information Section of the Unisa Library to enquire about the courses and
programmes that the library offers during this semester. The Unisa Library provides orientation courses
and library skills programmes in an electronic classroom with computers to facilitate the training. If you
live in or near Pretoria, you should try to attend these training sessions.

Alternatively, you may use the myUnisa website for the library and information skills programmes that
are offered online. If you have access to a computer that is linked to the internet, you can go to the Unisa
home page and then visit the myUnisa home page. Training is provided on basic library use and
information skills and includes some practice sessions in basic information skills, such as locating and
using books. This is a computer-aided orientation programme, which also introduces you to the
collections in the Unisa Library.

The information sources in a library collection are arranged in different ways on the shelves, in the
storage cabinets, etc. The arrangement is usually according to the subject content, following a

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classification system. Each item is also described in order to identify it. These descriptions are recorded
in the library’s catalogue. The classification system and the catalogue are two of the most important tools
for finding books and information sources in a library. In the following sections we briefly explain
classification systems and catalogues.

5.4 THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

Libraries store large numbers of books and other information sources, such as periodicals and
audiovisual materials. They therefore need to organise the materials in such a way that people can find
the items they are looking for. One method of organising material, such as books, is to arrange them in
alphabetical order according to the author's name. This method works very well for certain sources, and
most public and community libraries organise their works of fiction in this way. However, this works only
if the users know the author of the book they are looking for. Many people who use the library come to
look for information on a certain topic, such as AIDS, the history of a certain period or country, literature
of a certain language, religion, political science or business management, rather than for a particular
book by a certain author. They do not necessarily know who wrote books and journal articles on these
topics.

Therefore, it is convenient if all the sources on a particular topic are kept together so that users can
browse and then choose the source that best meets their needs. The method that libraries use to
organise their material according to subject is called a classification system. The most commonly used
classification system in South Africa is the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system. This system
divides the universe of knowledge into ten main classes and assigns notations to each class (e.g. 900–
999 is the notation for geography and history). This notation is subdivided for more specific subject
classification (e.g. 968 is used for South African history and 916.8 for the geography of South Africa).
The system makes provision for even more subdivisions for the history of a specific period (e.g. the
Anglo-Boer War (968.048) or the Anglo-Zulu War (968.4045)).

The following table lists the ten main DDC classes according to subject. If you memorise these ten main
classes, it will help you to find the right section of numbers on the library shelves. For example, if you
want books on South African history, you have to look in the sections signposted from 900–999.

000 Computer science, information, general works

100 Philosophy, parapsychology and occultism, psychology
200 Religion
300 Social sciences
400 Language
500 Natural sciences and mathematics
600 Technology (applied sciences)
700 The arts (fine and decorative arts)
800 Literature (belles-lettres) and rhetoric
900 History, geography and auxiliary disciplines

Activity 5.2

Indicate in which main sections of the DDC you would look for information on the following:

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Information you want DDC notation

(1) a book of poetry for your English course

(2) a map showing where Shaka Zulu's armies travelled

(3) a copy of the Bible

(4) a dictionary of medical terms

(5) a writing handbook to help you write an assignment

(6) an introduction to zoology

(7) the South African artist, Gerard Sekota

(8) a print of the painting, Malay women and gloxinias, by Maggie

Laubscher

(9) the culture of the Matabele people

(10) a general encyclopaedia

(11) a world atlas

(12) a Shakespeare drama (e.g. Hamlet)

(13) social work issues

All DDC notations have at least three digits. When there are more than three digits, a point is used after
the third digit. The DDC notation is then followed by the first three (sometimes four) letters of the author's
surname, or if the book is a collection and has an editor, the first three letters of the title (excluding THE,
A and AN). This is the book's call number, which becomes the physical address of the book and
indicates its exact position on the shelf. For example, 025.524 MAC would be the call number for the
book, Mastering information skills for the 21st century and 031 ENCY would be the call number for The
New Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Activity 5.3

Do the following exercise to get used to this type of numerical order:

Arrange the following DDC notations in the order you would find them on the library shelf:

Examples Correct numerical order

968.94 GEL
968.803 CATH

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968.04 BART
968.904 WEL
968.9404 PET
968.9 EED
968.8303 DALE
968.8103 COLO
968.8 GARN
968.5 DUPL

5.5 THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE

The catalogue is a logically arranged list of all the sources in a library's collection and it has two very
specific purposes, namely to

 give an indication of all the works and specific items available in the library collection
 direct the library users to the information sources they need (i.e. to indicate where in the library
these sources can be located)

Every record is described in detail so that it can be identified and then an indication is given of where in
the collection it can be found. This is an example of a bibliographic control system. In order to organise
and control information sources, we need to have some systems, methods and standards in place.
Bibliographic control involves the use of systems or tools to enable us to become aware of, and then
find, the information we need. The term ‘system’ means that a particular method or plan is followed and
certain rules are applied. The systems and tools that are created for bibliographic control usually take the
form of a bibliographic list of information sources or records that indicate which records exist and the
type of information they contain. A library catalogue is an example of such a bibliographic list and is,
therefore, an instrument for bibliographic control.

The typical details that are recorded of an information source to identify it are

 the title and the person(s) or organisation(s) responsible for its creation (i.e. the author(s))
 the edition, if the source has been revised and republished (e.g. second edition)
 an indication of the material type (e.g. DVD, map, Braille)
 publication details, such as the place of publication, publisher and date of publication
 physical description details, such as number of pages, size and illustrations
 series details – if the source is part of a series
 notes to further describe the item (e.g. a summary of the contents)
 International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) to
uniquely identify the work
 the classification number and call number
 subject headings to describe the subject content of the source

Library catalogues can be found in different physical formats. The most familiar ones are the card
catalogue and the electronic (computerised) formats.

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Figure 5.1: Example of the traditional card catalogue

The computerised catalogue is generally known as OPAC (online public access catalogue). OPAC
began to appear in libraries in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During the 1990s and especially the
2000s, libraries rapidly started to replace other catalogue formats with OPAC. OPAC is a listing of the
library materials that can be retrieved on a computer terminal. OPAC represents the library’s
bibliographic database. The database consists of bibliographic entries that are similar to the catalogue
cards, in other words, a bibliographic entry also contains the information of the item. Most libraries and
information organisations nowadays have electronic databases and an OPAC. In many instances, it is
also possible to access libraries’ OPACs online via the internet (e.g. the catalogues of the National
Library of South Africa (http://www.legaldeposit.ac.za/) and the Library of Congress
(http://catalog.loc.gov/) The user has the advantage of seeing what information sources are available
and where they are located from the comfort of his/her home, office or any other location (via computers
and mobile devices).

An online catalogue can be integrated with other procedures in the library and information service, such
as circulation and accessions. For example, the user can check whether the information source is in the
library's possession and whether it is already on loan to someone else, or whether it is still on order and
has not yet been added to the library’s collection. The Unisa Library's OPAC also has a request function
in its catalogue, where you can request a source you would like to borrow from the library.

From the user's point of view, the following are the main advantages of the computerised or online
catalogue:

 The speed and flexibility of searching. Apart from the usual author, title and subject searches,
you can search by means of other features of the bibliographic record as well, for example date,
language, target user and ISBN.
 A computerised or online catalogue allows users to browse the bibliographic database.
 You can narrow down or broaden your search.
 A hard copy of search results can be printed.
 The user can sit down in comfort (as opposed to standing in front of a card catalogue cabinet).
 If the user has a mobile device, such as a laptop computer or tablet, he/she can search the
catalogue while moving around in the library.
 The system can accommodate a large number of users at the same time.
 Users can connect to external bibliographic databases via the library’s OPAC.

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 Figure 5.2: Library user searching the OPAC from his mobile device while in the library and
moving around the shelves

An example of an OPAC that you should explore further is the Unisa Library’s online catalogue. You can
access it via the Unisa website or at http://oasis.unisa.ac.za/ Figure 5.3 shows a screenshot of the page
that provides access to the catalogue. When you hover the mouse over the search options tab on the
left-hand side, you will see a list of the access points under which you can search for information
sources.

Figure 5.3: Unisa Library OPAC

Let’s now look at an example of a record in Unisa's OPAC in order to give you an indication of the type of
information found in a record.

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Figure 5.4: Example of a record

From the above example, it is possible to identify

 the author as Johannes Cornelis Mynhardt

 the title as South African supplement to Social psychology, 12th edition, by R.A. Baron, N.R.
Branscombe, D. Byrne / J.C. Mynhardt. In other words, this work is a supplement to the 12th
edition of another work written by three authors.
 the edition is the 3rd edition
 the publisher is Pearson and the work was published in 2009

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  the number of pages and size of the work
 notes on the contents, bibliography and relationship with the main text
 the subject heading: Social psychology
 the call number: 302 BARO
 the ISBN numbers
 the copies of the work that the library has and each copy’s status, that is, whether it is available
or out on loan

Based on this information, a user should be able to decide whether this work is relevant for his/her
information task, as well as whether there are copies available and where they can be located.

When you conduct a search in the catalogue, you will notice that there are a few options to search
under, such as title (including series titles), author, journal title, keyword or subject. If you know the title,
journal title or author name(s), you can use those as your search terms. But if you want to conduct a
contents-related search, in other words, search for topics, you have two options, namely to search for a
subject according to subject headings or to use keywords.

Subject headings refer to a restricted list of terms used by the cataloguer (i.e. the person who described
the book in the library catalogue) to describe the contents of the book.

The term ‘keyword’ refers to a term that is generally used to describe a topic. If you conduct a keyword
search, you will have many more hits than when you conduct a subject heading search. The keyword
search is conducted for specific information sources, and the keyword will appear either in the title of the
information source or elsewhere in the catalogue record of the source. Please note that the keyword
search facility is usually available only in online catalogues.

Using keywords is useful to retrieve information from specific types of sources, such as the internet and
other electronic information sources.

Figure 5.5 shows the search options from Unisa’s OPAC: title, author, keyword, journal title and subject.

Figure: 5.5: Search options

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Consider, for example, the following assignment topic: Explain why buying a pirated DVD or music
CD is stealing. Consider the Copyright Act. During the planning stage of your work plan, you identified
’copyright’ and ‘piracy’ as keywords. You were also introduced to other relevant concepts, such as
‘information ethics’ and ‘intellectual property’, which could also be used as keywords. Any of these terms
can be used to conduct a subject heading search or a keyword search in the library catalogue.

Activity 5.4

Consult the Unisa Library catalogue (OPAC) or any other library catalogue. (Ask the information librarian
for assistance if you are unsure about the use of OPAC).

Conduct the following searches and report on your results:

 List the title(s) that you find under Michael Alexander as author.
 List at least five titles that you find under Johnson, C as author.
 Find the bibliographic record for the library work with the title African civilization revisited. Study
the record and identify and write down the author of the item.
 Find the bibliographic record for the library work with the title Roots of black music. Study the
record and identify the subject headings of the work.
 Write down at least five titles that you retrieve if you search the series title Studies in
communication, searching under title.
 Search for the subject heading, Chemical engineering – Mathematics, and write down two to
three titles from the result.
 Study the topic, Disadvantaged post-adolescents: approaches to education and
rehabilitation, and write down the keywords that you will use to search in an OPAC.

We discuss more advanced search strategies that you can apply in an OPAC in learning unit 7.

5.6 BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE SOURCES

In learning unit 4 we introduced bibliographic reference sources as a type of information source. We

indicated that these sources do not contain the information itself, but refer you to the sources that do
contain them. As in the case of catalogues, bibliographic reference sources serve as tools to help you
identify relevant information sources. Bibliographic reference sources contain bibliographic references to
other information sources where you can find the factual information. For the purpose of this learning
unit, we focus on bibliographies, indexes and abstracts.

5.6.1 Bibliographies

A bibliography is a list of descriptions of information sources in terms of bibliographic characteristics

such as authors, titles, editions, publication information and physical description. They are basically
systematic lists of published information sources (Geyer & Jacobs 2002:29).

In South Africa, the best-known example is the South African National Bibliography (SANB). You can
read more about the SANB at http://www.nlsa.ac.za/index.php/sa-national-bibliography

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5.6.2 Indexes

An index can appear at the back of an information source, such as a book, and indicate the page
numbers on which specific information within the text can be found.

But an index can also be an independent publication that analyses the content of various information
sources. Indexes serve as guides to the contents of information sources, such as journals and
newspapers. Because these indexes are published regularly, they are also referred to as indexing
journals. The index enables the user to trace the information in journal and newspapers articles by
providing him/her with bibliographic information.

The entries in indexes are arranged under particular subjects. Under each subject, there appear a
number of references to journal or newspaper articles in which information on the subject can be found,
together with an indication of the volume, number, date and page number.

Well-known examples are Index to South African Periodicals (ISAP), Education index, Library literature,
Index medicus, New York Times index and SA media.

You can read more about ISAP at http://www.nlsa.ac.za/index.php/legal-deposit-information

5.6.3 Abstracts

As with indexes and indexing journals, abstracts and abstracting journals also guide their users to the
information content of journals and newspapers. Abstracts and abstracting journals not only refer the
user to the information and its location; they also provide an abstract for every reference.

An abstract can be regarded as a summary of the information content of a particular document. By

reading the abstract, the user can decide whether the document contains the relevant information
without consulting the original document. Abstracting journals are arranged systematically, that is,
according to subjects or topics; under each topic, there appear relevant journal articles and their
abstracts.

Examples of abstracting journals are Psychological Abstracts, Library and Information Science Abstracts
(LISA) and Current Awareness Abstracts of Library and Information Management Literature.

You can read more about LISA at http://www.proquest.com/products-services/lisa-set-c.html

In order to access these bibliographic reference services, you usually have to be a registered user of the
service. Most libraries are registered with these services and the librarians conduct searches on behalf
of the users. You should therefore approach the information librarian at Unisa Library and ask him/her to
assist you if you require bibliographic references from bibliographies, indexes or abstracts.

Activity 5.5

Consider any of the topics related to an assignment from one of your modules. Ask a librarian at the
Unisa Library – or any other library – to help you trace an entry related to the topic in Index to South
African Periodicals (ISAP) and Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) and briefly list the
information that you find in such an entry.

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5.7 THE LIBRARY WEBSITE

When you live close to a library, such as the library of the academic institution where you are studying,
you will probably access the library physically and access services as explained in the previous section.
But many library users do not live close enough to a library to visit it in person. Therefore, they have to
access the library remotely via the library’s website.

Because many libraries are often now regarded as digital libraries (i.e. they have digital collections
accessible online) or hybrid libraries (they have physical collections plus digital collections), they have
websites enabling users to access the information sources and library services from remote locations.
Library websites serve as portals to services and resources offered by the library. A ‘portal’ is the entry
point or gateway to an institution’s online information and services. The home page is the point of entry
to a website and is typically the first page you see when you access a website. The home page usually
contains information about the library and its branches, opening hours, floor plans, maps, events at the
library, news, links to collections, resources and services, frequently asked questions, library guides,
orientation videos and tutorials, guidelines to referencing, guidelines about plagiarism and copyright,
forms, ask-a-librarian, the library catalogue, facilities for users with disabilities, etc.

Examples of library home pages include the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/), National
Library of South Africa (http://www.nlsa.ac.za/), Western Cape Government Online Library Catalogue
(https://www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/western-cape-government-online-library-
catalogue) and UNESCO Library (http://www.unesco.org/library/)

Figure 5.6 shows the home page of Unisa Library

(http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library)

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 Figure 5.6: Home page of Unisa Library

If you are a registered user of the library (e.g. because you are a registered student of the institution),
you can access services via the student portal. Unisa Library uses the link Login to myLibrary.

The Unisa Library has also made an application (app) available, which you can download on your mobile
device. Visit
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.librarything.libanywhere.custom.unisa&hl=en
or https://itunes.apple.com/za/app/unisa-library/id1021111544?mt=8 or
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/mobi/apps to consider the usefulness of this service for your purposes. It
is referred to as ‘the library in the palm of your hand’.

Activity 5.6

Visit the home pages of the libraries mentioned above – or any other library – and explore the types of
information sources and library services available. Click on all the available links to see how you are
directed to the services.

An advantage of accessing libraries via their websites is that they can be accessed 24 hours per day and
you can be anywhere in the world, as long as you have an internet connection.

5.8 CONSULTING THE LIBRARIAN

We have mentioned several times that you should ask the librarian for assistance when you are not sure
how to use the library. When you visit the library, you can save a lot of time by simply asking for
assistance, instead of trying to find your way around the collection – especially if you are a first-time
visitor. Even accessing the library remotely via its website will not always provide you with the specific
information you require. Libraries provide the contact details of the librarians so that you can also consult
them telephonically or via e-mail. Some libraries also have social network pages, such as Facebook,
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through which you can communicate. Unisa Library's Facebook page can be found at
https://www.facebook.com/UnisaLibrary/

Librarians are trained to conduct information searches and know where to obtain the information sources
when they are not physically present in the library. They may also be able to point out additional
resources you had not yet considered.

When you talk to the librarian, it is helpful if you arrive prepared:

 Have available the names of book titles that have been helpful to you. If you have already found
helpful books, show these to the librarian so that he/she can look for similar sources.
 Show him/her your assignment topic (formulated as explained in learning unit 2).
 Mention concerns you have or ask questions about any aspect of the library or information
sources that you are unsure about. The librarian might point you in a better direction.

The wikiHow, ‘How to use a public library’ at https://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Public-Library also

provides some handy tips on using your public library. Many of these tips are also applicable to the use
of other types of libraries.

The following YouTube video, entitled ‘Why use library resources’, explains why library resources should
be used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yavjy9dpNNw

Also watch the following videos about the Unisa Library again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XLU41tR92g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPDMg6ptU20

Visit the Unisa Library's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/UnisaLibrary/ to see what

additional information is given about the library.

Activity 5.7

After watching the videos and accessing the Unisa Library website and Facebook page, how confident
do you feel about using the library? If you have further questions about using the library, write them
down so that you can ask the librarian next time you visit the library in person.

5.9 WHY ARE LIBRARIES STILL IMPORTANT?

You may wonder why we devoted an entire learning unit to explaining the use of libraries when we can
‘easily’ use the internet to find information. Although some people may perceive libraries to be outdated
and easily replaceable by the internet, this is far from the truth. Today, more than ever before, libraries
are an essential resource. Next we briefly look at the reasons for their relevance in the information age.

 Libraries serve as community hubs – centres where people get together to learn and exchange
information.
 Libraries provide access to information to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Regardless
of a person’s background, financial position or education level, he/she can gain access to
information, use ICTs and borrow certain sources from a library.

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  Libraries provide free, high-quality educational resources.
 Librarians are trained to do advanced information searching and retrieval and provide the most
relevant information sources for information tasks.
 Librarians are trained to evaluate information and provide the user with information that meets
the requirements of quality information. (We discuss this concept further in learning unit 8, under
the evaluation of information.)
 Because libraries collaborate and share resources, they can provide information access to many
users.
 Libraries provide training in the retrieval and use of information.
 Although the internet provides free access to large quantities of information, in effect, very little of
that information is of a high quality. Libraries, on the other hand, provide free access to quality
information.
 Libraries provide access not only to information, but also to ICTs, for example computer
terminals, copying facilities, e-mail and the internet.
 Libraries provide the environment for lifelong learning.

5.10 CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this learning unit we focused on the retrieval of information from the library catalogue and other
bibliographic sources. Therefore, at this stage you should be able to perform basic information retrieval
for your information task.

This learning unit provides the knowledge base you need to use a library effectively to find information
for your information tasks. We suggest that you return to the learning outcomes at the start of this
learning unit to ascertain what progress you have made in this regard. If you feel unable to accomplish
some of these outcomes, you should probably revise this unit and the relevant activities.

If you still feel anxious about library services, you definitely need practical experience in using a library.
The best way to gain the necessary library skills is to attend a library orientation course and/or a library
skills programme, such as those provided by the Unisa Library. If you are unable to attend the courses or
programmes offered by the Unisa Library, you should at least visit your local, public or community library
to establish how its catalogue and classification systems work.

Regardless of the fact that the library is the best place to start an information search, we all want to ‘surf’
(browse) the internet, too. In the next learning unit we will focus on the use of the internet and the World
Wide Web (WWW) for information retrieval. In learning unit 7 we will explore how you can apply search
strategies effectively to search library catalogues, bibliographic reference sources, databases and, of
course, the internet.

5.11 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. Describe the functions of the library catalogue in your own words and indicate why it is important
for you to be able to use the catalogue effectively.
2. Explain the difference between subject headings and keywords.
3. Explain what a bibliography is.
4. Explain to a fellow student what the differences are between indexes and abstracts.
5. Identify and explain the resources that are available via library websites.

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6. Discuss the role of the librarian in assisting you with your information searches and use of the
library.

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LEARNING UNIT 6

THE INTERNET AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB

6.1 INTRODUCTION

In the previous learning unit we looked at how we use libraries as part of the second phase of the work
plan of the information task, namely the retrieving phase, and the first step of that phase, namely locating
relevant information sources, which includes identification and retrieval of sources.

Many people regard the internet as the ultimate information source and, admittedly, we can find a lot of
useful information via the internet. Internet technology is also used to make high-quality digital library
sources available. It is therefore important that we explore the internet and the World Wide Web (WWW).
The internet should, however, be approached with caution because a lot of the information – usually
easily retrieved by quick Google™ searches – is not verified and is, therefore, unreliable.

In this learning unit we introduce the internet and the World Wide Web as part of our sources for
information retrieval.

Activity 6.1

Consider your use of the internet. For which activities do you use the internet?

Activity Tick 

Information: for work and studies

Communication, incl. social networking

Shopping

Entertainment

Education: learning more about topics that

interest you

Media access

News

Job hunting

Other: specify

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What would you consider to be your most important use of the internet? Do you think you know how to
navigate the internet effectively and decide whether the information is relevant and reliable? If you are
unsure about this, it is important to study this learning unit carefully, as well as the following two units on
search strategies and organisation of information respectively.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit, you should be able to

 recognise and use basic internet terminology

 read and use a URL to find information
 differentiate between the internet and the World Wide Web (WWW)
 identify the advantages, uses and challenges of using the internet and the WWW
 differentiate between search engines, metasearch engines and subject (web) directories
 conduct a simple search on the internet

KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts that we will use in this learning unit are

 browser
 computer network
 digitise/digital
 download
 e-mail
 home page
 HTML
 hyperlink
 hypermedia
 hypertext
 internet
 search engine
 URL
 the World Wide Web (WWW)

6.2 WHAT IS THE INTERNET?

The internet is a phenomenon that has surpassed anything its creators could have foreseen. It has
revolutionised many established practices in fields such as education, information provision and sharing,
business and even shopping. And the system continues to expand dramatically.

The internet is more of a concept than an actual physical entity; however, it has a physical infrastructure
that provides the means to transport data. The internet may be considered a medium through which
information is stored, retrieved and disseminated.

Engleman (1996:1) states that the internet is best described as a “worldwide, self-governed network
connecting thousands of smaller networks and millions of computers and people to mega sources of
information”.

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According to Comer (2008:177), the internet is the world’s largest computer network, linking millions of
networks around the world so that through one network, you can gain access to any of the others.

The internet is a worldwide internetwork of computers linked together via various communication
channels. The internet is the world’s largest internetwork. It includes computers brought together in
networks, those networks hooked together in internetworks and those internetworks hooked together in
bigger internetworks. The computers that constitute the internet do not exist solely to be part of the
internet. They are computers used every day by governments, universities, corporations, libraries and
individuals. However, the internet allows all these computers to connect and communicate with one
another. This is done through state-of-the-art technology to ensure that computers in networks using
different hardware and software can work together as a communication system.

When the internet was originally developed, it was dominated by scientists and engineers, using
scientific applications and access to computational resources. As it grew, its capacity and functions also
developed and expanded. Communication speeds increased dramatically. Higher communication
speeds enabled applications to transfer large volumes of data fast. The development of powerful,
affordable personal computers provided the computational power needed for complex computational and
graphical displays. Furthermore, new applications arose that appealed to the broader society.

Internet communication initially involved textual data, for example e-mail messages limited to text
display. But by the 1990s, computers had colour screens capable of displaying graphics; thus
applications were developed that allowed users to transfer images easily. By the late 1990s, users
began sending video clips and even the sharing of full-motion videos became possible. Much of the
content available on the internet today consists of multimedia documents and messages. Furthermore,
quality has improved as higher bandwidths have made it possible to communicate high-resolution video
and high-fidelity audio.

Further technological developments revolved around communication systems development. Traditional

communication systems, such as the voice telephone network and television, moved from analogue to
digital and adopted internet technology. Internet access started to switch from wired to wireless access.

New applications continue to emerge that provide enhanced experiences for internet users. Businesses
use high-end teleconferencing systems to reduce travel costs. Sensor networks, maps and navigation
systems enable environmental monitoring, security and easier travel. Social networking applications,
such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube, encourage new social groups and organisations
(Comer 2009:24).

The internet therefore makes provision for two categories of services and applications, namely
communication services and information services (Bothma et al 2017:22). We have already discussed a
number of the communication services and applications (in learning unit 3). From that discussion, it was
clear that some communication services also function as information services, for example newsgroups,
blogs and discussion groups. In terms of information services, the most widely used service is the World
Wide Web, also referred to as WWW or the Web. We will discuss the Web in more detail further on in
this learning unit.

The following websites provide a history of the development of the internet, as well as interesting
statistics to illustrate the growth of the internet:

http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml

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www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline
www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Activity 6.2

Visit the aforementioned websites and read more about the development and timeline of the internet.
Identify one fact that you find interesting about the growth of the internet.

6.2.1 Internet uses

According to McGuire et al (1997:1-6), O'Leary and O'Leary (2000:174) and Sharpless Smith (2010:4-5,
20-22), the internet is most commonly used for the following purposes:

 Communication with friends and family located anywhere in the world. Examples of
communication include chat, web conferencing, voice over IP, e-mail, discussion forums, blogs
and wikis.

 Shopping. One of the fastest-growing internet applications is electronic commerce. You can visit
a cyber store to look for the latest fashions, search for bargains and make purchases.

 Research. Some of the world's largest libraries and other information services are available
through the internet. By visiting a virtual library, you can browse their catalogue for relevant
collection items, download online information and learn about the basic functioning of the library.

 Entertainment. Music, movies, books, magazines and games are all available via the internet.
This may include live concerts, movie previews and book clubs.

 Education on the internet. Virtual online campuses are examples of distance education
institutions available on the internet. Online campuses are open 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, and offer a variety of courses. The internet makes it possible to study at your own pace
and collaborate with teachers or lecturers and fellow students.

 Media accessibility. There are several hundred newspapers on the internet, as well as news
services such as Reuters. News is available on the internet from over eighty countries around the
world.

 Job hunting. Many advertisements for vacant positions at numerous organisations are available
on the internet.

 Consultations with experts. Internet users can consult with, for example, medical doctors about
rare diseases and possible cures.

 Accessing government information. Many government publications, such as White Papers and
Acts, are available on the internet.

 Social networking. Social networking involves building communities of people who have shared
interests and activities. In addition to connecting with friends, it is possible to join online
conversations that take place on blogs and share your network for work and business purposes.

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6.2.2 Advantages of the internet

According to Eddings (1994:175), Snell (1995:90), Moran and Padro (1997:18-20), Fuller and Manning
(1999:187), Moderow (2009:171) and Pakhare (2011), the most common advantages of connecting to
the internet are the following:

 It is easy to access, especially when using a web browser.

 It is convenient. The internet never ‘closes’, so you can visit or access information whenever you
want.

 It saves time. The internet can be used to gather timely information quickly, which may be
needed for making personal or professional decisions. Many files can be searched in seconds.

 It saves money. By using e-mail, for example, you can send and receive messages at very little
cost, when compared with long-distance telephone calls or mail services. By having a website, a
person or organisation can also save printing and postal costs by offering services and
information online.

 It promotes global communication. The internet provides a number of unique ways to

communicate with other people from all over the world.

 It enhances networking. Through Internal Relay Chat (IRC), for example, doctors can perform
delicate operations while receiving assistance, information and advice from experts around the
world through the internet.

 It provides quick access to information. Many websites have hyperlinks that can connect the end-
user directly to information on similar topics. (Hyperlinks allow linking by clicking from one
website to another.)

 It provides the most up-to-date information, such as news updates and information on the stock
markets.

 It provides much of the information free of charge, although for access to certain databases, a
subscription fee is required. However, there is still a huge amount of reliable and current
information available via the internet free of charge.

 It provides one-stop access to different types of information. In contrast to using a variety of

information sources to answer an information query, files on the internet often contain print and
graphical information, as well as video and sound clips. All of these can be accessed on one
website or by following the links from one web page to another.

 It has evolved as a medium for social networking. Via social networking, it is possible to connect
with family, friends and people who share the same interests all over the world. Furthermore, it is
possible to look for job and business opportunities on network forums and communities.

6.2.3 Challenges of the internet

Although the internet has opened up a world of new opportunities, it has also brought with it a number of
challenges that may be regarded as disadvantages.

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According to Eddings (1994:175), Snell (1995:90), Moran and Padro (1997:18-20), Burke (1999:45),
Fuller and Manning (1999:187), Moderow (2009:171) and Pakhare (2011), the following disadvantages
pose challenges:

 One of the biggest fears related to the internet is the threat to security. Hackers can bypass
passwords and security systems to access sensitive and confidential banking, governmental or
company information. (Hackers are computer experts with the skills to break into other
computers.)

 It separates and isolates people. People who inhabit an electronic or cyber environment can
experience human interaction without ever leaving their desks; this might make them
uncomfortable with face-to-face interaction.

 It can distribute unreliable, unverified information. Although the internet is faster than newspapers
and television, most internet reporters are not trained journalists and the accuracy of their work
does not bear the scrutiny and checks that good journalism and research demand.

 Internet users can spread hate speech. The internet is a free-speech environment. This sounds
positive, until you realise such information contributes to bigotry and hatred, for example remarks
and comments made by neo-Nazis, racists and gay-bashers.

 It can create job insecurity. Many corporations change into virtual corporations (VC), where
permanent workers are replaced by a small team of staff with up-to-date technological skills,
utilising the latest software and hardware. All business is done online. Fewer permanent workers
are therefore necessary and more people lose their jobs.

 It can facilitate fraud. Internet fraud is on the increase. Victims are being subjected to a variety of
scams, ranging from requests for charitable contributions to promises of instant wealth.
Moreover, it is often difficult to locate and punish those who use the internet to commit fraud.

 It is easy to download viruses. A virus is a program that can disrupt or even destroy computer
operations. A virus can cause a variety of problems, ranging from the appearance of unwanted
messages on a screen to the actual destruction of files stored on the computer hard drive,
including the computer operating system. End-users often download files from the internet that
contain harmful viruses.

 It enables piracy and sabotage. By enabling people to connect to other computers, it also creates
the opportunity for hackers to sabotage or steal information. The theft of personal information has
increased with the use of the internet. This happens especially where people provide personal
and banking details when they do online shopping or via the social networks.

 It invades privacy. Messages mailed by individuals can be easily read by any person or
organisation linked to the internet. This is especially true for e-mail messages and information
such as credit card numbers, as supplied by individuals when ordering products and services.

 It is used for spamming. ‘Spamming’ refers to the sending of unwanted e-mails in bulk. These e-
mails obstruct systems and slow networks and computers down.

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  The retrieval of valuable information is challenging. Although it is easy to retrieve information, the
information may not always be valuable. This is because there is no structured indexing of the
available information. Where indexes do exist, problems can arise because information is
constantly being added to and withdrawn from the internet. This creates a huge problem for
updating indexes. The organising, classification and indexing of information over the internet still
need to be improved.

 It is difficult to choose the correct web page. Owing to the lack of effective indexing, retrieval is
not very specific and the majority of internet searches will retrieve hundreds of references to
different web pages. The searcher is then confronted with the problem of choosing the best of
these references.

 It is difficult to update URL changes. Problems also arise because of the constant changing of
URLs. Computer files are constantly being moved around and a URL that was active yesterday
might result in a dead-end today. Furthermore, the searcher is seldom referred to the new URL.
(A URL is an address that points to a specific web page on the internet.)

 It can be very expensive. Although much of the information on the internet is offered free of
charge, high-quality information is often charged for, thereby inhibiting access. The ‘hidden costs’
of using the internet should not be ignored either, such as the costs of using telecommunication
lines and paying an internet service provider.

 It is difficult to find new websites. Although the internet is a good source of up-to-date information,
it can be quite difficult to find new websites. Unless an expert/a knowledgeable fellow user points
the end-user towards the URL for a new website that has been added to the internet, the
chances are very slim of actually locating this website. The reason for this is that search engines
index websites on request. Owing to the magnitude of information on the internet, search engines
cannot cope with the demand of indexing new websites, with the result that it may take up to six
months to locate a new website through a search engine. This, of course, contributes to the
retrieval problem on the internet.

 Copyright can be easily violated. Issues of copyright and intellectual property are of particular
concern because information can be downloaded and used by the end-user without
acknowledgement of the author. The ease with which text and graphics can be copied and
pasted has resulted in an increase in the incidence of plagiarism.

6.3 THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)

The World Wide Web, also known as the Web or WWW, is an extensive information system made
available through the internet. It is therefore an internet application. The Web provides facilities for
documents to be connected to other documents by hypertext links (hypertext documents contain links to
other documents). The Web is a way of accessing information over the internet. You will often hear
people saying that they ‘Googled’ information. What they actually did was to find information on the Web.
Google™ is one of the search engines you use to search for information on the Web.

From the above description you can see that the Web and the internet are not the same thing. The Web
is just a portion of the internet made up of websites; therefore, the two terms should not be confused.
The Web consists of pages of information that can be accessed using a web browser, whereas the
internet is the actual network of networks where the Web resides.

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The Web allows for graphical user interface as well as dynamic data transferral (data characterised by
constant change or activity). Static data (data that remains the same) on the internet can be compared to
the pages of a newspaper. The information on the page is permanent and will not change. However,
dynamic data allows information to be generated, depending on the user’s input. Other advantages
include the ability to house multimedia functions, such as speech, sound, video and animated graphics.
The dynamic graphical pages are known as web pages. One web page can be used to access another
web page and the links on that page can refer to more and more pages – this is known as ‘hyperlinking’.

The Web stores and makes information available in websites. A website consists of any number of
pages called web pages. A website is a collection of web pages located on the Web that contains useful
information that belongs to an individual, organisation, company, institution, etc.

A web page is a hypertext document with information in text, graphic, audio and/or video format and is
usually part of a website that is available through the Web. Hypertext is the highlighted text you can click
on to jump between websites and web pages.

In order to connect to the Web, you need special software called a browser program. This is a tool that
helps you to explore (browse for) information on the internet. Examples include Microsoft’s Internet
Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

Search engines, metasearch engines and web directories allow you to conduct searches on large
databases of web pages by entering words, phrases and other criteria. We discuss these in more detail
further on in this learning unit.

6.3.1 Web developments

The Web, as it was originally developed, basically consists of a vast collection of independent sites and
pages with all sorts of content. This version of the Web is now referred to as Web 1.0. Subsequently,
there have been more developments to introduce richer content (Dumas & Schwartz 2009:424).

These developments have led to the creation of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 provides applications that facilitate
participatory information sharing and collaboration on the Web. A Web 2.0 site allows for users to
interact and collaborate in social media dialogue and create content in a virtual community. Typical
examples of Web 2.0 applications include social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video sharing sites,
hosted services, web applications, mashups and tagging. A ‘mashup’, for example, makes it possible to
bring otherwise independent sites or content together. For example, real estate sites will automatically
add a Google™ map of a specific area to their information.

The next generation of the Web is Web 3.0. The idea is to add mechanisms to the Web that will enable
more customised searches, for example in the form of very specific questions that are answered directly.
An example of a typical question that the searcher might ask is the following: I am looking for a house for
sale with an asking price of no more than R1,5 million in the Johannesburg West Rand, no more than 5
km from a private primary school.

6.3.2 The Deep Web

The Deep Web refers to those pages of a website that are not indexed by web search engines and
therefore cannot be retrieved by means of a search on those engines (Hock 2010:289).

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The Deep Web, also known as the Invisible Web and Hidden Web, refers to information that is invisible
or hidden. In fact, the term ‘invisible’ here means “invisible to search engines” (Hock, 2010:20). The term
‘deep’ also implies that the information is deeply hidden away. The resources located in the Deep Web
contain, inter alia, databases of articles, data, statistics and government documents. It is estimated that
the size of the Deep Web is between 200 to 500 times greater than the visible Web. You can access
most of these resources if you know the specific URLs, but search engines will probably not find them.
The reason for this is that the search engines do not index certain web content owing to their size, format
and ease/difficulty of indexing (Devine & Egger-Sider 2009:9).

Specialised search engines dig more deeply into a subject area than a general-purpose search engine.
General search engines do ‘horizontal searching’, that is, searching for information on a topic broadly
across many kinds of resources. Specialised search engines conduct ‘vertical searching’, which is more
focused searching in resources that concentrate on specific topics. Specialisation means that they delve
deeper into invisible web resources and offer more complete results. The principal characteristic of these
specialised, vertical search engines is that they concentrate on a specific subject area. They therefore
search extensively for resources wherever they are placed on the Web and you can expect to find
results designed to meet your needs. Specialised search engines are characterised more by how little
information they find, in contrast with how much information general search engines retrieve.

When we retrieve very little information, but it meets our needs, we say that we have achieved high
precision. When we retrieve a lot of information, we achieve high recall, but often many of the records
are not relevant to our needs and, therefore, the precision is low.

6.3.3 Uses of the Web

Miller and Pellen (2005:91-92), Devine and Egger-Sider (2009:18) and Hock (2010) state that users
often use the WWW for the following reasons:

 to search for, retrieve and read billions of web documents stored on computers throughout
the world
 to do research for study purposes (e.g. assignments by students)
 for research and professional development by people in numerous occupations and professions
 to search for and retrieve freeware and commercial software
 to search through databases of organisations, individuals and government websites for
information on thousands of topics
 to browse through public and private information sources
 to search library catalogues at public, university and research libraries
 to find answers to ready-reference questions using online dictionaries, encyclopaedias, maps,
statistics, weather, foreign exchange rates, government websites, etc

6.3.4 Advantages and disadvantages of the WWW

The following presentation compares the advantages and disadvantages of using the WWW (Pitter et al
1996:19; Buchanan 1997:92; Hock 2010:13-15, 23):

Advantages Disadvantages

1. Addition of new It is easy to add new Too much additional

sources sources that are not yet information may lead to

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available for access by end- information overload and

users. not all the sources are
necessarily valuable.

2. Links Links are easy to set up and Web links are often
lead users from one site to fossilised, i.e. links are
the next in a logical manner. outdated or do not exist
anymore.

3. Search tools Excellent search engines, Current search tools are

indexes and directories are incapable of discriminating
available that can be used between reliable and
to access and retrieve unreliable sources.
information.

4. Search strategies Search tools make Users have to understand

provision for advanced and know how to select the
search strategies to appropriate search tools
enhance the retrieval of and apply the search
relevant information. strategies in order to search
successfully.

5. Global transmission Communication is facilitated Data can easily get lost or

between people and state secrets can be
organisations in different released into the wrong
countries, which creates a hands.
global village.

6. Global information An ever-increasing global It is relatively easy to tap

information database is into data and change it.
created.

7. Multimedia integration There are tailor-made Lack of editorial control may

applications with properly lead to poor quality of
designed presentation content.
tools.

8. Increasing web Improved chances of Increased traffic swamps

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 usage acceptance into the home. the global information
network and slows down
commercial traffic.

9. Copyright Copyright give the creators Many users ignore the

of the web content the right copyright and present
to control use of their information found on the
material, such as making Web as their own creation.
copies and being identified It is often difficult to cite a
and acknowledged as the source because information
creator of the material. about the author,
publication date, etc is not
given.

There is an increased There is an increase in

10. Education usage of remote teaching surface learning and lack of
with full multimedia deep research.
education.

6.3.5 Web myths

A number of so-called web myths or false impressions about the Web exist. It is often the less
experienced users and searchers who are misled by these myths. Devine & Egger-Sider (2009:4)
identify the following myths:

 Everything worth finding is already on the Web; if it cannot be found on the Web, it is not worth
finding. The fact is that there are also many other valuable sources of information, such as print,
audio and video formats (mostly in libraries), as well as people with experience. It is often just
easier and quicker to access the Web.

 Google™ searches the whole Web. Google™ is one of the most popular search engines and
retrieves thousands of entries. This creates the impression that Google™ finds everything.
Google™, however, does not access the Deep Web, which contains about 500 times more
information. Also, many of the entries retrieved via Google™ are irrelevant because of indexing
issues or the searcher is not experienced in using appropriate searching strategies.

 The best information is found in the first ten results. Search engines display results according to
relevancy ranking, for example how often a keyword appears on a web page. However, there is
no guarantee that the first ten results are the best for the searcher’s purpose. Web designers
often also cleverly design websites that will ensure placement in the first ten results.

 Searching is easy. Many people use the term ‘easy’ when they actually mean it is quick to search
the Web. The success of the search depends on the expertise of the searcher. There is a saying
in the library world that ‘searching is easy; finding is more difficult’.

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 Everything important is free. Information is considered a commodity and as in the case of all
commodities, has to generate some profit. It thus becomes necessary to pay for valuable
information.

 Everything is truthful, authoritative and accurate. Information retrieved via the Web can be
erroneous, inaccurate, incomplete, tainted with bias and opinions. Searchers need to develop
evaluation skills to distinguish between authoritative information and useless information.

6.4 UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATOR (URL)

The URL is the internet equivalent of a postal address and it is used to connect to internet sites around
the world. It is the web address of a website. If you want to access a specific site for information, you
have to enter the correct URL of that site in the ‘address’ block indicated on the screen when you go
onto the internet.

A URL is universal. This means that no matter where in the world you access the internet, you can use
the same URL to access a specific website or web page. For example, you can access the myUnisa
website by using the following URL: http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/ If you click on the
Learner Support & Regions hyperlink on the myUnisa site (screen 1), it will take you to the actual page
where the information on learner support and regions is contained (screen 2).

Screen 1

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Screen 2

Figure 6.1: myUnisa website

Watch the following YouTube video, entitled ‘What is a URL?’, for an explanation of what a URL is:
https://youtu.be/SMxx9XEF6m0

Activity 6.3

Test your knowledge of URLs by doing the following activity.

(1) Find the URLs for the following companies and organisations:

 Amazon (a US bookshop on the internet)

 University of Cape Town
 CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa)
 Mail & Guardian newspaper

(2) Look at the following URLs and decide which elements may be eliminated, and in which order, if
you are unable to find the address on the internet:

http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/internet/research.htm
http://www.llrx.com/columns/quality.htm
http://www.pbs.org/uti/begin.html

(3) Which countries do the following codes represent?

 uk
 za
 nz

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 ca

6.5 PORTALS

Many web users are frustrated by the overwhelming amount of information available. Portals provide a
solution by disseminating a packaged piece of the right information to the right person at the right time to
the right place in order to make the right decisions (Li 2003:42). Portals are therefore also known as
gateways or gateway sites to information. We already briefly introduced library portals in learning unit 5,
but we will look at portals in a bit more detail here.

A portal is a website that provides an entry point to the internet and offers value-added services such as
directories, searching, information news, and links to related websites (Deegan & Tanner 2002:160).

Portals are designed to serve as starting places for getting to the most relevant material on the Web.
They typically have a variety of tools such as a search engine, directory and news, all on a single page,
so that the user can use that page as the start page. Portals can often be personalised with regard to
content and layout. Hock (210:56) explains that many users select a portal as their start page and
personalise it. Thereafter, when they open their browsers, they have in front of them such things as news
headlines in their fields of interest, the weather for areas in which they are interested, stock performance,
sports results, yellow and white pages, maps and directories, directories of companies and lists of
events. The links on a portal are dynamically created for each user, rather than being static for the entire
population. The host of a portal can arrange to ‘push’ certain links onto a user’s page, while the user of a
portal can specify which links they will ‘pull’ to their portal.

6.5.1 Portal types

Portals are categorised in a number of ways (adapted from Deegan & Tanner 2002:163-164; Li 2003:49-
50; Eid 2008; Bothma et al 2017:58-62).

 Horizontal portals are general portals and focus on a wide array of interests and topics. They
focus on a general audience and try to present something for everybody. Horizontal portals act
as an entry point for a web user into the internet by providing content on the topic of interest and
guiding the user in the right direction to fetch more related resources and information. Well-
known examples include iGoogle (http://www.igoogleportal.com/) and AOL (https://www.aol.com/)

 Vertical portals focus only on one specific industry or domain. Vertical portals provide tools,
information, articles, research and statistics on the specific industry or domain. A vertical portal
will be structured according to industry standards, such as the financial sector. Vertical portals
include corporate portals and commercial portals.

 A corporate or enterprise portal (also known as an intranet) provides information related to the
internal functions and activities of the organisation, such as internal policies and documents
reporting progress on work. It has a narrow targeted audience with restricted access rights. The
audience is company employees, selected public websites and vertical-market websites (vendors
and suppliers). It includes a search engine for internal documents, as well as the ability to
customise the portal page for different user groups and individuals. It can also serve as a
business platform from which chargeable services or products are offered.

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  Commercial portals, also known as e-commerce or e-business portals, try to reach the widest
possible diverse audience with the narrowest amount of content. The audience is external
partners, customers and suppliers. E-marketing is considered one of the fastest-growing e-
businesses on the Web. By using portals, one-to-one marketing is possible to keep abreast of a
user’s demands for specific products.

 Business intelligence portals or decision portals empower users in their decision-making process.
More than just allowing users to query and report across multiple data stores, business
intelligence portals have built-in tools that provide targeted reports to end-user groups and
individuals. Business intelligence portals cater to the needs of executives looking for top-level
information relating to company performance, general employees requiring ad hoc reports, as
well as those within the organisation whose specific role is to mine and analyse data.

 Subject portals are gateways to sources of information limited to a specific field of study. Library
portals often contain subject portals to specific disciplines, such as business administration,
languages, history, law, science and medical sciences. Each subject portal provides access to
reference works available through the library. These subject portals are also known as library
guides or subject gateways. Examples are the Unisa Library guides portal
(http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/?b=g&d=a) and UJ (University of Johannesburg) sciences portal
(http://ujsciencelibrarian.pbworks.com/w/page/6193643/FrontPage)

 Government and country portals are developed to provide information on a particular government
or country. Such a portal contains information about the country, such as its history, geography,
population, economy and tourist-related information. It also offers information on government
structures, e-government, government departments, etc. South Africa National Data Portal
(http://data.gov.za/) is an example of a country portal. Government of South Africa
(https://www.gov.za/) is an example of a government portal.

 Portals of international organisations provide information on what the organisations do and are
often available in different languages. Examples include the United Nations
(http://www.un.org/en/index.html), UNESCO (https://en.unesco.org/) and the International
Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) (https://www.ifla.org/)

Activity 6.4

Access and explore a horizontal portal, the portal of a country such as South Africa, the portal of an
international organisation and a library portal. For each portal, compile a list of all the categories of
information that you can hyperlink to (i.e. click on a link that takes you to those specific categories of
information). Critically consider how useful portals are in providing information for any information task,
such as an assignment that you are busy with.

Visit the library guides portal of Unisa Library at http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/?b=g&d=a Select any subject
that you are studying or are interested in, such as education, law, business management,
communication science or African languages. Now answer the following questions:

 Name e-book databases that the portal provides access to.

 Name some of the subject databases for journal articles.
 What tip does the portal provide on what to do if a full-text article is not available from a
database?
 Name some of the quick reference sources that the portal provides access to.

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 Name some of the national and international subject-related internet sites that the portal provides
access to.
 Name some of the open educational resources (OERs) that the portal provides access to.

6.6 INTERNET APPLICATIONS IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the internet started to change traditional library and information
science/services (LIS) functions and was mainly used for communication, database searching and
bibliographic access. It has been said that no innovation has affected the library profession to such a
great extent as the internet, the Web and networked resources (Rao & Babu 2001:25). Today, LIS staff
can deliver customised information to the desktops or mobile devices of their users. Via the internet,
access to electronic resources helps to make the task of obtaining reference material more accessible
and much faster than ever before. These technological changes have been affecting every type of
library, including public, community, school, government, academic and special libraries.

According to Rajashekar (2004), the internet supports three key information-related activities:

 communication and messaging, such as e-mail

 information access
 publishing, distribution and dissemination – information hosting and delivery

The number of internet resources and services is vast and continuously growing. They provide various
forms of information, such as electronic books and electronic, up-to-the-minute news reports, as well as
tools such as indexes, encyclopaedias and dictionaries. They also cover a great variety of subject areas.
Apart from formal subject fields such as astronomy, economics and medicine, there is a great deal of
information available that relates to people’s daily lives, such as information on pets, hobbies, travel,
restaurants and entertainment.

There are several internet sites that provide access to full-text electronic books, journals, patents,
technical reports, and so on. Electronic publishing has become increasingly popular because of the
immediate availability of the most up-to-date research, its interactiveness, peer-review system and ease
of use. Electronic publishing of journals and books has a significant effect on libraries. All the functions
and services of such a virtual or electronic library are offered to end-users via the internet. The electronic
documents can be viewed by multiple users simultaneously, which eliminates the waiting period for
popular documents in the library (Rao & Babu 2001:30).

Libraries now have to face the challenge of organising, maintaining and providing access to electronic
information. Some attempts have been made to organise electronic publications on the internet.
Examples are compilations of print directories and guides to electronic publications and resources, as
well as online guides and indexes. However, this service is still being expanded and improved. Librarians
could select electronic publications, classify them according to subject areas and type of publication, and
then create a number of home pages arranged by subject for the public to use. They could also create
an archive to store back issues of electronic journals.

The development of digital technology in recent years has had a profound effect on information
processing, storage and transmission. In digital format, data can be compressed by eliminating long
strings of identical bits. In this way a large amount of storage space can be saved and data transmission
time can be shortened. This provides the opportunity for libraries to acquire, store, access, retrieve,

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disseminate and manage all information online. Examples of materials that are offered in digital format
are theses and dissertations, lecture notes, technical reports, project reports, journal articles, conference
papers, presentations and fragile documents.

In the past, libraries were seen as the main storage facility of information. As information services
become increasingly digital and more information resides on the internet, the focus of storage and
preservation is also shifting (INFLIBNET 2004:52). Many libraries do not purchase serials in print format
any longer, but subscribe to the electronic formats only. The internet has now become a medium for
preservation. Rare and fragile historical documents are scanned and stored for electronic viewing by
numerous users around the world for indefinite periods.

In the past, users had to visit their libraries in order to receive user education, that is, to learn how to use
the library and access its resources effectively. Nowadays, many library users access the library from
remote locations via laptop computers and mobile devices. Therefore, it makes sense to conduct user
education remotely too. The internet enables user education through e-mail, social networks, intranets
and virtual tours.

According to INFLIBNET (2004:55), a library website does not merely establish a presence on the
internet, because it enables the library to be accessible to users 24 hours a day. Additionally, a library’s
website is an important source of information about the library. The library’s internet policies, rules and
regulations, staff, collections, special programming and new materials can be made accessible at any
time from the website. The website also provides an interface to the library’s online public access
catalogue (OPAC). Furthermore, the library can provide web forms for various transactions, such as
interlibrary loan forms, book and journal requisition forms and suggestion forms.

The internet makes it possible for libraries to utilise a number of facilities to communicate with users and
for users to communicate with the library and with one another.

Library websites can incorporate blogs (also known as weblogs). In the past years, blogs have become
important tools for web-based communication. Uses for blogs can include user reflection, group
collaboration and resource sharing. They facilitate the free flow of ideas, foster discussion and promote
debate. They can be used in place of online discussion forums or e-mail lists (Sharpless Smith 2010:68-
69).

Libraries also use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and mySpace to communicate.
Social networks allow users to share ideas, activities, events and interests within the context of the LIS.
They can also be used to reach out to potential library users.

Libraries can also use wikis in their communication. This is an example of social software that makes it
easy for groups to work together in the virtual environment. A well-known example is Wikipedia
(www.wikipedia.org). Wikis are used in library instruction both to support and deliver instruction. Wikis
are ideal for discussions on evaluating information.

Activity 6.5

Access any library’s website, such as a public library, an academic library or a special library. Compile
notes on how this library utilises the internet in their services.

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6.7 WEB SEARCH TOOLS

Information on the internet changes rapidly. New sites appear daily and others are removed, edited or
updated. This means that the information on the internet is not static, in other words, it does not remain
the same. You could expect to find the very latest information on a topic on the internet. However, as
anybody may publish on the internet, much of the information on the internet may be unreliable.

Web search tools were developed to enhance the accessibility and retrievability of information on the
Web. Three types of web search tools exist: web directories, search engines and metasearch engines.

6.7.1 Web directories

Hock (2010:8) defines ‘web directories’ as websites that provide large collections of links arranged in
categories to enable browsing by subject area.

Web directories are websites that selectively categorise or classify a broad range of sites available on
the Web; usually these include only sites that are likely to be of interest to a large number of users. The
following features describe web directories in more detail:

 Web directories are software programs on which website information is evaluated and indexed.
 The aim of web directories is to arrange sources by subject for the purpose of helping individual
searchers to find relevant information.
 People index the information by categories or subjects, in other words, automatic or computerised
indexing is not used.
 The indexing is done hierarchically in the form of a subject tree, for example all information on sport
will be clustered together. Topics such as Soccer World Cup, ticket fees, stadium development and
FIFA may all fall under the main subject, Sport.
 Web directories are designed primarily for browsing and for answering general questions.
 The databases are relatively small compared with search engines.
 They tend to index only the main pages of sites and not all the individual pages.

When should you use a web directory?

 You could use a web directory if you have a general question, for example if you plan to visit a city
for the first time and want to find out what information is available about the city. One or two concepts
constitutes a general query (e.g. Durban museums), whereas a search involving three or more
concepts is more specific than a directory is able to support (e.g. Durban war museums).

 You should start with a web directory when you know that you need to get more specific than the
concept/query you have in mind initially, in other words, you first have to browse a bit to help narrow
down your search.

Web directories are also useful to delve the Invisible or Deep Web and are therefore considered to be
hybrid products (Devine & Egger-Sider 2009:93). They first search for the broad topic (surface search)
and then for its subcategories or topics. They allow you to get an overview of the subject matter through
a hierarchical arrangement in which the information provided goes from general to specific.

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Examples of web directories include

 Ipl2 (www.ipl.org)
 Hotfrog: This is one of the largest collections of business directories in the world.
(https://www.hotfrog.co.za/)
 Jasmine directory: This lists websites by topic and by region. (https://www.jasminedirectory.com/)
 DOAJ.org: Directory of Open Access Journals (https://doaj.org/)

There are many specialised directories covering fields such as social sciences and humanities, physical
and life sciences, business and economics, governments, law, education, news and genealogy.

To help you identify a specialised directory for a particular area of interest, you can consult directories of
directories, for example WWW Virtual Library (www.vlib.org) and Search Engine Guide-Search Engines
Directory (www.searchengineguide.com/searchengines.html)

6.7.2 Search engines

Fuller and Manning (1999:277) describe a search engine as a software service that facilitates queries by
allowing a user to enter search criteria to locate web sources. A search engine allows a user to search,
locate and retrieve information from the Web.

According to Hock (2010:10), a directory provides a good start when you want to be directed to just a
few selected items on a fairly general topic, for example travel. On the other hand, search engines are
the place to go when you want something on a fairly specific topic, for example hotel accommodation in
Durban during April 2021. Search engines allow you to search every word from several billion web pages
and you can use more sophisticated techniques to search very specifically.

We can further explain the functioning of search engines according to the following features:

 A search engine is a software program set up as a web page to allow users to type in keyword
queries in the location bar.
 A search engine also runs on a server (computer) – or a collection of servers – dedicated to
indexing websites and pages.
 The query is then matched against website and web page information indexed by a robot or
spider.
 Results are displayed on the results page, which is part of the interface. These results link the
user to various websites.

Examples of search engines include

 Google™ (Google.com)
 Yahoo! (https://za.yahoo.com/)
 Bing (Bing.com)
 Ask.com (https://www.ask.com/)

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Below is an example of the well-known Google™ search engine.

Figure 6.2: Example of Google™ search engine

There are many more general and subject-specific search engines. The Search Engine List
(http://www.thesearchenginelist.com/) provides a comprehensive list of search engines, organised
according to type (category) and giving a brief description of each search engine. Below is a screen
shoot of The Search Engine List.

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 Figure 6.3: The Search Engine List

Activity 6.6

Suppose you have to conduct information searches on the following topics:

 books
 banking industry
 enterprises
 games
 job seeking
 health
 shopping

Access The Search Engine List and identify at least one search engine that you would use for each of
the above topics.

Apart from the general search engines mentioned so far, the Web can also be searched by means of
specialised search engines. Google™ Scholar (https://scholar.google.co.za/) is an example of a
specialised search engine for scholarly (academic and research-related) information. The information
has been peer-reviewed and is generally reliable. This is in contrast to information retrieved from general
search engines' results. Information sources include articles, books, reports and dissertations and
theses. If you have to find information from the Web for an assignment, it is recommended that you use
Google™ Scholar rather than Google™ (Bothma et al 2017:95).

Activity 6.7

Use Google™ and then Google™ Scholar to search for the phrase ‘climate changes’. Compare the
results by looking at the type of information sources you retrieve. Can you see the difference between
the more general websites retrieved by Google™ and the more academic sources retrieved by Google™

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Scholar?

News search engines are search engines that specialise in news information – the type of information
you want to know about as soon as it happens. Examples include Google™ News
(https://news.google.com), Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com) and Bing™ News
(http://www.bing.com/news)

6.7.3 Metasearch engines

A metasearch engine is a server (computer) that passes queries on to many search engines and/or
directories and then summarises all the results. Examples are Dogpile, MetaCrawler and Search.com.

Metasearch or multiple search engines do not compile an index of websites and information, but link into
those of other search engines when a query is submitted. The metasearch engine searches for
information on more than one database of more than one search engine or web directory and provides
results that comprise relevant information from all databases in which it searched. They can cover
portions of a large number of search engines and directories in a single search. They can be useful in
finding something obscure, that is, topics about which little is known or topics that are not clearly defined.

Most of the following features of metasearch engines relate to their drawbacks or disadvantages (Hock
2010:72). It is important that you be aware of these issues when you conduct information searches:

 Because the major search engines often produce very different results, metasearch engines
provide a quick way to determine which engines are retrieving the best match for your information
need.
 They may not cover most of the large search engines. You have to check that it at least covers
Google™, Yahoo!, Bing™ and Ask.com.
 Most only return the first ten to twenty records from each source, which means that you may miss
important results.
 Most search syntax does not work (‘syntax’ refers to the arrangement of words and phrases and
structure of statements when compiling a query). Some metasearch engines let you search by
title, URL, etc, but most do not.
 Some present paid listings first, which may not include relevant results.
 They do not always offer the additional content (besides the listing of web page results) that
many individual search engines present.
 In evaluating a metasearch engine, the quality of results is important. Because metasearch
engines query multiple sources (search engines and databases), they can often select the best
results the Web has to offer. But if they do not work well, they can also multiply poor or irrelevant
search results.
 There are numerous free metasearch engines and they appear and disappear fairly quickly.

Examples of metasearch engines include

 Dogpile (www.dogpile.com)
 Ixquick (https://www.ixquick.com/)
 Yippy (https://yippy.com/)
 WebCrawler (http://www.webcrawler.com/)
 Search.com (https://www.search.com/)

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Below is an example of a metasearch engine.

Figure 6.4: Example of a metasearch engine

Activity 6.8

Conduct a web search on any topic(s) that interest you. Use a web directory, search engine and
metasearch engine. You can use any of the examples mentioned in this section. Compare the results
from the different web search tools. Which tool gave you the most relevant result?

6.8 CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this learning unit we looked at the role of the internet and the Web in searching for information for an
information task. However, in order to search for information successfully, you have to use appropriate
search strategies. In the following learning unit you will learn how to use search strategies to search the
Web, as well as library databases.

6.9 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. When and where did the internet originate?

2. Why was this technology an important new development?
3. Who has access to the internet today?
4. Differentiate between the internet and the World Wide Web.
5. What do you need to access the internet?
6. What challenges are posed by the internet?
7. Name five information sources found on the internet.
8. Is all information on the internet provided free of charge?
9. Name three uses of the internet.
10. Identify and describe at least three ways in which a library can utilise the internet to communicate
with its users.

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11. What are the advantages of accessing information online (electronic format), in contrast to
accessing print formats?
12. Give your own definition of ‘the Web’.
13. Differentiate between web directories, search engines and metasearch engines. Provide one
example of when you would use each tool to search the Web.
14. Explain why you should be familiar with the Deep Web.
15. What is the function of a URL?

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LEARNING UNIT 7

THE SEARCH STRATEGY

7.1 INTRODUCTION

In the previous learning unit we introduced the internet and the World Wide Web as part of our sources
for information retrieval. But have you noticed that it is not always easy to search (or surf) the internet
and find what you are looking for? It is often not enough simply to type single words into a search
engine, such as Google™, and retrieve a list of references to websites that have the specific information
you want. When you type in a query in the search box or command line of a search engine such as
Google™, you usually retrieve thousands of results. For example, the search query "climate change
South Africa" retrieved over 12 million results. Obviously, it is impossible to check 12 million results to
find some useful information. Therefore, in order to search effectively, we have to use a search strategy
or search query.

Now that you know about the different web search tools available and have some idea of how they
operate, our next objective is to determine how to compile search queries to ensure the effective retrieval
of websites.

In this learning unit we continue with the second phase of the work plan of the information task, namely
the retrieving phase, and the second step of that phase, namely selecting information from the
information sources by using search strategies.

Before we proceed, it is necessary to distinguish between two activities that we usually perform when we
look for information, namely searching and browsing.

‘Searching’ is the formulating of a search query, entering it in a search facility – such as the search box
of a search engine – and retrieving (getting) the results. It means you have to think about the information
you are looking for so that you can use appropriate terms and combine them in a way that will retrieve
the best results. If we compare it to doing manual searches in a library, searching means you approach
the library catalogue – or ask the librarian to assist you – armed with the key terms of your information
task. Then you use those terms to search the catalogue yourself or the librarian will do it on your behalf.
You would use searching when you know the keywords of a topic for an information task.

‘Browsing’ means that you explore the Web for information, starting from a broader perspective. You
start by searching broad categories of information and then narrow down your search by selecting
certain links or subcategories. For example, you could start a search by selecting the broad category
"climate" and then narrow it down to "rainfall patterns" if you are specifically interested in this topic. If we
compare it to manual browsing in a library, browsing could mean that you go directly to the shelves
where books, journals and other sources on a subject are kept. You scan the shelves to get an idea of
the available items and, if you notice a specific item, you can select it. You would use browsing when
you need to brainstorm a topic for ideas and to come up with keywords.

Activity 7.1

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When you look for information for an assignment, do you use searching and/or browsing? Why? Which
activity do you think is most useful and retrieves the best results?

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit, you should be able to

 distinguish between searching and browsing

 prepare for an information search by following the appropriate steps
 formulate search queries by using Boolean operators and text operators
 search for information using a search engine, metasearch engine and web directory and applying
an applicable search query
 search online databases via the library's website and directly via the Web
 retrieve specific journal articles, e-books and websites that are useful for an academic
information task
 explain why it is necessary to search databases – and not only the Web – for academic
information tasks

KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts that we will use in this learning unit are

 bibliographic databases
 Boolean operators
 full-text databases
 internet
 keywords
 metasearch engines
 search engines
 text operators
 truncation
 web directories
 the World Wide Web

7.2 SEARCH STRATEGY

In order to construct a search strategy, you have to do a bit of preparation before you even access the
internet. Below we briefly indicate the most important steps to follow in this regard (adapted from Bothma
et al 2017:72).

Step 1: First find out what the topics of the information task are. From the topics, it is possible to identify
keywords. We discussed the determination of topics and keywords in detail in learning unit 2. At this
stage, it is a good idea to read through those sections again.

Step 2: Once you have written down keywords, have a look at how you wrote them down. For example,
did you write them down in singular or plural form (e.g. “library” is singular and “libraries” is plural)? You

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have to ask yourself whether you are looking for information on one library or libraries in general. But it is
also possible that you want information on both terms, as well as on ‘librarians’. If that is the case, you
will have to use a technique called truncation, which will enable you to search for all three terms at the
same time. When you use truncation, your search term will look like this: librar*. The * means that all
keywords starting with librar and followed by any other letters will be searched.

Step 3: Identify proper nouns, personal names and place names. It is important to decide on these
nouns, as they can help you to make your search more specific. For example, you may want to search
for information about libraries in a certain geographical area (place), or you may want to search for the
names of persons working in libraries.

Step 4: Identify time periods. In many instances you may want information about a topic covering a
certain period, for example information on libraries in Soweto in the 1990s. Knowing the period further
helps to narrow the search. It is important to note that there is a difference between the time period of
your topic and the publication dates of information sources about the topic. For example, if you look for
information on libraries in Soweto in the 1990s, the publication dates do not have to be restricted to the
1990s; authors could have written books, articles or research papers about the topic long after the
1990s. Many search engines allow you to restrict your search to certain time periods or to publications
published during a certain period.

Step 5: Identify your required format of the information source. Formats refer to information in written
(text) form, graphics, audio, video or multimedia (combining formats). For example, do you want printed
or e-books about the topic? Do you want journal articles, research papers and reports? Do you want
images (pictures) and tables related to the topic? Do you want to watch video clips? It helps to know this
because some search engines will allow you to indicate your preferred formats.

Once you have followed the above steps, you can start to compile a search strategy using techniques
such as Boolean operators and text operators.

7.3 BOOLEAN OPERATORS

The compilation of a query that will bring about successful results is based on the effective use of
Boolean and text operators. The term used in textbooks and other information sources for the combined
use of operators and keywords is called a ‘search strategy’ or ‘search query’. To ensure the successful
retrieval of the most appropriate websites, you have to compile a search strategy to type in the command
line of a Web search tool, such as a search engine.

A search strategy comprises keywords or keyword phrases combined with operators to instruct a search
engine or web directory to locate web pages. A ‘keyword’ is a word that forms part of a search tool
query. A ‘keyword phrase’ is a phrase of words that forms part of a search tool query.

The function of these operators is simply to bring order to a query by gathering or separating things into
neat piles, depending on the information you are looking for (Ralph 2007:1).

Operators that we will examine in more detail include the following:

Boolean Text
AND Case sensitivity
OR Truncation

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NOT Proximity
Inclusion/exclusion
Wildcards

Most web search tools use Boolean logic operators. The word ‘Boolean’ is named after a mathematician,
George Boole. Boolean logic uses three operators, namely AND, OR and NOT. Together with two or
more keywords, these operators instruct a web search tool to retrieve web documents that include or
exclude certain words.

The following example will help you to understand the use of these three operators:

a) Use of the Boolean operator AND

Suppose we are looking for information on cats and dogs on the Web. The diagram below shows how
the operator AND works. It shows two sets of websites, those that contain information about dogs and
those that contain information about cats. The area that overlaps consists of a group of websites that
contain information on both cats and dogs. If we search for cat AND dog, the web search tool will show
us only web pages that contain information on both these terms.

Do
g Ca
Cat t

AND
Dog

b) Use of the Boolean operator OR

Suppose we are looking for web pages that contain the word "cat" or the word "dog". The diagram below
again shows the two universes (i.e. all the websites) with cat and dog. The Boolean operator OR
includes all dogs from the dog universe and all cats from the cat universe, as well as dogs that appear in
the cat universe and cats that appear in the dog universe. Web pages that include both the words "dog"
and "cat", or only "dog" or only "cat", will all be displayed in the results of such a search.

Cat OR Dog

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 c) Use of the Boolean operator NOT

Here we are searching for web pages that contain the word "cat", but not the word "dog". The diagram
shows how the operator NOT works. Once again, it shows the two universes of cat and dog. However,
the Boolean operator excludes all dogs from the cat universe. What is left is only that portion of the cat
universe that contains no dog. Web documents that contain only the word "cat" will thus be retrieved.

Cat NOT Dog

Activity 7.2

Read through the following search strategies and indicate which set of web documents you think will be
retrieved by each. For example: Apples AND Pears will retrieve documents that contain only the words
“apples” as well as “pears”.

trees NOT shrubs:

shoes AND socks:
books OR poetry:
water OR rivers:
houses AND paint:
wildlife NOT African:

Let's now try something more difficult:

cookery AND fruit NOT bananas:

business OR money AND cars:

It should have been easy for you to complete the first six examples. In the first one, the search tool will
look for websites that contain only the word "trees" and will exclude any sites with the word "shrubs" in
them. In our second example, only websites that contain both keywords "shoes" and "socks" would have
been retrieved. Our third example would have retrieved all websites that contained the word "books", all
websites that contained the word "poetry", as well as all websites that contained both these words. The
same applies to example 4. In example 5, the search tool would have displayed only websites that
contain both the words "houses" and "paint", and in example 6, all websites about "wildlife" other than
"African wildlife" would have been displayed.

Examples 7 and 8 are a bit more difficult because those search queries contain two Boolean operators.
In example 7, the search tool will display all websites that contain the words “cookery”’ as well as the

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word "fruit", but no websites that contain the words “fruit” and “banana” or “cookery” and “banana”.
Example 8 will display all websites that contain the words “business”, “money” and “cars”.

Activity 7.3

Let’s try another activity on Boolean operators. Read through the following short case studies and
compile a search strategy for each.

Peter is looking for information on the planet Mars, but every time he types in his search query “planet”
or “Mars”, he ends up with thousands of hits. Use the correct Boolean operators to help him formulate
the correct search strategy.

Mpho loves sport and wants to know when the next Australian cricket tour to South Africa will take place.
He compiled the search query “cricket Australia”, but cannot find any information. Formulate a search
strategy that will ensure successful retrieval of the required information.

7.4 TEXT OPERATORS

A variety of text operators can be used to further enhance the search strategy that we can compile to
ensure the effective retrieval of results on the Web. These include the following:

 Case sensitivity. Case sensitivity refers to the use of UPPER and lower cases in the compilation
of keywords and phrases in a search. Some web search tools place more emphasis on letters,
keywords or phrases typed in UPPER CASE in the command line. If you type in a search such as
“CAESAR” AND “salad”, some search tools will place more emphasis on the keyword typed in
UPPER CASE than on the one typed in lower case. Other web search tools may place no
emphasis on keywords that are typed in upper case. In that case, using either lower or upper
case, or a combination of each, will result in the same number of hits.

 Truncation. Truncation refers to the ability of a web search tool to search for word stemming, as
well as for the plural, singular and tense differentiation that may occur in the search word. Some
web search tools will search for the words "wooden", "wooded" and "woody" if the keyword
"wood" is used in the search query. The symbol * is used to instruct a web search tool to search
for the truncation of a keyword. For example, wood* would also retrieve "wooden", "wooded" and
"woody".

 Proximity search. Proximity search refers to the ability of a web search tool to search for keyword
phrases. These phrases are designated by enclosed quotation marks: “ ”. Web search tools
search for phrases enclosed by double quotation marks, such as “library information technology”
in their database, and retrieve only those documents in which the phrase appears in the specific
order in which the keywords in the phrase appear.

 Inclusion/exclusion operators. Inclusion (+) and exclusion (–) operators function in a similar way
to the AND and NOT Boolean operators. Web search tools often prefer the use of the + and –
operators to the AND and NOT Boolean operators. An inclusion operator + in front of a keyword
or phrase instructs the search engine or directory to search for that word or phrase as well. For
example, cats +dogs will instruct the web search tool to search only for documents that contain
both these words. An exclusion operator – in front of a word or phrase instructs the web search

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 tool to search for documents that do not contain that particular word or phrase. For example, cats
-dogs will instruct the web search tool to search for documents that contain the word "cats", but
not the word "dogs".

 Wildcards. Wildcard characters are used in queries to represent one or more alphanumeric
characters within a search term. The question mark (?) is used to represent one alphanumeric
character within a term. For example: b??d could return "band", "bond" or "baud". An asterisk (*),
however, is used to represent zero or more alphanumeric characters. For example: b*d could
return "bad", "bond" or "branded".

Activity 7.4

a) You are requested to conduct a search on the development of libraries.

b) Which Boolean operator would you use to compile an effective search strategy?
c) Give a reason for your answer in (b) above.
d) Write down your search query in the following command line:

e) A friend is thinking of emigrating to Namibia. She needs your assistance to find out what the
emigration requirements to Namibia are. Compile a search strategy that you would use to retrieve
the correct information.

f) Write down your query in the following command line:

g) Write down reasons for your choice of operator or search technique.

Hint: Conducting this activity on a computer with internet and web access may assist you in completing
the activity.

Activity 7.5

Complete the following table as a summary of the important operators to consider when using a web
search tool. Give your own examples. The first operator is already completed to serve as an example.

Name of operator Implication in search Example

strategy
AND operator Searches for words linked Apples AND pears will
by the operator retrieve only documents
that include both terms.

OR operator

NOT operator

–before a term

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+before a term

7.5 SEARCHING VIA WEB TOOLS

In learning unit 6 we introduced the following web search tools: subject directories, search engines and
metasearch engines. We will now look at how we can search the Web by means of these tools. We will
also see how these tools incorporate and use some of the Boolean and text operators to improve
searching.

7.5.1 Web directories

As indicated in learning unit 6, web directories are websites that provide large collections of links
arranged in categories to enable browsing by subject area. Web directories are websites that selectively
categorise or classify a broad range of sites available on the Web and usually include only sites that are
likely to be of interest to a large number of users. Web directories are designed primarily for browsing
and for answering general questions.

We will look at IPL2 as an example of a web directory.

IPL2 resulted from the merger in 2009 of two well-known directories, namely Librarians' Internet Index
and Internet Public Library. The IPL2 website was launched in 2010. The IPL2 collection consists of more
than 40 000 well-organised, annotated “librarian-approved” resources, including ready reference
sources, books, magazines, newspapers and other special collections (Hock 2010:40). There is also
provision for resources for children, teens and teachers. IPL2 offers a free “ask a question” reference
service and a free regular newsletter that provides e-mail updates on new sites added. Volunteer library
and information professionals and students are involved in answering reference questions. They are also
involved in the designing, creating and maintaining of the collections.

You can directly access IPL2 at www.ipl.org Figure 7.1 shows a screen shot of the home page of IPL2,
which also represents the search or input interface. An interface is the display that you see when you
look at a website. The search or input interface is the screen that shows you the categories under which
you can search and provides a search box or command line where you can type a search query.

The page illustrated in figure 7.1 displays the directory's categories, a search box and a reference
question (“ask a librarian”) option.

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 Search box
/ Command
line

Figure 7.1: Home page of IPL2

The main categories for browsing include Resources by Subject, Newspapers & Magazines, Special
Collections Created by IPL2, Collections for Kids and Collections for Teens. When you access the
Resources by Subject, you find subject areas for browsing.

When you click on the subcategory, a list of websites is displayed. Below each site is a short description
and evaluation of the site to help you decide whether the site will be relevant for your information need.
Near the top of each list you can also see where you are in the directory (<Subject Home> Health and
Medical Sciences > Paediatrics). The page below is an example of the results or output interface. This is
the screen that shows you a list of results or links to relevant websites. By clicking on the links, the
websites with the information will open.

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Search Help

Results
display

Figure 7.2: Example of the results or output interface

If, for example, you are interested in finding information on children's health, you will select the Health &
Medical Sciences category. Within that category, you will find the subcategory Paediatrics (which is the
term used for children’s health).

A search box appears on most pages. The search automatically uses the AND Boolean operator, but
you can use an OR between terms and you can truncate using an asterisk (*), for example transport*.
The advanced search page provides for searching by simple Boolean operators/logic, limiting to specific
domains/sites, limiting to date range (when the site first appeared in the directory), and the ability to
match search terms either exactly or in a fuzzy (approximate) mode. When you access the Search Help
option, IPL2 provides an explanation of how wildcards, Boolean operators, range searches and advanced
features (including approximate searches) can be used.

Figure 7.3: Use of wildcard characters and Boolean operators

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Activity 7.6

By using the browsing function of IPL2, find information about the history of the internet. Explain how you
browse to find the appropriate subcategory. How many sources did you retrieve? Which sources would
you consider to be the most relevant? List five of them. Repeat the search by using the search box, that
is, type a search query. Compare your findings with those from the browsing activity. Did you retrieve the
same results?

The best way to become familiar with a tool such as IPL2 is to use it often, experiment with the various
facilities and compare the results.

7.5.2 Search engines

A search engine is a service on the Web that allows searching of a large database of web pages by
word, phrase and other criteria (Hock 2010:61).

We look at Google™ as an example. Google™ is one of the most popular general-purpose search
engines. Google is popular because it is fairly easy to use – including for the novice and casual user. It is
also popular for its efforts to increase the size of its database and the provision of additional features and
types of content.

Besides web page searching, Google™ also provides excellent image, video, news, newsgroup and
shopping databases. Google™ also makes provision for more specialised format searches, such as for
journal articles and books, as well as non-search services including e-mail, satellite images and maps
(Hock 2010:75).

Figure 7.4 shows a screen shot of Google™ home page, which is accessible at www.google.com or you
can also access your country-specific Google home page, for example www.google.co.za

Figure 7.4: Google™ home page

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If you have used Google before, you will be familiar with the simple and uncluttered home page. Yet, the
home page includes the following useful features (Blachman & Peek 2010; Hock 2010:75-100):

 A search box (command line) in which you can enter one or more words. You can use a minus
sign in front of a term to exclude that term (Boolean NOT). You can also use OR, as well as
several prefixes, such as intitle:, intext:, inurl: . On the home page, Google™ automatically ANDs
all your words. Google™ ignores small, common words unless you insert a plus sign immediately
in front of them (e.g. +the), or if they are part of a phrase within quotation marks.

 Links to Google’s databases and other services. These include the default web database, images
(one of the largest image search databases), videos, maps (including driving directions and
satellite images), news (covering 25 000 English news sources and a news archive), shopping
and Gmail (Google's free web mail service). There is also a More link, which may include the
following databases and services: Groups (created by Google users), Books (searching of full
text of millions of books and the ability to preview some of the pages), Scholar (searching
scholarly literature from peer-reviewed journals, theses, etc), Reader (an RSS reader), Blogs
(Google’s blog search), Calendar (a shareable online calendar) and Even More (a link that takes
you to the page that lists all of the major services provided by Google).

 Advanced Search link. Google's advanced search page provides field search options (title,
domain, link, language and date), facilities for Boolean combinations, number of results per page,
language options, option to retrieve only specific file formats, limiting to a particular site or
domain, date restriction, material limited according to use, sharing, modification, etc., filter option
to restrict adult content, option to limit searches to a specific country, window to limit retrieval to
title, text or URL fields or within the links on the page, and links to topic-specific searches, such
as books, scholarly publications, news archives and universities.

 Language tools. You can translate your search terms, search results and text of a web page into
more than 40 languages. You can display the Google interface in any one of 129 languages. You
can also link to the Google country-specific versions for more than 170 countries.

 I'm Feeling Lucky. This option takes you directly to a page that Google would have listed first in
your results.

 Various special options, such as links for information on advertising, the company, featured
services and About Google, which is Google’s Help link.

 Personalised Home/Sign In. You can sign up for Google's services, such as the iGoogle
personalised portal page, Documents, Search History and Subscribed Links.

 Search settings. You can customise your search settings according to language search and
interface preferences, SafeSearch (adult content filter), Number of results per page, Option to
have results open in a new window, turn Query Suggestions on or off, and subscribed links (a
library of special content that can automatically be added to your searches).

 Examples of how to use Google™ search functionality.

From the above list, it should already be evident that Google™ is a very powerful search engine and if
you know how to utilise its features, you should be able to achieve many successful searches and

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retrieve relevant results. Below we will illustrate some of the most commonly used Google search
features. It is important to use these features in order to save time and avoid the retrieval of thousands of
irrelevant results.

How does Google™ use Boolean operators?

As we have mentioned earlier, Google automatically uses AND between search terms. If you search:
“dogs cats OR behaviour –fighting”, you will retrieve all the records that contain the word “dogs” and also
contain either “cats” or “behaviour”, but that would eliminate all records containing the word “fighting”. On
Google’s Advanced Search page, simple Boolean searching is done by use of “all these words”, “one or
more of these words”, and “any of these unwanted words” boxes. The screen shot in figure 7.5 illustrates
the Advanced Search page.

Figure 7.5: Google's Advanced Search page

Title searching

Title searching enables you to limit searches to words appearing in the page title. In the search box you
can type the prefix intitle: (for a certain word or phrase) or allintitle: (to specify that all words after the
colon be in the title). If, for example, we search allintitle: cat behaviour, the following results are
displayed (i.e. all the titles containing the words cat behaviour).

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Searching for
titles that
contain all the
words:
allintitle:

Figure 7.6: Title searching

You could also use the Advanced Search page to select where you want the words to appear:

Here are
more options
to use in
order to
refine
searches.

Keywords
should
appear in the
title page

Figure 7.7: Using the Advanced Search page

Similarly, you can limit retrieval to pages from a particular URL, using the prefixes inurl: or allinurl:

The screen shot in figure 7.7 also shows some of the other options that you can use to refine your
searches, for example Language, File type, Search within a site or domain.

Wildcard words: You can use one or more asterisks (*) for “wildcard words” – those unknown words in a
phrase. The use of each asterisk represents one missing word. For example, if you enter the phrase

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Essential * to cat behaviour, you will retrieve all the records that contain “Essential guide to cat
behaviour”, “Essential secrets to cat behaviour”, etc.

In figure 7.8 is a screen shot of a results page (interface) where we searched for dogs cats behaviour
and specified that we wanted discussions from the last 24 hours about the topic. We selected
Discussions and Past 24 hours from the options in the left-hand column.

Figure 7.8: Google results

At the top of the page, Google™ reports how many results were retrieved. By selecting More options
from the left-hand side, you can further refine the search. In some of the results there are underlined
words, phrases or links. Depending on the nature of the results, clicking on them may lead to specific
topics within the record or other articles related to the topic.

Google™ also searches its other databases whenever you do a web search. If your topic has been in the
news recently, then either above, below or among your results you will see a section on News Results
for …, with up to three headlines and a link to more.

If Google™ thinks that you have misspelt a search term, you will see a “Did you mean” message with a
suggested alternative spelling.

If you retrieve a record for a page that is available in more than one language, you will see a link to
“Translate this page”. You can click on that link for an English translation of the page.

In this section about Google, we have only touched on some of the features that make Google a
powerful and popular search engine. There are many more features that you can learn about and that
will enable you to conduct more successful searches.

Google Guide is an online tutorial that provides much more information and guidelines on how to utilise
Google’s services and features optimally. It is available at www.googleguide.com Figure 7.9 shows a
screen shot from Google Guide.

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Figure 7.9: Google Guide

Activity 7.7

You have been approached by library users to find information from the Web on certain questions.
Access Google™ and, more specifically, the Advanced Search form, to search for information on the
following topics:

a) What are some home remedies for getting rid of ants?

b) What are Botox parties and what happens at these parties? Which movie stars have had Botox
treatment?
c) Provide directions to drive from the UNISA main campus in Pretoria to the Madikwe Game
Lodge.
d) Who was the head coach of the South African national football team (Bafana Bafana) in
2010/2011 (after the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup)? When was he born? Why did the team not
qualify for the 2012 African Cup of Nations?

7.5.3 Metasearch engines

Metasearch or multiple search engines do not compile an index of websites and information, but link into
those of other search engines when a query is submitted. The metasearch engine searches for
information on more than one database of more than one search engine or subject directory and
provides results that comprise relevant information from all databases in which it searched. These
search engines can cover portions of a large number of search engines and directories in a single
search. They can be useful in finding something obscure, in other words, topics about which little is
known or that are not clearly defined.

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We look at Dogpile as an example. Dogpile is a relatively new metasearch engine (Kumar & Pavithra
2010), which searches websites, images, audio and video files, yellow pages, etc. It brings together the
results from some of the most popular search engines.You can access Dogpile at
http://www.dogpile.com/

In figure 7.10 is a screen shot of Dogpile's home page.

Figure 7.10: Dogpile home page

As you can see from the above page, Dogpile uses a very creative, fun-looking interface. By clicking the
GO FETCH! button, the metasearch engine will search for a typed search query through the databases
of other search tools.

The Dogpile simple search interface also provides access to an advanced search interface where the
user can narrow down the search to specific words, the elimination of words and exact phrase searching.

This interface provides you with the option to do a search for information, businesses or sites situated in
a specific country, state or city. You can also choose to refine the search further by asking only for
information in a specific language.

Dogpile searches the databases of different search engines and subject directories and should therefore
be able to support all Boolean operator uses, as well as any other search technique supported by
individual search tools. Other search strategy tips to remember when searching with Dogpile include the
following:

 By inserting AND or + before a word, the user can require a specific combination of words to be
present in all search results.
 Certain words can be excluded from search results by using the NOT or – operators.
 By using keyword or phrase searching, Dogpile will retrieve the largest number of relevant results
to match the search query. Dogpile searches four search engines or subject directories at a time.

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As shown in the screen shot in figure 7.11, the list of the results of these four search engines is
then displayed on a results page.

Figure 7.11: Dogpile results list

As you can see from the above screen shot, Dogpile sorts results according to the search tool database
in which it searched. Information about each hit includes the title and URL of each hit. It also indicates
the relevance number of each hit to the search query. In the advanced search option, you can also
choose to view a summary of each retrieved site.

Activity 7.8

Electrosensitivity disorder or syndrome is considered to be a rather obscure subject. Use Dogpile to

conduct a search on this subject. Compile a list of the ten most relevant websites that you found.
Furthermore, search for videos on the topic and compile a list of five videos that you have retrieved. Also
change your preferences to your preferred local area and search under News about the topic.

From our examples of search engines, web directories and metasearch engines, you can see how these
web search tools use and support Boolean and text operators. It is therefore not always necessary to
construct the search query with these operators yourself; rather, use the facilities from the web tools as
they guide you in refining the search query.

The OPACs of libraries also utilise advanced search facilities, such as Boolean and text operators, for
searching. For example, Unisa Library uses advanced keyword searching, as shown in figure 7.12.

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 Figure 7.12: Advanced keyword searching

Activity 7.9

Access the Unisa Library’s OPAC. Select Search Options (at the top) and then Advanced Keyword
Search. Enter any search terms from assignments that you are currently working on. Use the options to
change Boolean operators from AND to NOT and OR and see how the results differ. Also experiment
with using the wildcards and field limits.

In the beginning, it may seem difficult to work with search strategies, but the more you practise, the more
you will find that you retrieve more specific, relevant information for your information tasks.

7.6 SEARCHING DATABASES

In learning units 4 and 5 we touched on the utilisation of bibliographies, indexes and abstracts as indirect
reference sources. These indirect reference sources refer you other sources where the information can
be located. But how do you search these reference sources? Bibliographies, indexes and abstracts are
contained in databases that are accessible via the internet. It is now also possible to search online
journals and other full-text databases. ‘Full-text’ means that the complete publication, that is, all the
content of the articles, is searchable via the internet. As you can see, we are therefore still using the
internet as our platform from where we search – this is similar to searching the Web.

It is important to be aware that databases are not all freely available and accessible via the internet. You
or an institution has to subscribe to these databases in order to access them. As a student who is
registered at an academic institution, you are granted access to the databases that the institution
subscribes to via their library.

You may be wondering why it is not sufficient to search only the Web via search engines, web directories
and metasearch engines, as explained in the previous section. When doing information tasks of an
academic nature, such as an assignment, you want to be sure that you use quality, reliable and

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authoritative information. Databases provide access to publications that contain information that meets
these requirements for academic assignments.

7.6.1 What is a database?

A database is a computerised system that systematically stores information in the form of records. A
record is basically a representation of an information source. For example, a journal article can be one
record in a database that contains records of journal articles. The systematic organisation makes it
possible to search and retrieve the records. We mostly talk of bibliographic databases when they store
records of bibliographic items found in indexes, abstracts and bibliographies. In other words, the
bibliographic, index and abstract records (discussed in learning unit 5) are contained in a bibliographic
database. The term ‘full-text databases’ refers to databases containing the full text of books, journal
articles, conference papers, theses and dissertations, reports, etc.

Some of the most well-known databases are ERIC, Emerald, SpringerLink, Taylor & Francis ProQuest
and SAePublications.

The records in a bibliographic database provide only bibliographic details about publications and refer
you to the actual publications. Via a link from the bibliographic database, you can then retrieve the
publications from their full-text databases. When you search a full-text database directly, it will provide
you with the full-text publication in electronic format.

Each database record consists of a number of fields. There are fields for author names, titles, volume
and page numbers, as well as subject heading fields, keyword fields, abstract fields and fields for other
publication details. When you enter your search query, the database will search in the applicable fields.
For example, if you enter the name of an author, the database will search through all the records’ author
fields to retrieve the records that contain the name of that specific author.

7.6.2 How to access databases

You can access databases in three ways (adapted from Bothma et al 2017:117):

a) free access on the Web

b) access through digital libraries, pre-print archives, subject gateways and portals
c) controlled access; these databases are accessible through libraries linked to academic
institutions

a) Free access on the Web means that you do not have to subscribe to the database and you do not
need a password to access the database. The publications are free of charge and can be accessed
through open-access repositories, as explained in learning unit 4. You will, however, find that there
are often not enough of these databases available to fulfil all your information needs.

b) Access through digital libraries, pre-print archives, subject gateways and portals. As explained in
learning unit 5, there are digital libraries available via the Web that you can use to access databases.
Some digital libraries offer free access and others are available through subscription. Subject
gateways and portals serve as single points of entry to databases. They are similar to web
directories, as they also organise information resources from broader to narrower categories. Digital
libraries and subject gateways and portals can be very valuable for finding quality academic

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 information sources. Pre-prints are pre-publication drafts of articles, papers, etc. Because pre-prints
are still in draft format, there is no guarantee that they are error-free. These databases are very
useful when you are no longer a member of an academic institution. Some databases, such as
SAePublications (http://reference.sabinet.co.za/sa_epublications), allow you to search the bibliographic
information for free, but not access the full text for free.

c) Controlled access. These databases are accessible through libraries linked to academic institutions.
Libraries of academic institutions subscribe to certain databases. As a registered student, you can
access these databases via the library’s website. Figure 7.13 shows screenshots of Unisa Library’s
access pages to databases and journal titles.

Figure 7.13: Unisa Library's access pages to databases and journal titles

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If you search for a journal title, for example Journal of Management Development, the following results
are displayed:

Figure 7.14: Results of journal title search

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Clicking on the link of the journal title takes you to the following screen. The bibliographic details of the
publication are displayed and there is also a link to the database that actually contains the e-journal – in
this case, Emerald database. As you can see, access is restricted to Unisa staff members and students.

The link to the

full-text
database

Figure 7.15: Bibliographic details of the journal

If you follow the link, you will be transferred to the Emerald database, as shown below:

Figure 7.16: Journal details from Emerald database

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Now you can select the issue and specific articles that you want to read. Within the Emerald database,
you can also search for articles by formulating search queries very much in the same way as when you
search the Web. For example, the database also incorporates Boolean and text operators, as well as
other functions to enhance searching, as shown below.

Figure 7.17: Advanced searching in Emerald database

You can also gain access to e-books via the library. If you find the title of the book, there will be a link to
the database from where you can retrieve the book, for example Oxford University Press.

Some of the databases that you can link to from the library work only within the institution's boundaries.
In other words, you cannot link from the library's website to the database from a remote location, such as
your home or office. In that case, you can ask the library to assist you further. Alternatively, once you see

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from the library's website which database is used, you can search the Web for that database directly and
then search further for the publication on the website.

If you need any assistance in searching databases via the academic institution's website, you should ask
a librarian to assist you, as they can also conduct searches on your behalf.

Activity 7.10

Access the SAePublications website (http://reference.sabinet.co.za/sa_epublications) and search for the

accredited journal African Human Rights Law Journal. Within that journal, search for the article entitled:
The right of access to information and national security in the African regional human rights system,
published in 2017. You will notice that if you want the full-text article, you will have to pay for it.

In SAePublications, under open access journals, search for the journal South African Family Practice.
Within that journal, search for the article entitled: South African family practice – Colds, flu and coughing:
a review of over-the-counter nasal therapies in general practice, published in 2013. You will notice that
you can download the full-text article for free because it is an open-access journal.

Access the Unisa Library and search for the e-journal South African Journal of Information Management.
To which database can you connect in order to access the journal articles?

Access the Unisa Library and search for the e-book How does my country grow?: economic advice
through story-telling by Brian Pinto. To which database can you connect to access the book? Access the
chapter entitled: Lessons from low-income countries.

7.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS

The effective use of individual search engines, web directories, metasearch engines and databases will
help you to retrieve information for an information task such as an assignment.

It is also important to have some understanding of how Boolean and text operators work, as these
operators are used in search tools for the Web and databases to refine searching and retrieve specific
results.

Neither the internet nor the Web is static. New technological developments continually influence the
services and information provision of these online tools. The aim of this learning unit was to illustrate
some examples of the different Web search tools and databases. It is now up to you to expand your
knowledge of the internet, the Web and databases.

At first it may seem complicated and overwhelming to search databases – and you may feel tempted
simply to return to Google™ and do simple searches. However, in order to complete an information task
successfully, especially an academic assignment, it is necessary to search for the best available
information sources, many of which can be accessed only via databases. If you feel unsure about how to
conduct the searches, don’t hesitate to ask a librarian to show you. It is also important to continue
practising and accessing as many websites and databases as possible. You can do this by searching for
information sources for your assignments and for any other topics that interest you. You will soon be
amazed at the wealth of information (i.e. in terms of quality, but not always quantity) available.
Remember that you cannot do any harm if you make mistakes during your searching, but you will soon
learn how to conduct more effective searches. Only if you use these online tools continuously will you
become a true master of the art of using the internet and its features for effective information retrieval.
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We have now covered the various ways in which you can find information sources: via libraries, the
internet, the Web and by searching databases. Once you have retrieved and downloaded, borrowed or
printed your sources, what do you do with them in order to use the information for the information task?
In the next learning unit you will learn how to organise and evaluate information.

7.8 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. Why is it important to determine your information topic and keywords before formulating a search
strategy?

2. How do Boolean and text operators assist you in retrieving accurate information sources?

3. What are the implications of confusing AND and OR Boolean operators?

4. While visiting two of your friends who often surf the Web for information, you hear that they often
have to access two or more search engines to find the information that they want. Having completed
this learning unit, you know that by using metasearch engines, they would be able to retrieve
information from more than one Web search tool. Write down some notes that you will use next time
you visit them to introduce them to metasearch engines and promote their use of this search tool.

5. Which search engine would you use to search for information on the following:

 Investec information
 photographs and other images
 sound
 video
 road maps
 personal home pages
 frequently updated news
 South African business news

6. When completing your assignments, why is it better to search databases to which libraries subscribe,
instead of just searching the Web via a search engine?

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LEARNING UNIT 8

ORGANISING INFORMATION AND PREPARING AN ASSIGNMENT

8.1 INTRODUCTION

In this learning unit we consider the third phase of the work plan of the information task, namely the
organising phase, and specifically the step of reading, evaluating, synthesising the information and
presenting the information task. Our focus is mainly on an academic assignment as an example of an
information task.

You will learn how to order or structure the information for an assignment, write the draft of the
assignment and then prepare the final assignment for submission.

Academic assignments may take different forms, for example answers to short and longer questions,
writing essays, reports and research papers, and preparing presentations. Assignments may have to be
submitted directly to your lecturer or tutor for assessment, or you may be requested to upload short
answers, entries in wikis, blog entries, graphic presentations, discussion forum participation and other
activities to an online platform for the modules you are registered for. myUnisa is an example of such a
platform where assignments may be submitted in various formats, depending on the instructions of the
assignment.

Examples of
types of
assignments

Figure 8.1: myUnisa assignment types

For the purpose of this module, we focus mainly on the preparation of longer, written assignments, such
as essays and reports. But in principle, the steps of searching for information, evaluating and
synthesising information and final preparation of assignments are the same, regardless of the
assignment format.

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Activity 8.1

Think about your own experiences of completing assignments. Do you ever have any of the following
difficulties?

Difficulties Yes No
1. actually starting to write my assignment document
2. understanding the information I have retrieved
3. deciding whether information is relevant to the topic of the
assignment
4. deciding which information is the most important to include in
my assignment
5. knowing how much information to include in the assignment
6. seeing connections between what different authors have written
about a topic
7. putting all the retrieved information together for my assignment
8. understanding what it means to ‘evaluate’ and ‘synthesise’
9. deciding whether my completed assignment is a good effort or
not

(Adapted from Behrens, Olën & Machet 1999:95)

If you experience any of these difficulties, the problem may be in the way you are going about working
with the information you have retrieved. You may have retrieved a lot of relevant information, but
struggle when it comes to converting the information into an assignment. After working through this
learning unit, you should be better equipped to overcome these difficulties.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit, you should be able to

 use your computer and other devices to organise information sources and other files
 evaluate information to determine its value for an assignment
 synthesise information to use it for an assignment
 differentiate between facts and non-facts
 structure an assignment
 write a first draft for an assignment
 edit an assignment to prepare the final version for submission

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KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts that we will use in this learning unit are

 cloud storage
 direct quotation
 edit
 evaluate
 facts
 file
 folder structure
 organise
 paraphrase
 proofread
 punctuation
 synthesise
 writing style

8.2 ORGANISING INFORMATION ON YOUR COMPUTER/TABLET/SMARTPHONE

In the previous learning units you learnt how to search for and retrieve relevant information. A lot of
information nowadays is available in digital (electronic) format and you can therefore organise and store
it on your computer, tablet or smartphone. You can even do your own digitisation by scanning hard
(print) copies of sources and then storing them as electronic files on your computer. The reason for
organising and storing information is so that it is easy to find it again. When information is stored in
digital format, you can also share information sources with fellow students, lecturers and tutors. In
learning unit 3 we touched on the use of ICTs when working with information. Revise those sections
now.

One of the most effective ways of organising information is to use folders and subfolders. A folder
structure is similar to a filing cabinet with drawers, where each drawer can be subdivided into numerous
hanging files, each with its own label. You can follow the same principle on your computer or other
electronic device.

The main folder is usually called My Documents. Within this main folder, you can create many
subfolders. Within these subfolders, you can create still more folders in which to organise additional files.
The screen shot in figure 8.2 illustrates how folders can be used to organise information sources for a
particular module and assignment. Within a folder, you can save various files. A file is basically a
document, presentation, etc that you have created, for example an assignment paper or a document or
web page that you have downloaded from the internet or from a database (e.g. a journal article).

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Figure 8.2: Use of folders

You can use the same principles to organise folders in your e-mail program and your Favourites or
Bookmarks in your internet browser. Make sure that you keep your folders up to date and that you save
your files in the correct folder. It is also important to use easy-to-recognise names (labels) for your
folders and files so that you can search for and find them again easily. Similar organising principles can
be followed on tablets and smartphones.

When you download information from the internet, immediately save the downloaded file in the correct
folder on your computer.

At this point we wish to mention the importance of making backups of all your important folders and files.
You should do this on a remote storage device, such as an external hard drive or a memory stick that
you can safely store at another location. Then, should something happen to your computer, tablet or
smartphone, you would still have all your important information.

Another storage solution is to store files in the cloud. Cloud storage is an internet service specifically
designed to allow users to upload files to servers (computers) that belong to a third party. These files can
be accessed over the internet from any computer, tablet or smartphone. It is also possible to share files
with other users by granting permission to share a specific file with identified users. You just need your
own account and password to access your files. If you store files in the cloud, your data will automatically
be synchronised between various devices. This means that a file you work on at your office or at the
university will automatically be synchronised with your other devices if they are connected to the internet.
You can then continue working on the same file on your tablet or laptop computer while you are
travelling home (e.g. on a train) and when you are at home. You therefore always have the latest version
of a file available and your files are securely stored.

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There are a number of applications that offer free cloud storage, including

 Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/)
 Google Drive (https://drive.google.com)
 iCloud (https://www.icloud.com/)
 Box (https://www.box.com/en-gb/home)

Watch the following YouTube video entitled ‘How cloud computing works’ to learn more about cloud
computing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLnrilOZJ44

Activity 8.2

Answer the following questions:

 What would the consequences be if you were to save/store all your files and documents in one
folder?
 How would you go about designing the folder structure on your computer?
 How would you organise the information sources that you have retrieved for your assignment?
Once you have decided on this, do it on your computer, tablet and/or smartphone.
 Create an account for yourself on one of the cloud applications. Create a folder structure for the
data you would like to store in the cloud and copy relevant files to the correct folders.

8.3 EVALUATING INFORMATION

After reading through all the information sources that you have obtained, your next step is to evaluate
the quality and content of each source. You need to do this because not all sources are equally reliable,
not all authors are equally competent, not all journals and publishers are equally respected, and not
every claim that appears in writing is true. Because you want your assignment to be based on the most
accurate, authoritative and up-to-date information, you have to exercise discretion in evaluating your
sources.

Information is evaluated by asking critical questions related to the level of the information, its currency,
accuracy, bias and objectivity, its overall relevance with respect to the theme of your assignment, and
the amount of information you retrieved.

It is easy to become swamped by irrelevant references from the internet – and even print sources;
therefore, you have to scrutinise and critically analyse this information. Make sure that the information
comes from reliable and authoritative sources and that the authors are indeed experts in their field. The
most authoritative works are still published in books and scientific journals. The only way that you can
retrieve these sources is by searching the databases that you can access via a library, as well as
sources available in the library. As a student required to complete academic assignments, you should
never confine your information sources to the internet. Wikipedia is an example of a popular internet
source and, although it is regarded as fairly reliable, it has happened in the past that false information
has been added. Their editorial approval process attempts to eliminate most of the false information, but
Wikipedia can never be as reliable as peer-reviewed articles.

When you evaluate information, you determine whether the information is definitely suitable for the
specific information task. Questions that you may ask to evaluate information are as follows:

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 Is the information at a level that I can understand? It is often necessary to read a piece of
information several times to better understand it. You may need to check a dictionary for words
that you do not understand. In this regard, revise the section on reading skills in learning unit 3.
 Is the information up to date, that is, how current is the information? If the information contains
facts that might be outdated, you may need to find more recent information. For example, it will
not help to compare the prices of photocopy machines retrieved from a website that was last
updated a year ago.
 Is the information accurate and unbiased (or does it favour a certain viewpoint)?
 Does the information contain conflicting viewpoints? If you have located two sources and these
contain differing facts or opinions, you have to look for further sources in order to verify facts and
avoid bias.
 Which of the information is the most relevant? This involves sifting through the information and
discarding whatever is not relevant to the information task.
 How does the information help you to solve the problem in the task? The information must make
a contribution to solving the problem.
 Is there sufficient information to complete the task? If the relevant information is insufficient to
complete the task, you may have to retrieve additional information.

You can also evaluate information by establishing its value. The following table summarises the
characteristics of information that help us to decide how valuable it is.

Table 8.1: Characteristics of information to determine its value

Relevance: Relevant information is information that applies to the information task. The
information must fit in with the topic of the information task. ‘Relevance’ can
also be described as the likelihood that the retrieved information meets the
information needs of the user. Synonyms for ‘relevant’ are ‘applicable’ and
‘pertinent’. For example, it would be relevant to know how many students
there are in the vicinity of a convenience store, since these are potential
users of a photocopying service. Statistics on student numbers would
therefore be relevant information. Note that the titles of some sources may be
misleading or vague, which means you cannot decide on relevance by simply
reading the titles.

Precision: ‘Precision’ refers to the retrieval of the information items that are most
relevant to the information need, that is, top-ranked items. These items
contain precise details applicable to the information task. For example, if you
conduct a simple internet search and retrieve thousands of results (hits), the
majority of them will not be relevant for the information task; only a small
number will be precise enough to be relevant. That is why it is important to
use search strategies to refine your search.

Currency: ‘Currency’ refers to how recent or up-to-date information is. Owing to the

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 continual advances that characterise society today, information becomes
outdated fast. Therefore, it is important to assess the currency of information
if the information task requires that the latest information be used. For
example, an information source about endangered species that was
published in the 1990s and contains statistics that were current at the time
would not be relevant today. More up-to-date information, with the latest
statistics, should be obtained to ensure the information reflects the current
state of affairs.

Accuracy: ‘Accurate’ means correct, truthful or precise. Other terms that are also used
in connection with accuracy of information are ‘neutral’, ‘impartial’ or
‘objective’. Information is sometimes inaccurate because the data that are
entered are incorrect. This is referred to as ‘garbage in, garbage out’ (GIGO).
If an item of information is publicly or easily available, this does not
necessarily mean that the facts are accurate. Not everything in print or on the
internet is accurate or correct. You often find that you can read the same item
of news in three different newspapers and that the facts differ in each report.
There is plenty of information available on the Web, but a lot of it is
commercial hype, self-promotion by individuals, fake news and items with
cleverly disguised bias.

Completeness: Complete or comprehensive information contains all the important facts. For
example, a research report has to include all the research findings, otherwise
it is incomplete. As you read through information sources, you will discover
that some sources focus on a narrow aspect of the subject, whereas others
attempt to cover every aspect. You should always begin with the most
comprehensive sources and consult the more specific sources only if your
assignment requires you to focus on these specific aspects.

Reliability: Reliable information can be trusted by users. The reliability of information

often depends on the reliability of the data collection methods. In other
instances, the reliability depends on the sources of the information. Rumours
are examples of unreliable sources. A textbook that contains proper research
on the subject is much more reliable than a newspaper article making
assumptions based only on feelings and opinions. Evidence of proper
research includes references and statements by reliable and accredited
persons in the field of study. Reliable sources also consider all viewpoints
and theories. For example, if an author claims that low literacy levels are the
cause of poverty and poor living conditions, you should read further to
determine whether other authors have different viewpoints on the matter.

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Economy/Cost: The cost of accessing information will often determine whether you will
decide to use it – for example, if access to the information requires a
subscription fee. Quality and relevance may be sacrificed if the cost is too
high. The importance of the need and the availability of funds will generally
determine whether information will be purchased.

Accessibility: Accessibility is influenced by factors such as language, proximity and

physical accessibility of information sources. Information should be easily
accessible to authorised users so that they obtain it in the right format at the
right time to meet their needs. For example, if you have to wait for a book to
be obtained from another library and it would take weeks to arrive, this
source would not be easily accessible.

Simplicity: Information should not be overly complex. Sophisticated and detailed

information may not be needed. Too much information can cause information
overload; this makes it difficult to determine what is really important.

Timeliness: Timely information is delivered when it is needed. For example, information

about last month’s petrol price would not be helpful to calculate the running
costs of a vehicle that is used today.

Credibility of The information source may be the person or organisation that produces the
source: information. The source should be verified and preferred sources should be
used. The source should also direct you to other relevant sources. Checking
information in the bibliography will help you to find other relevant sources and
also determine the relevance of the source at hand.

Verifiability: Information should be verifiable. This means that you can check it to make
sure it is correct, for example by checking more than one source for the same
information.

Each information source that you have obtained for the purpose of completing your assignment should
be evaluated to ensure that it meets the characteristics of valuable information.

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Activity 8.3

Evaluating the retrieved information is a crucial step, so it is worthwhile checking that you are familiar
with all the activities you can carry out to evaluate information. Complete the following sentences to test
yourself in this regard:

(1) If I do not understand some of the retrieved information, I will ...

(2) If I still do not understand it, I can ...

(3) If none of these actions helps me to understand the information, then I should ...

(4) If I am unsure whether the information is up to date, I can ...

(5) If I am sure that the information is out of date, then I need to ...

(6) Accurate information is information that is ...

(7) Biased information is information that is ...

(8) The retrieved information has to be sifted because ...

(9) If I find that I do not have sufficient information to complete the task, then I need to ...

8.4 SYNTHESISING INFORMATION

Synthesising information means building the information into an answer that fulfils/accomplishes the
information task. This involves combining, merging and blending the information. In other words, you
package it into a new information product, namely the completed information task (assignment answer).
The synthesised information thus provides the answer to the problem.

In order to synthesise the information, you have to consider the following questions:

 Which bits of information belong together? Items of information that belong together should be
linked. New connections between items of information may also be established.
 How can I apply this information to complete the task? You need to check the instructions of the
task again to make sure that you address them by applying the information to each instruction. In
learning unit 2 we discussed the planning of the information task. Revise that unit now if you are
unsure about the preparation of the information task.

Now you will work with the actual information that is found in each of the information sources that you
have retrieved and evaluated. Synthesising can be done by following these steps (adapted from Geyer &
Jacobs 2002:20):

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Figure 8.3: Steps to synthesise information

Step 1: Identify key concepts

In learning unit 2 you learnt how to identify key concepts from the assignment topic. These are the words
and phrases that describe the topic best. You now have to identify the key concepts in the text of the
information sources. The most appropriate reading skill to use to identify the key concepts in information
sources is study reading. We described study reading in learning unit 3 as intense, concentrated and
critical reading. Review learning unit 3 if you are unsure of how to do this.

Key concepts are often defined near the beginning of a piece of text. Journal articles and conference
papers usually have abstracts and key concepts before the main body of the text.

In most forms of writing, the text is divided into paragraphs. Each paragraph develops a main idea. This
can be done by having one topic sentence, a number of related sentences and supporting evidence. The
topic sentence tells you what the subject of the paragraph is, while the other sentences give evidence to
support that statement.

It is important to identify key concepts and topic sentences in texts for the following reasons:

 Identifying the main idea helps you to understand what you are reading.
 It will help you to remember important information.
 It helps you to build a mental outline of the topic.

You can use underlining, highlighting and labelling to identify key concepts. Just remember that if you
work with an information source that does not belong to you, such as a library book or journal, you may
not make any markings in the item. In that case, you should rather make copies of the relevant pages
and do your underlining, etc on those copies. When you highlight or underline, you should identify only
the main ideas and not large pieces of the text. ‘Labelling’ means marking text and then writing labels in
the margins. E-book readers often have functions that allow underlining, highlighting and labelling.

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Activity 8.4

Select any articles of your choice. They may be for an assignment or they could be newspaper or
magazine articles on a topic that interests you. Study-read the articles and use underlining, highlighting
and labelling to identify the key concepts.

The more you practise, the better and faster you will get at completing step 1 of the synthesising
process.

Step 2: Distinguish facts

The next step is to determine whether the information is factual or not. Factual information is usually well
established, highly informative and persuasive. A fact is something that can be proven with sufficient
evidence so that it cannot be disputed. Factual information meets the requirement of reliability of
information that we discussed above as part of the evaluation of information. Factual information can be
confirmed by other sources. The information should include conclusions based on well-established and
known facts.

Non-facts include assumptions, opinions and viewpoints. Assumptions are beliefs, values or ideas that
have not necessarily been verified. Assumptions are often based on stereotypical conclusions, for
example that men are better doctors than women.

An opinion is a conclusion, conviction or belief formed without any evidence. We can agree or disagree
with opinions, based on our own beliefs. For an opinion to be convincing, it should be based on factual
evidence or extensive experience.

Viewpoints are formed as a result of the way in which the author perceives or views a situation.
Viewpoints are used to persuade – and they are often prejudiced or biased. Only selected evidence and
facts that support the author’s opinions are given. It is important to identify non-facts in a source as soon
as possible and to disregard them for use in an information task.

Activity 8.5

Select any articles of your choice. They may be for an assignment or they could be newspaper or
magazine articles on a topic that interests you. Study-read the articles and identify topic sentences and
keywords. Then indicate, with a highlighter, which content in an article you regard as factual. Underline
the content you regard as non-factual. Give reasons why you think the underlined content is non-factual.

Step 3: Take notes

By now you should be left with only the sources that are relevant. Key concepts and topic sentences that
are factual should be identified. However, you cannot include in your assignment everything that you
have identified as factual, as portrayed in the original text: this would be plagiarism, which is a serious
offence. (We explain plagiarism further in learning unit 9.) Therefore, you have to rewrite information in
your own words in a logical order that will answer the task set in the assignment.

Note-taking can be used as a method of selecting and sorting information and ideas in a convenient form
for later use when you write the first draft of the assignment answer.

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 create a record for later use in the assignment, or even in preparation for an examination
 put important points into writing
 reinterpret what you have read, heard or viewed
 act as a reminder of important facts
 serve as the basis for extensive new notes or further reading

There are various methods of note-taking. The following are the most common:

 Write notes on cards, using a separate card for each aspect or topic.
 Write notes in a notebook or on loose sheets of paper.
 Record notes on computer, using a word processing program or spreadsheet

The method you choose depends on what you feel most comfortable with. Many people prefer to use
pen and paper or cards. But others like the idea that they can safely store their notes on computer.

When you write or type notes, you should already use your own words, rather than copying the words
directly from the source. If you put the information in your own words, you will make sure that you
understand the source and will have made the information your own.

If you find certain sections or sentences you wish to copy directly because they express a particular idea
very well, you have to write them down in quotation marks (“…”) and acknowledge the original author(s).
You also have to include the date and page number of the source. This source, together with all the
other information sources you have used, must be included in a list of references at the end. You should
therefore also write down all the other relevant bibliographic details on your notes. We explain the
referencing of information sources in more detail in learning unit 10.

The process of note-taking can be done as follows:

 Label the relevant text according to keywords.

 Compile a heading for each card, sheet of paper or page of a computer application you are using.
 Under each heading, write the relevant content down in your own words.
 On the same card, sheet, etc, indicate whether the information can be classified as definitions,
principles, descriptions, examples, applications or illustrations.
 Write the bibliographical references of the source(s) on the cards, sheets, etc.

Activity 8.6

Select any articles of your choice. They may be for an assignment or they could be newspaper or
magazine articles on a topic that interests you. Study-read the articles and identify topic sentences and
keywords. Distinguish the factual from the non-factual information. Compile notes based on this
information.

Step 4: Organise the information

Organising the information means that you have to explore your notes to understand what the facts and
ideas really involve, that is, how they relate to one another and, in particular, how they relate to the
assignment topic. In other words, your notes have to be organised.

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To organise the outline of your assignment, you need to read through your notes and match note
cards/sheets of paper with similar content by looking at their labels.

Once you have organised your notes, you will have a good idea of whether or not you have enough
information to write an assignment of the required length or depth. You may find that you do not have
enough information on certain keywords and need to go back to information sources to find more
information. There may be concepts that need to be defined. You may also find that there are concepts
that you do no clearly understand and you need to do more reading on them. This requires that you go
back to the library or do another search and go through the whole process of reading, evaluating and
synthesising new-found information.

Step 5: Start an outline for the assignment

When you are certain that you have gathered enough information, your next step is to create an outline
for the assignment. Outlining is used to organise the text in a clear and shortened form. It pulls together
important information and indicates how ideas are connected.

When you create an outline, the headings and subheadings you should use correspond with the concept
labels on your notes and the keywords you have identified.

You are now "packaging" the information into an assignment answer. You have begun modifying your
work plan in preparation for the actual writing of the assignment. While you go through the writing
process, you could still be involved in the evaluation of the retrieved information. Remember that
constant evaluation for relevance is crucial throughout all the phases of planning, finding and organising.
You are now putting all the information together to form a logical whole, which represents the information
you retrieved, evaluated and repackaged into a new information source – that is, the document that
answers the information problem posed in the assignment.

As you write, new ideas will occur to you as to how certain facts and theories are connected or how
certain theories disprove certain ideas – this is all part of the writing process. The more you read, the
better it will be for your final product.

As you work on the outline, you may realise that your initial work plan (explained in learning unit 2) does
not necessarily provide the ideal logical sequence for discussing various aspects. Now that you have
gathered, evaluated and synthesised all the information, it might become evident that the original layout
and headings of the work plan are incomplete and/or the order is illogical. It may make more sense,
based on your synthesised information and increased knowledge, to rearrange the order of the headings
and discuss a certain issue before another.

You use your work plan as the basis. From this, you select headings, change headings and add new
headings and subheadings. You arrange these in a way that depicts a logical discussion of the
assignment topic. The headings and subheadings will later form the table of contents for your
assignment.

8.5 ACADEMIC WRITING

When you write an assignment, you have to arrange the information in a way that explains something.
You have been using many of these skills during the planning and finding phases (e.g. taking notes is
part of writing), although at a lower level than is required when writing the actual assignment. The actual

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writing takes the longest time in the entire process and you will require a great deal of practice to
become a successful academic writer.

What is academic writing?

 Academic writing is formal and it follows standard conventions.

 Each academic discipline has its own vocabulary, which you will be expected to know and use in
your academic writing.
 The substance of academic writing has to be based on solid evidence and logical analysis, and
presented as a concise, accurate argument.
 Academic writing allows you to present your argument and analysis accurately and concisely.
 Objectivity involves avoiding assumptions, speculations and your own subjective opinions.
 Systematic presentation refers to the layout of headings and subheadings in a logical sequence.
 Conciseness entails ensuring that every sentence contributes to the essence of the assignment
topic.
 Scientific and academic language requires the correct use of grammar and style and the
avoidance of slang terms and a casual tone.

The writing process consists of the following five basic steps:

1. pre-writing
2. structuring (ordering)
3. writing the first draft
4. proofreading and editing
5. producing a final neat copy

Pre-writing involves the planning of the information task, preparing for information retrieval and retrieving
the information. We have covered all these aspects in previous learning units.

An academic piece of writing, such as an assignment, is a form of presentation with very specific
requirements, namely

 a table of contents (with numbered headings and subheadings)

 a properly formulated introduction
 a main discussion, divided into several logical sections under headings and subheadings
 a convincing conclusion
 textual citations to consulted sources
 a list of cited sources (list of references)

We will discuss these aspects in more detail in due course.

8.6 IDENTIFYING THE AUDIENCE

When you write an assignment, you do so for a specific audience. The term ‘audience’ refers to the
person(s) who read(s) what you have written. The audience can include yourself, your friends or fellow
students, your lecturer or tutor, or your supervisor at work.

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You should be asking yourself the following questions when determining the audience for whom you are
writing:

 Who are my readers?

 What do they know about the subject?
 What terms should I use to explain the meaning of concepts?

The audience has a direct influence on the amount of information included in the final presentation of the
information task, the structure, style and tone of the information.

When you write an academic assignment, your audience will be your lecturer or tutor. Therefore, your
tone should be formal and your style should be suited to an academic audience. Even if the assignment
instruction requires you to post or upload your assignment to a forum, such as myUnisa, for fellow
students to read, it should remain formal.

8.7 WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT

The aim of the first draft is to record your information on paper – or computer (if you are using a word
processing program). It is based on the synthesised information that you have recorded as notes.
Because this is the first draft in which you are actually recording information for yourself, you should
focus on the writing process and the information content. You should not be too concerned about
spelling, grammar, word order and punctuation at this stage. Although you will use the outline that you
compiled while synthesising the information, the structure of the first draft does not have to be perfect.
Once you are ready to write the final assignment, you can edit language use and pay attention to the
structure of the assignment.

8.8 WRITING STYLE FOR THE FINAL ASSIGNMENT

Once you have completed the first draft, you have to refine it so that it meets all the requirements of an
academic assignment. This includes using an appropriate style of writing and the final structuring of the
assignment.

You should apply the following points of appropriate style (adapted from Behrens, Olën & Machet
1999:266-283; Cameron 2008:135-138; Bovée & Thill 2012:153-174):

8.8.1 Use a simple and clear style

Keep sentences short and simple wherever possible. It is much easier to keep your nouns, verbs and
objects in the correct sequence when you write a short sentence. As a rule of thumb, a sentence should
be about 25 words or two-and-a-half lines. A simple sentence has one main clause (a single subject). A
compound sentence has two main clauses. An example of a simple sentence is: Profits increased in the
past year. An example of a compound sentence is: Profits increased in the past year and it has been
possible to appoint more employees. The second sentence could be divided into two separate
sentences. A sentence can become more complex when it expresses one main thought and one or more
subordinate, related thoughts, for example: Profits increased in the past year, and although you may be
in doubt about the accuracy of the numbers, it has been possible to appoint more employees. An
experienced writer will use a variety of sentence types and lengths throughout a document to make the

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writing more effective and interesting. But if you are still a novice writer, it is better to concentrate on
constructing simple sentences.

8.8.2 Use paragraphs

Paragraphs organise sentences related to the same general topic. Each paragraph should cover a single
topic or idea. Combining disjointed ideas in a single paragraph is confusing to the reader. Paragraphs
have to be linked so that they flow logically from one to the other. Paragraphs can vary widely in length
and form, but a typical paragraph contains three basic elements: a topic sentence, support sentences
that develop the topic, and transitional words and phrases.

The topic sentence introduces the topic of the paragraph. In assignment writing, the topic sentence is
usually explicit and is often the first sentence in the paragraph. The topic sentence gives the reader a
summary of the general idea that will be covered in the rest of the paragraph. A topic sentence also
helps the writer to remain focused on the purpose of each paragraph.

In most paragraphs, the topic sentence needs to be explained, justified or extended with one or more
support sentences. These related sentences must all have a bearing on the topic and must provide
enough specific details to make the topic clear. A paragraph is well constructed if it contains enough
information to make the topic sentence understood and convincing, and if it does not contain any
unrelated sentences.

Transitions connect ideas by showing one thought is related to another. They also help to alert the
reader to what lies ahead and help the writer to write in a smooth, even flow of ideas. Transitional
elements include

 connecting words, such as and, but, or, nevertheless, however, in addition

 repeated words or phrases, for example: A transport operator should provide the service. The
transport operator will have to be experienced …
 pronouns that refer to a noun used previously, for example: JJC Transport Services offer the best
services. They have many years' experience in providing transport services.
 words that are frequently paired, for example: The minimum number of buses required to provide
the service is five. JJC Transport Services have a maximum of three buses available.

The following example illustrates the use of the elements of a paragraph.

Topic Support sentence

sentence Transition

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is continuously striving to improve public transport mobility
in all sectors of the community, particularly among learners. Learners are currently using a public
transport system that is deficient in several respects, which negatively affects the Department's mandate
of ensuring mobility and equal access to educational opportunities. Notwithstanding the fact that the
Department of Education is responsible for ensuring that learners have access to transportation, the
Department of Transport has to ensure that the public transport systems available cater for the needs of
learners.

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8.8.3 Avoid sensational and emotive language

When you write assignments, your use of language should be neutral and restrained, in other words, you
must not convey your subjective feelings and emotions about the situation. You will most likely have to
relay the situation as it is in an objective manner. For example, if you had conducted a survey about the
health and safety situation in an office building, it would be appropriate to describe the situation as
‘worrying’, ‘unsatisfactory’ or ‘in breach of legislation’ (if this is what your findings revealed). However, it
would be inappropriate to express your personal, subjective feelings, for example by stating that this is
‘an example of how greedy landlords expose people to danger’. By expressing your opinion in a neutral
tone, you enhance the credibility of your account regarding the situation. When you read a document,
you should also be aware of emotional rhetoric and critically consider the strength of evidence and
reasoning in such a document.

8.8.4 Use of the first person

The decision on whether to write in the first person (I, me, my, myself, mine, we, us, our, ours) or use the
more formal third person style, often depends on the audience’s expectations. There are situations
where it is appropriate to write in the first person, for example when you write an e-mail message, text
message or memorandum to a few colleagues or friends. But in certain forms of writing, such as
assignments and reports, it is often more acceptable to refer to yourself in the third person, for example
‘the investigator’ or ‘the author’.

Where possible, the passive voice can also be used. For example, instead of stating ‘I discovered
numerous safety risks in the building’, rather state: ‘The investigator discovered numerous safety risks in
the building’ or ‘Numerous safety risks were discovered in the building’. Although the use of the active
voice is often encouraged to make writing more direct and lively, in this context the passive voice is
helpful when you need to be diplomatic or want to focus attention on problems or solutions, rather than
on people. Communication that emphasises ‘I’ and ‘we’ may sound self-centred and uninterested in the
audience. Therefore, although there may be exceptions, writers generally make use of the active voice
because it is more direct and more dynamic than the passive voice.

8.8.5 Use an appropriate style and tone

Your communication style involves the choices you make to express yourself, including the words you
select, the manner in which you use the words in sentences, and the way you build paragraphs from
individual sentences. Your style creates a certain tone, or overall impression, in your writing. You can
adapt your style to sound objective, forceful, personal or formal. The right choice depends on the nature
of your writing and your relationship with the reader/audience.

Distinguish between texting and writing: The casual tone and use of acronyms in text messages and
instant messaging between friends is not considered acceptable academic writing.

8.8.6 Using quotations and in-text referencing

You may find that it is sometimes necessary to use the words of an author because they express an idea
in such a way that the message is best conveyed by using their exact words. The use of quotations and
acknowledging information sources are important because they indicate that you have been able to

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locate (find) and use relevant information sources. This further shows that you are able to support your
arguments by means of evidence provided by other authors.

We can distinguish between direct quotations and paraphrasing.

When you use a direct quotation, you repeat the exact words of another author and you have to place
them in quotation marks (“…”). Accuracy is very important in direct quotations and the quoted
information has to be copied exactly as it is written in the original source. A direct quotation has to be
accompanied by a bibliographic reference that includes the author(s)' name(s), the year of publication
and the page number of the particular piece of information. We call this ‘in-text referencing’. For
example: “Doing an assignment is usually a primary part of learning, since an assignment presents you
with a problem which you have to solve” (Behrens, Olën & Machet 1999:7). Behrens, Olën & Machet
(1999:7) are of the opinion that “in order to function and advance in the information era, you need to be
able to work effectively with information”.

A paraphrase is the expression of the meaning of a piece of information in different words. You
summarise the views or perspectives of a particular author in your own words (without altering the
author's meaning). When you use a paraphrase to reflect the view of another author, you still have to
include a bibliographic reference in order to indicate that it is another person’s ideas. For example:
Kebede (1995:40) is of the opinion that traditional African music is – to a large extent – integrated with
cultural activities and that music is often performed to celebrate a specific day.

The complete bibliographic details of the in-text references have to be recorded in a list of references, or
a bibliography, at the end of the assignment. We discuss the compilation of reference lists and
bibliographies in learning unit 10.

8.8.7 Punctuation

Punctuation facilitates reading and writing by indicating the necessary pauses. In other words, the aim of
punctuation is to clarify the meaning of a text and to prevent misunderstanding. Punctuation operates at
both sentence level (structuring the writing) and at word level (linking or separating different words).

The two main functions of punctuation are

 to separate sentences (as full stops do) or parts of sentences (as pairs of commas, dashes or
brackets do)
 to link groups of words into one sentence (as semi-colons and colons do)

In the table below, we indicate the most important punctuation marks used in the English language, with
their basic functions.

Table 8.2: Explanation of important punctuation marks in English

Punctuation mark Symbol Function

Apostrophe ’ Indicates possession or missing letters in a word

Colon : Indicates causal connection, strong contrast, or preceding lists

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Comma , Creates separation and pauses in sentences

Dash – Informs the reader of additional information, or a turn of thought

in a sentence

Exclamation mark ! Indicates emphasis and shows a strong emotion, such as

surprise
Full stop . Indicates the end of a sentence

Parentheses () Interrupts a sentence to explain additional information, e.g.

explanation(s)
Quotation marks “” Indicates direct speech and words used in an unusual/humorous
way
Semicolon ; Indicates separation of related text and lists

8.9 STRUCTURING THE ASSIGNMENT

‘Structure’ refers to the layout of the assignment. An assignment usually consists of the following
structural elements:

 a title or cover page, which includes a title reflecting the topic of the assignment, your name,
student number and any other details that the academic institution or lecturer requires
 a table of contents that accurately reflects the headings and subheadings, with corresponding
page numbers
 the information content (body) of the text, consisting of a number of sections that are indicated by
means of headings and subheadings
 a conclusion
 a list of references

Word processing programs include a function that makes it easy to create a table of contents. If you also
include figures (diagrams, etc) and tables in your assignment, they should also be numbered – you could
include separate tables of contents for them, if you wish.

The first heading of the content (body) should be a heading entitled ‘Introduction’. The introduction
should briefly tell the reader what the topic and main issues of the assignment are. Secondly, the
introduction indicates the purpose and approach of the discussion: what is the purpose of the discussion
and how you will approach the main issues.

The information content (body) contains the actual information. In these sections and subsections, you
describe, explain, illustrate and discuss the topic of the assignment. It is helpful to give relevant
examples and evidence to support your arguments.

The content is divided into a number of sections and subsections – each of which contains another
aspect, element or perspective of the central topic. The different sections are numbered numerically; the
decimal point after a heading number is used to indicate the different levels of the subsections. The use
of numbered sections and subsections makes it possible to structure and present your arguments
logically so that the reader can easily follow them.

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The conclusion contains a brief summary of the main ideas and points made in the assignment. The
conclusion can also contain the final interpretation of the topic, as well as suggestions and
recommendations based on the information presented in the body of the assignment.

At the end of the assignment, there must be a list of references, or a bibliography, that reflects all the
information sources consulted and referred to in the text.

After you have written all the content and compiled the list of references/bibliography, you have to
finalise the assignment so that it is ready for submission.

8.10 FINALISING THE ASSIGNMENT

Before you can submit an assignment, you have to finalise it by revising, producing and proofreading it
(Bovée & Thill 2012:183-203).

8.10.1 Revising the assignment

It is a good idea to put the assignment aside for a few days before you begin the revision process. This
helps you to look at it with a fresh mind. Then start by making sure that the document accomplishes your
overall goals before moving on to the finer points, such as readability, clarity and conciseness.

During the revision of the content of the assignment, you have to consider the following questions:

 Are all the objectives of the assignment covered?

 Is the information accurate?
 Is the information relevant?
 Is there enough information to fulfil the assignment requirements?
 Is there a good balance between general information (background) and specific information
(details)?
 Are all the points covered in the most logical order?
 Do the most important ideas receive the most space, and are they placed in the most prominent
positions?
 Would the assignment be more convincing if the ideas were arranged in another sequence?
 Is there any unnecessary repetition?
 Are terms defined clearly and used consistently?
 Are details grouped together logically?
 Do statements and arguments never contradict each other?
 Do interpretations correspond with quoted information?
 Do given facts and information lead to sensible conclusions?
 Do the headings and subheadings in the table of contents correspond with those in the text?
 Is the numbering scheme consistent?
 Are all the bibliographic references in the text included in the list of references/bibliography?

When you review the tone of the writing, you have to address the following questions:

 Is your writing formal enough for the requirements of an academic assignment, that is, not too
formal, but also not too casual?

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  Are the beginning and end of the assignment clear, concise and compelling (these sections have
the greatest impact on the audience)?

‘Readability’ of the text of an assignment refers to how easy it is to read the text. Readability, as part of
the revision process, can be accomplished by checking the following:

 Sentence length. Earlier we emphasised the importance of using short, simple sentences. If you
are a more experienced writer, you can also construct longer and more complex sentences, but it
is important to check, during the revision process, that these sentences are clearly constructed
and still easy to follow. Every sentence should convey the meaning you intend and readers
should be able to understand that meaning without needing to read the sentence more than
once.
 Paragraphs. The compilation of paragraphs was also explained earlier. During the revision
process, you have to check that the paragraphs meet the guidelines for well-constructed
paragraphs. Long paragraphs are visually daunting and can be difficult to read. Check if you
should divide a long paragraph into shorter paragraphs, according to the guidelines for writing
paragraphs.
 Lists. Lists are an effective tool for highlighting and simplifying materials. They can be an
effective alternative for longer sentences that include a number of names, subjects, items, ideas,
and so on. Lists highlight important aspects and main points visually and simplify the skimming
process for busy readers. Check sentences to see if they contain items that can be presented in
a list. You can separate lists with numbers, letters or bullets.
 Headings and subheadings. Use headings and subheadings to show the organisation of your
material, draw the reader’s attention to key points and show connections between ideas.

‘Conciseness’ refers to the efficient use of words in the constructing of sentences. Early drafts often
contain words and phrases that do not add anything and can easily be left out. You should check the
following during the revision process:

 Unnecessary words and phrases. Try to read the sentence without these words and phrases. If
the meaning does not change, leave them out. For example: ‘in the event of’ could be replaced
by ‘if’.
 Shorten long words and phrases. Short words and phrases are usually easier to read and
understand.
 Eliminate redundancies. In some word combinations, the words say the same thing, for example:
‘repeat again’, ‘basic fundamentals’, ‘free and clear’ and ‘visible to the eye’.
 Change sentences that start with ‘It is’ or ‘There is/are’ . These sentences can often be shorter
and more active. For example, the sentence: ‘There are two employees in this department who
require training’ could be changed to: ‘Two employees in this department require training’.

Nowadays, documents are mostly created in electronic format by means of word processing software.
These programs contain features that also help with the revision process. Features include the ability to
find and change/replace text, cut/copy and paste text, track changes, insert comments and run spell
checkers, grammar checkers, style checkers and thesauri. However, these tools cannot take the place of
good writing and editing skills.

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8.10.2 Producing the assignment

The production of the assignment refers to aspects such as the total effect of the page or screen design,
graphical elements, typography, and so on. These aspects play an important role in the effectiveness of
the writing. They can make the assignment easier to read and convey a sense of professionalism and
importance. They influence the audience's perceptions of you and your writing.

Design elements have to be used carefully so that they improve the effectiveness of the writing and do
not become barriers. The following guidelines will help you to use design elements effectively:

 Aim for consistent design within each assignment and from one assignment to another. Be
consistent in the use of margins, typeface, type size, space and recurring design elements.
 Restraint. Strive for simplicity in design. Simple designs are usually more effective than more
complex designs.
 Detail. Pay attention to details that affect your design and thus your writing. For example,
extremely wide columns of text can be difficult to read.
 White space. White or blank space does not contain any text or graphics and separates elements
in a document. It helps to guide the reader's eye and acts as an important resting point for
readers. Use white space effectively to make pages less intimidating and easier to read.
 Typeface. The typeface, or font, influences the tone of the writing, making it look authoritative or
friendly, business-like or casual, classic or modern, and so on. Choose fonts that are appropriate
for the assignment.
 Type style. Type style refers to the use of boldface, italics, underlining, colour and other
highlighting and decorative styles. These styles can help to draw more attention to certain words
and phrases, highlighting quotations, providing emphasis, and so on. However, you should avoid
the overuse of any style or using it in such a manner that it will interfere with the legibility of the
text.
 Type size. For most printed assignments, use a size of 10 to 12 points for regular text and 12 to
18 points for headings and subheadings. Type that is too small is difficult to read, while very large
type looks unprofessional.
 Templates, themes and style sheets. Word processing software provides a wide range of these
features that can help you save time when designing a document.

8.10.3 Proofreading the assignment

Proofreading is the last stage before you submit the assignment. During this stage, you perform a quality
check of the assignment. You should now read the assignment as if you were a reader and not the
writer. If possible, you should not proofread the document immediately after writing and editing it, but
give your mind a rest period before you return to the document. It is also important to give yourself
enough time to proofread the document. Look for any writing, design, layout and production mistakes.
You should work through the document several times, each time focusing on a different aspect. For
example, look for content errors the first time and layout errors the second time. Double-check high-
priority items such as the spelling of names and the accuracy of dates and numbers. It is also a good
idea to read the document aloud, as very often we see what we think ought to be there. When you read
aloud, you listen to what you are saying and it is often easier to pick up mistakes. The amount of time
you have to spend on proofreading depends on the length and complexity of the document.

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If possible, ask another person to read through the document too. When you are very familiar with the
content of an assignment, you may miss errors that another person will notice.

When proofreading your work, there are a number of areas – in terms of the technique of writing – of
which you should be aware. The guidelines in the following table should help you with the processes of
editing and proofreading.

Table 8.3: Checklist for editing and proofreading assignments

Has the question been answered? Locate the places in your work where the
reader will understand the answer to the
question and critically look for places where
the answer may be vague.

Does the assignment have a main In other words, is the main argument or
argument or theme? theme evident in all the sections of your
work? If not, you will need to clarify those
sections where the assignment is vague.

Is your structure clear? Ensure that there is a logical sequence to

your ideas.
Is the information presented in the correct For example: problem – solution/cause –
order? effect
How strong is your argument? Go back and ensure that you have credible
evidence to substantiate your thoughts and
arguments.
Are your points appropriate/relevant to the Look at the title of the assignment again
assignment? and then look at your mind map: is
everything focused on answering the
question?
Are your ideas supported with credible For each point, ensure that you have valid
examples? and credible examples to substantiate your
points.
Do your paragraphs develop the main idea? The main idea of each paragraph is often at
the beginning of each paragraph.
Is there sufficient detail to support the main Check to see if you have included sufficient
idea of each paragraph? detail to examine the main idea of the
paragraph.
Have you repeated yourself? Read through all the sections to ensure that
you are not simply repeating ideas.
Have you explained or defined important It is important to explain even the most
and technical terminology? obvious terminology, as this will show that
you understand your topic.
Do the paragraphs fit together well? In other words, you need to ensure that
your ideas and paragraphs make sense/are
logically combined.
Does the reader know what the essay or Have you given explicit clues as to what
assignment is about? comes next in your writing?
Do your paragraphs have more than one Do not simply count the number of full stops
sentence? – rather check the number of ideas and
examples that you have given.
Do your sentences make sense? Are they Do not simply rely on what you think makes
grammatically correct and is the sense. Read the sentences aloud – if they
punctuation correct? sound wrong, they generally are. Even
better, get a friend to read your work

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critically to see if it makes sense.

Is your language academic? Avoid all slang/informal terms and
unnecessary abbreviations.
Do your cited references appear in the Check each reference used. Also ensure
reference list/bibliography? that you have used the correct style of
referencing.
If you have used quotations, have you Check all your quotations.
included a page reference?
Have you met all the requirements for in- Go back and scrutinise all the in-text
text referencing? references and the reference list.
Have you numbered your pages ? Go back and check this.
Is the font style correct? Check this.

Using the above checklist will help you to submit a neat, well-written assignment. You may find that you
have to repeat some of the steps to ensure a polished piece of writing. But it is better to take your time,
by repeating any steps, than rushing through your assignment and then earning a poor mark.

From the above, it is clear that preparing an assignment should not be a rushed task that you try to
complete a few days before the due date. It requires careful planning and the tasks related to finding and
using the appropriate information are time-consuming. Lastly, the final preparation should be carried out
meticulously, as explained above.

8.11 CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this learning unit we covered the importance of evaluating information sources and synthesising
information. We also looked at how you can use your computer to organise information and store your
important files in the cloud.

You also learnt how to finalise your information task by writing your assignment – first in draft format and
then by preparing it for submission.

By now it should be evident that you can use ICTs (computers, tablets, smartphones, cloud computing,
word processing programs and other applications) effectively to work with information and to prepare
assignments. It is beyond the scope of this module to teach you how to use all these ICTs. If you are
unfamiliar with certain aspects, such as how to use all the functions of a word processing program, it
would be a good idea to do a short course on it. YouTube presents numerous tutorials on many
computer applications free of charge. You will find these very helpful in completing your information
tasks.

We have already mentioned the importance of acknowledging the information sources you have
consulted – especially when you use quotations and paraphrase information. This forms part of the
ethical use of information, which we will explore further in the next learning unit.

8.12 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. Why is it important to organise your information in a folder structure on your computer and other
devices?
2. Why is cloud storage important?
3. Why is it important to evaluate your information sources?

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4. Explain the purpose of note-taking to a fellow student.
5. You have been asked to compile an assignment on the following topic: The value of information in
modern society. Describe – using appropriate examples – the steps that you would follow to identify,
retrieve, read, evaluate and synthesise information in order to complete this information task
effectively.
6. Briefly explain why it is important to identify your audience (readers) before you start writing your
assignment.
7. Explain the purpose of the introduction and the conclusion in an assignment.
8. Explain when you would use direct quotations in an assignment.
9. Compile your own editing checklist of editing tasks that you regard as important.

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LEARNING UNIT 9

ETHICAL USE OF INFORMATION

9.1 INTRODUCTION

When you perform an information task such as writing an academic assignment or a research paper, you
may be asked to include and sign a declaration that the work is your own and has not been plagiarised.
When you want to have photocopies made of a book, you will find that shops and libraries refuse to copy
more than a certain number of pages from the book.

The reason why you have to be honest and declare a piece of writing as your own, as well as why you
are not allowed to copy an entire book, has to do with the ethical use of information.

In this learning unit you will learn what the ethical use of information entails, including aspects such as
the right to duplicate or copy the work of others and how to use information correctly. It is important that
you understand how to use information in an ethical manner, as this is an important part of the
successful completion of the information task.

Activity 9.1

Consider how you would feel about and react to the following situations:

 You work hard to complete a written assignment and achieve good marks. A year later, you find
out that another student has copied your assignment, submitted it as his own and has also
earned good marks for it.

 You find out that someone has accessed some of your private information and has now posted it
on social media for everyone to read.

 You designed a new application for tablets and smartphones. Another company has now used
your design and developed the application, without giving you any credit or financial reward for
your original design.

Any of the above scenarios would undoubtedly upset you. Yet these are just a few examples of the
unethical use of information, where you – the original creator – are neither acknowledged nor financially
rewarded.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit, you should be able to

 explain information ethics and cyber ethics

 explain copyright and the importance thereof for print and digital sources
 recognise infringement of copyright
 identify when copying of print and digital sources is allowed

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  explain what ‘fair use’ is
 explain the term ‘intellectual property’
 explain the term ‘plagiarism’
 explain how plagiarism can be avoided
 use information sources for an information task in an ethically acceptable manner

KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts that we will use in this learning unit are

 academic integrity
 copyright
 copyright infringement
 cyber ethics
 ethics
 fair dealing
 fair use
 freedom of expression
 information ethics
 intellectual property rights
 law
 paraphrasing
 patent
 plagiarism
 privacy
 trademark

9.2 ETHICS

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that has to do with how humans conduct themselves, especially how
they distinguish right from wrong and behave accordingly. “The term ethics refers to recognised rules of
conduct for the actions or behaviour of an individual, or of a particular group or culture” (Geyer 2015:3).
For the purpose of this module, we focus on information ethics and cyber ethics.

9.2.1 Information ethics

In the context of information use, ethics refers to respect for knowledge and information and respect for
the ideas of others. Ethics is involved when information users seek to acquire and use information
honestly and fairly and show respect to those who originally created the knowledge. It deals with ethical
issues regarding information from the Web, in mass media, in print format, in information science, as well
as the use of information in other disciplines such as business and medicine.

There are a number of important issues relating to information ethics, namely the right to privacy, the
right of access to information, freedom of expression, academic integrity, and the right to the protection
of intellectual property.

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a) Right to privacy

The right to privacy means that an individual’s personal information is protected from public access and scrutiny.
It also means that a person should have control over their personal information and be able to conduct
their personal affairs relatively free from unwanted intrusions. Democratic societies protect the right to
privacy by legislation. In South Africa, the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (also known as the
POPI Act) promotes the protection of personal information by public and private bodies.

Safeguarding information is one aspect of the right to privacy. It provides for the legal protection of a
person in instances where such a person's personal particulars are being processed by another person
or institution. Processing of information generally refers to the collecting, storing, using and
communicating of information (Van der Bank 2012:77).

There are, however, circumstances in which a person's information may be accessed by another party,
for example when you are applying for a job. In that case, the hiring company may require a background
check and information from referees regarding certain aspects of your life and conduct. Another example
is when a person applies for a loan at a bank. The bank may wish to access information about the
applicant's financial affairs in order to decide whether to grant the loan or not. Tax collection institutions
(e.g. SARS in South Africa) may also access taxpayers' financial information to establish whether they
are complying with their tax obligations. In the aforementioned examples, such information about
individuals may be accessed only for the purpose required – and it may not be passed on to anyone
else.

Personal information held by private or public institutions should be protected from any unauthorised
disclosure. Policies define how and under what circumstances authorisation can be obtained. Individuals
and institutions should be able to communicate via the internet without the threat of surveillance and
interception; in this regard, they have the right to use tools such as encryption to ensure secure
communication.

Unfortunately, cyber criminals often gain access to private information via spamming. The spammer will
send junk mail to a potential victim, requesting the person to click on a link. This can result in the
downloading of intrusive software on the victim's computer, which enables the criminal to access private
information that can later be used in criminal activities. An example is where the criminal can access the
victim's online banking details and then steal money from their bank account.

How does the protection of privacy affect you when you are busy with an information task? Firstly, you
have to be aware that you cannot just use private information in your information task – even if you think
that it is applicable information. You have to gain permission first, either from the person or institution
involved or via legal channels. Secondly, you have to protect your own private information. Be careful
what you reveal about yourself on public platforms, such as social media. Once you reveal information
publicly, it is very difficult to claim afterwards that it was actually private. You also need to take care that
you do not become a victim of cybercrime. You can do this by installing antivirus software on your
electronic devices and by ignoring spam communication.

b) Right of access to information

Earlier we indicated that owing to the protection of privacy, a person's private information may not be
accessed and used without their permission – and that access must be subject to certain conditions.

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However, there are certain types of information that the public has the right to access, for example state-
held information. This is important for upholding the constitutional values of transparency, openness,
participation and accountability. In South Africa, the Constitution determines that citizens and the media
have the right to access public information. Section 32(1) of the Constitution states that everyone has the
right of access to “any information held by the state”, as well as “any information that is held by another
person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights”. The right of access to information
and the protection of privacy are governed by the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (also
known as PAIA). However, it is beyond the scope of this module to elaborate on this Act.

The regulation of information often influences access to information. State intervention, for example
through censorship, can greatly inhibit access. Explicit political censorship has diminished significantly
since 1989 (a period associated with major political developments in Eastern Europe, such as the fall of
Communism) and since 1994 in South Africa (prior to 1994, censorship restricted access to information
significantly). Nevertheless, in many developing countries, opposition newspapers struggle to survive
because governments can prevent their circulation, while subsidising and promoting pro-government
newspapers. Censorship in the printed word, however, has become significantly more difficult because
of ICTs and their capabilities to send news immediately into the world.

The implication of the right of access to information is that you may request information from the state by
approaching the information officer of a public body. Fortunately, government departments and
institutions nowadays make information freely available via their websites, from where you can access it.

The right of access to information does not mean that anyone can trade (sell) information or have access
to personal information (as indicated earlier). It also does not necessarily mean free access to
information. Information may be free of charge (you don't have to pay for it), but it does not mean that
you can do with it whatever you want, such as copy it without consideration of copyright law.

Freedom of expression “relates to the liberty to be able to hold opinions and to impart and/or receive
these as well as ideas and information to others in any form” (Freedom of Expression Institute 2013:10).
In South Africa, basic freedoms are protected in the Constitution. These include

 freedom of the press and other media

 freedom to receive or impart information and/or ideas, that is, to create information
 freedom of artistic creativity
 academic freedom and freedom of scientific research

The following elements are important in information policy to enhance freedom of expression (James
2001:16-17):

 The right to communicate. This is a fundamental human right. It includes the right of access to
ICTs, such as electronic communication infrastructure and the internet, to enable all citizens to
communicate. Governments have to ensure that ordinary people have access to public
information.
 Legal and regulatory frameworks. Legal and regulatory frameworks that govern ICTs have to be
integrated with frameworks governing other media to ensure compatibility and to secure the
rights of citizens and organisations to access all forms of ICTs.
 Freedom of expression and information exchange. The internet is a medium for both public and
private exchange of views and information. Everyone must be able to express opinions and ideas
and share information freely when using the internet.

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However, freedom of expression cannot be allowed to infringe the rights of others and be destructive
(Freedom of Expression Institute 2013:12). The South African Constitution states that freedom of
expression cannot extend to expression that enlists

 propaganda for war

 incitement of imminent violence
 advocacy of hatred based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion and that constitutes incitement to
cause harm

When you are working on an information task, you need to be aware of what you are allowed to state –
and what is prohibited – in your task.

c) Academic integrity

In the context of academic work, the term ‘information ethics’ usually refers to the concept of academic
integrity. Academic integrity focuses on respect for knowledge and respect for the ideas of others. The
fundamental values of academic integrity include honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility
(Geyer 2015:4). Based on these values, the rules of academic integrity are as follows:

 Do your own work; don’t ask others to do assignments on your behalf.

 Acknowledge your information sources at all times.
 Protect your work so that others cannot use it and present it as their own.
 Don’t falsify any work or records.
 Don’t fabricate information.

9.2.2 Cyber ethics

The internet is often also referred to as ‘cyberspace’. Information ethics covers moral and ethical issues
regarding the general use of information. Likewise, cyber ethics covers ethical behaviour on the internet.

Cyber ethics involves the way we download information from the internet and software piracy
(unauthorised copying and stealing of software). The reason why downloading and copying information
and software from the internet is problematic is because the creators of, for example, e-books, games,
music, movies and application software lose income when others simply download and use their
creations without paying for it. It is the same as walking into a shop, taking a music CD from the shelf
and then walking out without paying for it; it is a form of theft. Just because it is easy to download and
copy from the internet does not mean that it is legal. We have to act just as responsibly in cyberspace as
we do in ‘the real world’.

9.3 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

We discuss intellectual property rights in more detail because it also determines how we work with
information. Information production starts with an idea, such as an idea for a theme of a book or an idea
for a new design. There are no intellectual property rights for ideas only (when they are only in your
mind). But when you write down your ideas, you are producing information. The information product (i.e.
the written/recorded idea) is your intellectual property and you may be granted intellectual property rights

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by law. Intellectual property covers copyright, patents and trademarks. Intellectual products can be in the
form of ideas in documents, inventions and musical compositions, among others.

“Intellectual property refers to a legal monopoly over artistic and commercial creations of the mind –
inventions, literary and artistic works and symbols, names and brand names, images, logos, designs and
manuscripts, for example – for which a set of exclusive rights are recognised” (Geyer 2015:12).

Intellectual property has economic value. The creator, such as the author of a book, receives a certain
percentage of the income generated from the sales of copies of the book. This income is known as
‘royalties’.

Intellectual property rights also lead to exclusive rights. Exclusive rights regulate the reproduction or
commercial use of intellectual property. Exclusive rights can be divided into two categories, namely
patents and trademarks, and copyright (Bothma et al 2017:164).

Patents are used in connection with the invention of new products. A patent grants the inventor of a new
product the sole right to make, use and sell the invention for a limited period. This protects a new
invention, for example a new medication or application (software) from being copied. It enables the
inventor to make money from their inventions, while preventing others from copying their design and
making money from it.

Trademarks are signs that uniquely identify the commercial origin of products and services. A trademark
is officially registered and legally protected. Trademarks protect words, names, symbols and designs that
uniquely identify and distinguish goods and services from other similar goods and services. Competitors
are prohibited from using registered trademarks. The symbols ™ and ® are used to indicate registered
trademarks. Examples are Google™ and Microsoft®. This means that Google™ and Microsoft®
products and services have to be used correctly, as prescribed by Google™ and Microsoft®
respectively.

‘Intellectual property’ is the umbrella term for related intellectual creations and their protection and it
includes patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyright and design rights, as well as the licensing of these
rights. Copyright is of particular importance as it affects the way in which we work with information.

9.4 COPYRIGHT

Copyright is another form of intellectual property. It is the legal right to regulate the use of an intellectual
creation for a certain period. Copyright is an automatic right, which means that the author or creator does
not need to apply for it.

“Copyright is a form of protection for intellectual property that gives the author or creator of an original
work exclusive rights in terms of the publication, distribution and adaptation of the work” (Geyer
2015:13).

When you write a book, paint a picture, compose a piece of music, develop a computer program or
produce a film, you automatically have copyright on your work.

Copyright safeguards all types of artistic expressions, including original writing(s) or manuscripts,
melodies, films, videos, sound recordings, broadcasts and paintings.

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Copyright is indicated by the © symbol. The following is an example of how a work under copyright is
indicated: Copyright © Pearson South Africa (Pty) Ltd 2017.

Most countries have legislation that regulates copyright. In terms of the South African Copyright Act 98 of
1978, as last amended by Copyright Amendment Act 2002, the following works, if original, are eligible for
copyright protection (Geyer 2015:13):

 literary works (e.g. novels, poems, textbooks, letters, reports, lectures, speeches)
 musical works
 artistic works (e.g. paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs)
 cinematograph films
 sound recordings
 broadcasts (i.e. electromagnetic transmissions intended for reception by the public)
 programme-carrying signals (a programme signal that passes through a satellite)
 published editions of books (usually the first print of a literary or musical work)
 computer programs (computer software, i.e. instructions directing the operation of a computer)

The Act also allows for the following persons or bodies to hold copyright:

 the person/body who first makes or creates the work

 the person/body responsible for the composition of the photograph
 the person/body who made arrangements for the making of the recording
 the person/body who made arrangements for the making of the film
 the first broadcaster
 the first person/body emitting the signal to a satellite
 the person/body who exercised control over the making of the program

Copyright holders are therefore not only persons, but can include organisations such as publishing
companies. Publishers and authors often share copyright.

Works that are not subject to copyright are legislative texts, political speeches, addresses made during
legal proceedings and current press statements. These are regarded as being in the public domain,
meaning that the public has the right to read (or listen to) these materials freely. Unlimited copies can be
made and distributed to the public. An example is the President's Annual State of the Nation Address.
Immediately after the speech, it is published in the media and quoted freely.

The conditions of copyright are the following:

 The creator or author is the owner of the copyright and is the one who can enforce copyright.
 The work or creation must be new and original and no one else's idea.
 The work must be in material form; there is no copyright in ideas only – they have to be written
down/recorded.

The copyright owner is the only one who has the right to authorise the reproduction, distribution,
adaptation, performance and display of a work publicly, and to sell or assign copyright to others.

Since the copyright owner is the only legal person who may perform certain functions or actions with a
work, anyone else who attempts such functions or actions infringes the copyright. The most direct form

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of infringement is unauthorised use or illegal copying of a work. An example is when you photocopy a
book or when you download a document, image, video or music from the internet and save this to your
computer, tablet or smartphone for reuse later. The content of these texts or records is copyrighted.

Although copying and downloading is easy to do and often the only way in which to collect and store
information sources, it is actually illegal and may be done only under certain circumstances. These
circumstances fall under the fair use and fair dealing of copyrighted works. ‘Fair use’ refers to the use of
works for commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship.
As you can see from this, many of these circumstances are related to academic tasks such as teaching
and learning, research and the compilation of academic assignments. The question, therefore, is how
can you use the work of other creators without infringing copyright? We deal with the practical issues of
this question in the following section.

9.5 HOW DO YOU AVOID COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT?

If you are a student or staff member at an institution of higher education, you are subject to strict rules
regarding copyright. The reason for this is that the institution has to ensure that its students and staff
members adhere to the laws and regulations regarding the reproduction of copyrighted works. That is
why you have to sign a declaration that an assignment or research paper is your own work. It is also the
reason why the library will not allow you to copy entire books or journals or download websites to your
own devices. The institutions inform students and staff during training and via published guidelines about
the regulations pertaining to copyright.

If you breach the provisions of the copyright laws, you may be found guilty and prosecuted. This is a
serious issue, so you have to follow the rules strictly.

The following notice is published on the Unisa Library website:

In accordance with the Unisa Policy for copyright infringement and plagiarism, you are personally
accountable for respecting copyright and licensing requirements. Violation of any of these
restrictions could result not only in the loss of your own access to the information resources, but
in the loss of access for the entire Unisa community. Disciplinary action may also be taken in
terms of any applicable policy or disciplinary code, for example the Unisa Student's Disciplinary
Code.

With regard to copying and downloading of information sources, we consider the following important
questions:

a) When can you make copies of information sources?

 Firstly, you may make copies of works only if it is for research and private study use.
 Secondly, you may copy only sections (portions) from a book, journal or other source – not the
complete work.
 Thirdly, the copy has to be exclusively for your own use and you may make only one copy of a
specific portion of a work.

b) What is the extent of copies you may make?

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Copyright legislation uses the phrase ‘reasonable portion of a work without obtaining permission from the
copyright owner'. This means that you may make copies of a reasonable portion of a work without
permission. If you want to copy a larger part, you first have to obtain permission from the copyright
holder. Unfortunately, this phrase is rather vague and does not specify quantities.

In terms of fair dealing and fair use, the recommendation is that you not copy more than ten per cent of a
copyrighted work (Bothma et al 2017:176). This is applicable to printed and digital works. It could
therefore mean that you may copy one chapter from a book, one article from a journal, one conference
paper from a publication of proceedings, ten per cent from a video or audio recording, and so on. Most
library websites provide practical guidelines for students and staff in this regard. It is advisable to consult
a librarian before you make copies of library sources in the library. Many shops that provide photocopy
machines also have similar rules and will generally not allow more than ten per cent of a work to be
copied.

c) What are the rules about downloading and printing from the internet?

Material on the internet is in digital format and often easy to download to a device such as your
computer. However, the same copyright rules apply, since most internet materials are copyrighted. In
other words, the copy must be for personal study and research work and multiple copies are not allowed.
This also means that you may not make more copies of the downloaded copy on your computer, such as
printouts of downloaded materials. The downloaded copy is the first and only copy allowed. It is
important to note that the moment you open a document on your screen, that document is automatically
copied (cached) to your hard disk and this already constitutes one copy of the document. If you now
save this copy to another disk or print it, you are infringing the copyright.

Most databases, electronic books, electronic journals and websites give clear indications of copyrighted
materials and conditions about downloading these materials.

d) Are there materials that are exempt from copyright and that you may copy or download freely?

In learning unit 4 we mentioned open access to certain materials, such as peer-reviewed scholarly
research. Open access provides unrestricted access to such materials via the internet. These materials
are free of charge, as well as free of the normal copyright restrictions. There are, however, some rules
about sharing these materials in order to prevent plagiarism. Therefore, it is advisable always to read the
conditions regarding copying and downloading before you attempt to copy or download any materials.

e) May you freely share information sources with others via e-mail or social media?

There is a perception that social media and e-mail are platforms for sharing any information ‘for free’.
However, content created by any person is still the intellectual property of that person. For example, if a
person took a photograph in the game reserve and posts it on social media, it is that person's intellectual
property. You are not allowed to share that photo or download it for your own use without the permission
of the owner and acknowledging that it is someone else's work. Most social networking sites have
policies and guidelines concerning copyright and the intellectual property rights of their users. You have
to make sure that you are aware of these regulations regarding what you are allowed to use, copy or
share, as well as what happens to information that you share with others.

To summarise, we give some examples of what you may and may not do in terms of copyright legislation
(adapted from Bothma et al 2017:169).

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Action Allowed/Not allowed
You borrow a textbook from a friend or the library. It has fifteen NOT ALLOWED
chapters and you photocopy five of those chapters.
You read a web document on screen, but don't save or print it. ALLOWED
You download and save a whole digital publication onto a NOT ALLOWED
computer disk for later use.
You access a web document of 200 pages and print twenty of ALLOWED
those pages.
You download a web document and save it to a folder on your NOT ALLOWED
computer. You also print the document.
You have copied and saved part of a digital document onto a ALLOWED
disk and only one person will access it at a time.
You send an e-mail to twenty recipients. Attached to this e-mail NOT ALLOWED
is a full-text document that is copyrighted.
You post to Facebook and attach a video recording that is NOT ALLOWED
copyrighted.
You send the URL of a web document or video via e-mail or post ALLOWED
it to Facebook.

Activity 9.2

 Read Facebook's terms of use and, specifically, the sections on the protection of intellectual
property at https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms
 Read Encyclopaedia Britannica's terms of use at http://corporate.britannica.com/termsofuse.html
 Conduct an internet search on any topic of your choice. Access some of the web results. Scroll
down to the bottom of a web page and click on the section ‘Terms of use'. You will notice that
almost all web documents contain sections explaining their policy on intellectual property and
copyright. It is always advisable to read these terms of use (conditions) before you download and
use web documents.

9.6 PLAGIARISM

‘Plagiarism’ is a term that is often used in association with copyright and the protection of intellectual
property. We have also mentioned it a few times in previous learning units. But what exactly is
plagiarism?

Plagiarism essentially means using someone else's work and presenting it as your own. Plagiarism is a
serious form of misconduct. It involves both stealing someone else's work and passing it off as your own
work afterwards. You commit plagiarism when you present someone else's (published or unpublished)
written or creative work (words, images, ideas, opinions, discoveries, artwork, music, recordings,
computer-generated work, etc) as your own. In other words, you do not acknowledge the source or give
credit to the owner of the information.

People who plagiarise include students, academics, authors, journalists and anyone who creates a work,
such as a piece of writing, where they use someone else's work and pretend that it is their own work.
Sadly, plagiarism happens frequently, especially in the digital environment, where it has become easy to
copy and paste portions of text, images, video clips, etc. This is referred to as ‘cyber plagiarism’, which is
the use and/or copying and pasting of ideas and information from online sources on the Web, without

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properly acknowledging the original source. The same rules that apply to acknowledging and crediting
print sources apply to digital information sources found on the Web.

However, there are some information sources that are not subject to copyright. These are free to use
without requesting permission from the creators. These publications include certain government
publications and publications that are no longer protected under copyright because the copyright has
expired. It can also include free educational resources made available via open access. There is a
perception that you may freely copy and paste information from these sources and present the product
as your own, but this is not entirely true: Although you may freely copy and download the sources, you
may not include the information in your assignment without acknowledging these sources. The ideas
from those sources still belong to the original creators.

There are several reasons why people – especially students – plagiarise:

 poor planning and time management; when students realise that an assignment is due
and they don't have enough time to retrieve, organise, evaluate and synthesise
information sources, they think it is the easy way out simply to copy and paste portions of
text from other sources and present it as their assignment
 lack of skills to plan the information task and retrieve, organise, evaluate and synthesise
information sources
 lack of knowledge and understanding of intellectual property and copyright
 confusion between plagiarism and paraphrasing
 confusion about how to cite sources properly

After the completion of this module, you should not have to use any of the above reasons as an excuse
to plagiarise.

There are several types of plagiarism (Geyer 2015:10):

 turning in (submitting) someone else's work – including ideas, research, statements, images and
statistical data – as your own, without crediting the actual author(s) or researcher(s)
 downloading an assignment from an online source and submitting it as your own work
 buying, stealing or borrowing an assignment from another student and submitting it as your own
work
 using the words and/or significant ideas from someone else and presenting them as your own
 copying, cutting and pasting text from a digital source, such as a web page, and submitting it as
your own work
 copying a section of a book or an article and submitting it as your own work
 putting someone else's ideas into your own words and not giving credit to the original source
 copying words or ideas from someone else without giving them credit
 using a direct quotation from an information source and failing to use quotation marks
 giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
 changing words, but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit to the
original author(s) or researcher(s)
 copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work,
whether you give credit to the original author/s or not

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None of these reasons for plagiarism is acceptable. Plagiarism is not only an unethical practice, but is
also extremely dishonest. Plagiarism is a serious offence that can have dire consequences, such as
ruining your reputation, suspension from an institution of higher education, losing your job and other
legal consequences.

Plagiarism is viewed in a serious light at institutions of higher education and in the corporate world.
There are also various software tools that can be used to detect plagiarism. These tools scan the text of
a document and detect any sections of text that can be linked to the original documents from which they
were copied.

So what can you do to avoid plagiarism?

 Plan your information task properly, as described in previous learning units. That will give you
enough time to retrieve, organise, evaluate and synthesise information sources.
 Practise your note-taking and writing skills. We have explained these skills in detail in previous
learning units. The better you are able to express yourself in writing, the less tempted you will be
to copy other authors' work.
 When you have to use another author's words in the form of a direct quotation, make sure that
you do the following:
o Copy the phrase exactly as it was written originally.
o Put the phrase in double quotation marks so that it is very clear that this specific portion of
text is a direct quotation.
o Include the correct bibliographic details, namely the author's surname, year of publication
and page number as an in-text reference.
o Limit the use of quotations and keep them short.
 Avoid making superficial changes to the text, in other words, changing only a few words or
phrases from a copied piece of writing. If the content and structure is unchanged, it is essentially
still the work of another author.
 Use paraphrasing correctly. When you paraphrase, you give the original author's ideas, meaning
and information in your own words. In other words, you do not use the original author's words, but
the idea, meaning or message is still the same. It is, however, very important that you provide the
in-text reference to acknowledge the original source.
 Don’t allow other students to use your work because you might be implicated in a plagiarism
case.

If you are unsure whether you should acknowledge a source – even where you have used your own
words – rather be cautious and acknowledge it.

Activity 9.3

Access the following websites to look at examples of paraphrasing:

https://libguides.wits.ac.za/Scholarly_Research_Resources/Paraphrasing
https://www.kibin.com/essay-writing-blog/examples-of-paraphrasing/
https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase.html

Select paragraphs from any articles or portions from books or web pages and then practise writing
paraphrases for these paragraphs.

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9.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this learning unit we looked at the issues surrounding the ethical use of information. We explored
information ethics and cyber ethics and, more specifically, how intellectual property and copyright play a
role in how we work with information. We concluded by emphasising the importance of acknowledging
other peoples' work by means of in-text referencing. In the following learning unit, you will learn how to
do in-text referencing and how to compile a list of references or a bibliography.

9.8 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. Describe information ethics and cyber ethics in your own words.

2. How do you understand the concept of the right to privacy?
3. What are the implications of the right of access to information when you do an information task?
4. When you write an assignment of a political nature, may you use the excuse of freedom of
expression to propagate hatred based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion? Why/Why not?
5. What is the relationship between information ethics and intellectual property and copyright?
6. Why is it illegal and unethical to use another author's work and pretend that it is your own?
7. What reasonable portion of a book, journal, video or web page are you allowed to copy?
8. How can you avoid plagiarism when you write assignments?
9. When you consult a dictionary and/or encyclopaedia to look up the meaning of words or obtain
background information on a topic, but you do not include that information in an assignment, do
you have to refer to those sources in the text of your assignment? Why/Why not?
10. When all the different articles you have read on your assignment topic essentially say the same
thing, do you have to refer to the authors of the articles when you formulate a conclusion based
on that information? Why/Why not?
11. What might happen to you if you were found guilty of plagiarism?

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REFERENCING

10.1 INTRODUCTION

In previous learning units we indicated that referencing is one of the important tasks that you have to do
during the final writing of an assignment. When you have completed all the steps and tasks involved in
the information task and you are rewriting your assignment in its final version, you have to make sure
that you have acknowledged all the information sources that you consulted.

In this learning unit we explain referencing and reference techniques. We look at how to use in-text
referencing and, finally, compile a reference list or bibliography. We will also look briefly at reference
management programs (software).

Note: You should study this learning unit in conjunction with the INKALLE 302 Tutorial Letter, which is
available on myUnisa to all students enrolled for INS1502. It includes a section that provides more
examples of referencing.

Activity 10.1

Have you ever had to use referencing for an assignment, but had no idea where to start? Has it ever
happened that you realised, at this final stage, that you no longer had all the details of the information
sources, meaning that you had to search for and find some sources again – thus wasting valuable time?
Have you ever had marks deducted for incorrect or incomplete referencing?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions above, it is time to learn how to use referencing correctly.
Therefore, in this learning unit we introduce you to the basics of referencing.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit, you should be able to

 explain why it is important to use referencing

 apply the Harvard system of referencing
 use in-text referencing
 compile a reference list or bibliography for a variety of information sources
 use reference management programs (software) cautiously

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KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts that we will use in this learning unit are

 author
 bibliographic information
 bibliography
 citation
 citing
 edition
 Harvard referencing method
 in-text referencing
 publisher
 reference list
 reference management programs (software)
 referencing
 title
 URL

10.2 WHAT IS REFERENCING?

We explained the importance of adhering to copyright legislation and protecting intellectual property in
the previous learning unit. Referencing forms part of acknowledging the use of other people's work. A
reference gives the bibliographic details of the source from which you have used information. Another
word for ‘referencing’ is ‘citing’ – and ‘citation’ is another term for ‘reference’.

The term ‘bibliographic’ in phrases such as ‘bibliographic references’ and ‘bibliographic information’
refers to information about published items such as books, journals, websites, etc and it usually includes
information on the following basic elements: author(s), title(s), publication information and URLs.

Why do you have to use referencing?

 Referencing demonstrates that you have consulted and read relevant information sources in
preparation for your information task. It shows that you are able to integrate information from
various sources and then present your own and other people's work in an ethical manner. By
referencing information sources, you are acknowledging that you have used information,
viewpoints, arguments or research findings of specific authors or researchers whom you have
identified.

 By using a range of information sources, you can indicate the main trends in, and different
schools of thought on, a particular topic.

 It enables the reader to view and verify those sources, if necessary. By checking the entries in
the bibliography, the reader can immediately determine whether you have actually consulted the
latest information sources, representative of the field of study, in the information task.

When do you have to use referencing?

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You have to use references each time you use an idea or information that is not your own. An idea can
include a fact, a quotation, a graphic, a table, a video clip, audio clip or anything else obtained from a
source of information. A source of information includes any of the sources that we have discussed in
previous learning units.

How do you use referencing?

If you acknowledge an information source in the text of an information task, you can quote the author
directly or you can paraphrase the author's ideas and views. In learning unit 9 we explained direct
quotations and paraphrasing as part of how to write an assignment. Regardless of whether you use a
direct quotation or paraphrase, you have to acknowledge the source by means of a reference.

What referencing system should you use?

Referencing must conform to a standardised style. However, there are a number of systems or styles of
referencing available. Institutions of higher education usually prescribe a specific style. For example,
Unisa generally uses the Harvard Reference System. ‘Harvard’ is a generic term used for a style that
follows the format of author-date references in the text of a document and includes a list references at
the end of a document, arranged alphabetically by the author's surname and date of publication.
Although different systems and versions use the same basic technique, they may vary in terms of the
use of punctuation, capital letters, italics, adding of page numbers, adding web addresses, and so on. In
this learning unit we will use examples based on the version of Harvard used in the Department of
Information Science at Unisa.

Once you have decided on a specific reference technique, it is important to remain consistent in how you
apply it. Don’t use different techniques within the same document.

10.3 THE STRUCTURE OF INFORMATION SOURCES

In order to be able to use referencing, it is necessary to understand how information sources are
structured. This will help you to trace the essential details that must be included as part of your
references.

10.3.1 The structure of books

Books, whether in print or digital format (e-books), remain one of the most valuable information sources.
For most of your assignments, you will have to consult prescribed or recommended textbooks.

A book has both a physical and an internal structure (Geyer 2015:16). For referencing purposes, you can
obtain bibliographic information about the book from both structures.

The physical structure consists of

 the spine
 the cover (and sometimes also a dust cover)
 leaves and pages

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A spine is usually visible on a print book only when you look at it on a shelf. The spine joins the body of a
book to its cover. The spine may contain some bibliographic information, such as the title and name of
the author/s.

The cover of a book is the outermost physical part that keeps the pages together and protects them. The
front cover usually displays the title and author(s)' name(s). The back cover may contain a brief summary
of the book, an ISBN number and, sometimes, publication details.

Sometimes the cover is protected by a dust cover, which is folded over the cover. The dust cover usually
also contains the title and author(s)' name(s).

The image below shows a book displaying the back cover, spine and front cover. In other words, the
book is folded open, with the front and back covers and spine facing the viewer.

Figure 10.1: Cover and spine of a printed book

(Source: Battaglini 2016)

Books are printed on papers that are known as ‘leaves’. The term ‘leaf’ refers to both sides of the paper.
In other words, each leaf has two sides and each of these sides is called a page.

The internal structure of a book, which essentially refers to the internal information or the content of the
book, usually consists of the following elements (in this sequence):

 the title page and verso (imprint) of the title page

 the preface, foreword or introduction
 the contents page
 a list of illustrations, tables or graphics
 the content of the book
 the glossary

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  appendices
 the bibliography
 the index

The elements that provide the essential bibliographic information required for referencing are the title
page and verso of the title page. You should not use the front and back covers as a first source because
the bibliographic information may not be as complete as on the title page and verso.

The title page appears at the beginning of a book and it contains essential bibliographic information
about the book. The title page of a book generally contains the following bibliographic elements:

 the full title and subtitle of the book

 the edition
 the author's name
 the names of editors, compilers, translators and illustrators
 the title of the series of which the book is a part
 the place of publication
 the name of the publisher
 the date of publication

The following example of an e-book should give you an indication of the bibliographic information that
usually appears on the cover and title page.

Figure 10.2: The cover of an e-book

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Figure 10.3: Title page of an e-book

The verso of the title page is the page that appears on the back (reverse) of the title page. The title page
verso often contains important bibliographic information that does not appear on the title page itself, such
as the names of additional authors or contributors, publication information (i.e. information on the place
of publication, the name and address of the publisher and the date of publication) and the edition.

Figure 10.4: Title page verso of an e-book

Note: Books often contain a bibliography at the end of the book, containing a list of the information
resources consulted by the author in the course of his/her research. The bibliography lists these works
alphabetically according to the surnames of the original authors whose works were consulted. The

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bibliography can be used very effectively to determine what other information sources are available in a
particular subject field.

In order to provide referencing for books, you require the following bibliographic information:

 the author(s), including writers, compilers, editors, translators or corporate bodies (where
institutions or organisations are responsible for authorship)
 the title plus subtitle (if there is a subtitle)
 the edition (except when it is the first edition)
 the name of the publisher
 the place of publication
 the date of publication

Activity 10.2

Look at the above example (illustrated in fig 10.3 and 10.4) and see if you can identify the following
bibliographic information elements:

 author
 title
 subtitle
 publisher
 date of publication
 place of publication

10.3.2 The structure of journals

A ‘journal’ can be defined as a publication that appears at regular intervals – for example weekly,
monthly or quarterly – and is characterised by the fact that it contains a number of separate articles,
rather than continuous text (as in the case of books) (Geyer 2015:26). We described journals in learning
unit 4.

The physical structure of journals consists of a cover and a number of pages. Whether an academic
journal appears in print or in digital form (e-journals), it contains the following internal structural elements:

 title page information

 contents page information
 editorial information
 publication information
 the actual content of the journal

The title page information of journals refers to the official title and the number of the journal. Journals do
not have a separate title page, so the title page information usually appears on the cover of the journal.
Although the title page information of a journal does not always include the names of the persons
responsible for the intellectual content of the journal (i.e. the authors and/or editors), it always includes
the journal title and an indication of the numbering.

The numbering is an essential element of the internal structure of a journal. Journals appear at regular
intervals (e.g. weekly, monthly or quarterly) under the same title; therefore, the numbering is an

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extremely important identifying element of the journal. With each new issue of a journal, the numbering
changes in order to distinguish it from other issues.

Although most journals have a specific date, they are identified primarily by their volume and number
(e.g. volume 10, number 4). In other words, the numbering of a journal might contain

 chronological elements – the date of the journal

 numeric elements – the volume and the number
 a combination of chronological and numeric elements

Examples of journal numbering:

 May 2017
 August/September 2016
 Volume 12, Number 2
 Volume 13, Number 5, May 2012
 January/February 2107, Volume 23, Number 1
 Volume 27, Number 5, May/June 2017
 Volume 25, Issue 3–4

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Figure 10.5 shows an example of the cover of an e-journal.

Figure 10.5: The cover of an e-journal

(Source: Africa: History and Culture 2016)

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Journals usually contain a table of contents, which can appear on the front cover (title page), the inside
front cover, the first page of the publication or on the back cover.

The contents page lists the following information:

 the titles of the articles that appear in the journal

 the authors responsible for the articles
 an indication of the page(s) on which each article can be found

Figure 10.6: Contents page of an e-journal

The contents page of an academic journal lists/indicates a number of separate articles written by
individual authors.

You can find the bibliographic information for journals in a number of places, including the front cover,
the back page and – sometimes – at the bottom of the first page of the article itself.

In order to reference a journal, you require the following bibliographic information:

 the author(s) of the specific article (but not the editors of the journal)
 the title and subtitle of the article
 the title and subtitle of the journal in which the article appears
 the volume of the journal
 the issue number, or season, or month (whichever is applicable)
 the date of publication
 the page numbers in the journal where the article appears

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Activity 10.3

Look at the above example (illustrated in fig 10.5 and 10.6) and see if you can identify the following
bibliographic information elements:

 title of an article
 author of the article
 page numbers of the article
 journal title
 volume and issue number
 publication date

10.3.3 The structure of internet sources

There are various types of internet sources, such as e-books and e-journals, but they may also include
other web pages that are not part of e-books or e-journals. A website consists of a collection of pages
that often includes an article/contribution title, author and publisher. Well-designed websites will usually
contain all the necessary bibliographic details required for referencing, including a title, names of authors
and/or corporate authors. The date on which the site was last updated can be found at the bottom of the
page and the URL can be found in the address bar at the top of the website.

URL

Corporate

author
Title

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Date

Figure 10.7: Example of a web page

(Source: Southern African Development Community 2012)

In order to reference internet sources, you require the following:

 for digital books and journals accessed via the internet, the same bibliographic information as
mentioned in the sections for printed books and journals
 the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or the DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
 date of creation, copyright date or latest update of the web page (usually at the bottom of the
page)
 date of access (the date when the web page was visited)

Internet material does not always stay available for a long time. Therefore, it is important to keep copies
on your computer for future reference. Note: According to copyright legislation, you may keep only one
copy of a web page on your computer.

Activity 10.4

Look at the following web page (illustrated in fig 10.8) and see if you can identify the following
bibliographic information elements:

 title
 author
 date
 URL

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 Figure 10.8: South African Weather Service web page

(Source: South African Weather Service 2018)

10.4 IN-TEXT REFERENCING

In-text referencing is used to acknowledge the source at the point where you use it in the text. For
example, if you give a direct quotation, paraphrase, graphic or table from a source, you have to indicate
the source at that point in the text. Such an in-text reference will normally contain the name of the author,
year of publication and the page number of the source from which the information was taken. When
referring to information sources in a scientific and/or academic text such as an assignment, it is essential

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to use the correct structure, format and punctuation at all times. Therefore, you should pay particular
attention to the format and punctuation in each type of in-text reference.

Here is an example of a quotation with its accompanying in-text reference:

“When we write, we always write for a particular audience or readers. We write in order to communicate
and to say something to the particular person or people who will read what we write” (Behrens, Olën &
Machet 1999:218).

As you can see from the example above, the authors' surnames, the year of publication and the page
number are included in the in-text reference.

Here is an example of a paraphrase:

Kebede (1995:40) is of the opinion that traditional African music is, to a large extent, integrated with
cultural activities and that music is often performed to celebrate a specific deity.

In the example above, the in-text reference forms part of the sentence of the paraphrase.

Avoid the use of secondary references to other authors as far as possible. However, when you do refer
to the opinions of an author whom you are citing on the authority of the interpretation of another author, it
should be clear that you have not viewed the original text of the first author. Consider the following
example:

According to Fox (1983:45), Farradane defines the term ‘information’ as language.

Or:
Farradane (as cited in Fox 1983:45) defines ‘information’ as language.

In the text itself, the ampersand (&) is used only when the entire text reference appears in parenthesis;
when the names of the authors form part of the sentence, ‘and' is written out in full and the ampersand
(&) is not used. Consider the following example:

According to Bloomberg and Evans (2005:66), technical services include the acquisitions and
cataloguing of books.
Or:
Technical services include the acquisitions and cataloguing of books (Bloomberg & Evans 2005:66).

When using et al in the case of sources with three or more authors, all the authors are listed in the
reference list at the end and in the first citation of such a source in the text; however, from the second in-
text citation onwards, et al is used. Consider the following example:

… (Meador, Clancy & Davies 2003:56).

Thereafter:
… (Meador et al 2003:61).

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10.5 COMPILING A REFERENCE LIST AND/OR BIBLIOGRAPHY

At the end of an assignment, you have to include a reference list or bibliography. This is a compulsory
part of any academic assignment, research report, journal article, conference paper, etc. So what is the
difference between a ‘reference list’ and a ‘bibliography’?

A reference list is a list that contains descriptions of all the sources that you have used and referred to in
the text of your assignment.

A bibliography includes a reference list, but it can also include sources that you have only consulted, but
not specifically referred to in your assignment. For example, if you have read entries in an encyclopaedia
or read articles that provided you with background information for the assignment, but you never refer to
these sources in the text, they may be part of a bibliography. These sources, however, do not have to be
included in a reference list. It will depend on the instructions of your assignment whether you have to
include a reference list or a bibliography. At the very least, you will always have to include a reference
list, that is, a list of descriptions of all the sources that you refer to in the text.

We will explain the compilation of a reference list by looking at examples of books, journal articles and
online sources.

It is important to note that although we explain the compilation of a reference list according to different
categories or types of sources, the final list is arranged alphabetically as an integrated list.

10.5.1 Books

Start with the surname and initials of the author(s) or editor(s) – or the full name of any other institution
that serves as the author, such as a corporate author. This is followed by the year of publication, the full
title (including subtitle) of the work, the place of publication and the name of the publisher. Book titles are
written in italics, but only the first letter of a book title and proper nouns are written with initial capitals.
Every individual bibliographical element is followed by a specific punctuation mark. The following format
must be adhered to:

Surname of the author (editor) [comma], initials of the author or editor [full stop]. The year of publication
[full stop]. The title [colon]: the subtitle [full stop]. The edition statement [full stop]. Place of publication
[colon]: The name of the publisher [full stop].

Note: A ‘corporate author’ can be defined as an agency, organisation or government department that
authorises a particular publication and under whose name it is entered. Examples include the United
Nations (UN), the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the British
Department of Energy, the South African Parliament and the Congress of the United States of America
(Geyer 2015:43).

We will now give a few examples of entries of books.

One author:

Buckland, MK. 1991. Information and information systems. New York: Greenwood.

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Two authors – their surnames are separated by an ampersand (&):

Bloomberg, M & Evans, GE. 2005. Management of technical services. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.

Three or more authors – the first surnames are separated by a comma and an ampersand is used
between the second-last and last surname:

Meador, A, Clancy, BA & Davies, R. 2003. Expert systems and authority control. New York: Haworth.

Books with editors (composite/collective works): Usually the editor is responsible for organising the
chapters into some logical order and arranging for the publication of all the different contributions by the
various authors in one book (which has an overall title reflecting the common ground covered by the
various authors).

When you refer to the author in the text, you cite the name of the author of the particular chapter you are
referring to, not the editor/s of the source in which the chapter appears:

Machet, M. 1988. Authorship and book publication in South Africa, in The information society, edited by
N Shillinglaw and T Wilson. Craighall: Donker:77-100.

When referring to a collected work as a whole, enter it under the name of the editor/s. Consider the
following example:

Machlup, F & Mansfield, U (eds). 1983. The study of information: interdisciplinary messages. New York,
NY: Wiley.

In the case of a collective work without an editor, enter the source under its title (title entry) – see below.

Title entry:

Enter a book under the title only if the author (or editor) is unknown or cannot be determined. Consider
the following example:

Making South Africa safe: a manual for community based crime prevention. 2000. Pretoria: National
Crime Prevention Centre.

Corporate author:

South Africa. Inter-departmental Strategy Team. 1996. National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS).
Pretoria: Government Printer.
When a work is a later edition, the edition statement has to be included as well:

Cameron, S. 2008. The business student's handbook: learning skills for study and employment. 4th ed.
Harlow: Prentice Hall.

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Activity 10.5

a) Study the following scenario and then fill in the information below and compile a reference entry:

Linda J Henry wrote a chapter called ‘Appraisal of electronic records: traditional principles endure in
2003’. The chapter was published in a book entitled Thirty years of electronic records. It was edited
by Bruce I Ambacher and was published in Lanham, US by Scarecrow. It covered pages 25 to 41.

Author(s) of chapter:

Publication date:

Title of chapter:

Title of collected work:

Editor(s) of collected work:

Place of publication:

Publisher:

Pages:

Now that you have identified the necessary elements, you can compile the entry for a reference list.

b) Study the following scenario and then fill in the information below and compile a reference entry:

W Peters and RM Clarkson edited a book entitled Improving internet reference services. The book
was published in 2004 by Haworth Information Press in Binghampton.

Title:

Publication date:

Editor(s):

Place of publication:

Publisher:

Now you can combine the different elements to compile an entry for a reference list.

10.5.2 Journal articles

Give the name of the author, year of publication and title of the article, then the name of the journal (in
italics), volume number and issue number, followed by page numbers of the article. The first letters of
the journal name (except for articles and prepositions) are written in capitals.

The correct punctuation is as follows:

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Surname of the author [comma], initials of the author [full stop]. Year of publication [full stop]. The title of
the article [colon]: subtitle of the article [full stop]. The title of the journal [colon]: the subtitle of the journal
volume and number of the journal [colon]: indication of the pages in the journal in which the article
appears [full stop].

Don’t include the words (or their abbreviations) ‘volume' (vol.) or ‘issue number' (no.) in the bibliographic
description. The issue number is enclosed in parenthesis. For example, volume 58, issue number 4 of a
journal will be indicated as 58(4) in the bibliographic description. Consider the following example:

Zins, C. 2007. Conceptual approaches for defining data, information and knowledge. Journal of the
American Society for Information Science and Technology 58(4):479-493.

Activity 10.6

Study the following scenario, fill in the information below and then compile a reference entry:

Stuart Hannabuss wrote an article called ‘Issues of intellectual property’ in 1998. The article appeared in
volume 99, number 5 of the journal New Library World. It was published on pages 185 to 190.

Author:

Publication date:

Title of article:

Title of journal:

Periodical volume and number:

Page numbers on which the article appears:

Now that you have identified the necessary elements, you can compile the reference entry.

10.5.3 Online sources

Online sources follow the same format as for print sources, but you also have to include the URL and the
date on which the source was accessed. If a web page does not have a specific contributor or author,
enter it under the name of the web page or institution and include the title of the main article/discussion
in the bibliographic description.

Never give the URL on its own as a text reference or as the main entry in the reference list. The URL is
only a locator, that is, an address.

The correct punctuation for an online source is as follows:

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Surname of the author [comma], initials of the author [full stop]. The year in which the site was created
[full stop]. The title of the online document [colon]: the subtitle of the document [full stop]. Place of
publication [colon]: Publisher [full stop] [space] http://www. [space] [Accessed: date] [full stop].

Here are a few examples:

Robin, J. 2014. A handbook for professional learning. [PDF]. New York: NYC Department of Education.
http://schools.nyc.gov/ (Accessed 14 April 2015).

Zusack, M. 2015. The book thief. [e-book]. New York: Knopf. http://ebooks.nypl.org/ [Accessed 20 April
2016].

International Monetary Fund (IMF). 2000. Globalization: threat or opportunity? Washington, DC: IMF.
https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/ib/2000/041200to.htm (Accessed 15 September 2016).

Jenks, T. 2009. A brief handbook of revision for writers. Narrative (Fall). Narrative Magazine, Inc.
http://www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/fall-2009/nonfiction/brief-handbook-revision-writers-tom-jenks
(Accessed 22 September 2016).

Activity 10.7

Find the website for Constitution Hill in Johannesburg and then fill in the required information below.

Name(s) and initials of author(s):

Publication date:

Title:

Format:

URL:

Date accessed:

Now you can combine the different elements to compile a reference entry.

Nowadays, online sources include communication such as e-mail, social media, blog entries and
YouTube videos. You have to include these sources in your list of references. Here are a few examples:

E-mail correspondence:

Start with the surname and initials of the sender and then give the year. Follow this with ‘E-mail to’ and
the recipient's name, day and year of message. Below are a few examples:

Smith, SP. 2018. E-mail to J. Jones, 28 February 2018

Twitter message:

@RupertCloete. 2018. The drought situation in Cape Town, 1 March 2018. http://twitter.com/rupertcloete
(Accessed 1 March 2018).

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Facebook entry:

Dumisani, SH. 2018. Our visit to the War Museum, 2 March 2018.
http://www.facebook.com/sipho.dumisani/posts/ (Accessed 2 March 2018).

Blog post:

Lewis-Williams, K. 2018. Self-worth. http://www.kimlewiswilliams.co.za/articles/self-worth.php (Accessed

3 March 2018).

YouTube video:

StephTV. 2017. How to make money fast, work from home in South Africa with tools you already have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kvivFi7ywc (Accessed 4 March 2018).

Note: It is impossible to cover the referencing of all types of information sources in one learning unit. For
further details, always consult the guidelines of the referencing system that you use, such as Harvard, or
the guidelines provided by the institution where you are studying.

10.6 REFERENCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS/SOFTWARE

Reference management programs are electronic/digital tools that you can use to help you create in-text
references and lists of references. Essentially, they perform the following functions (Bothma et al
2017:201):

 automatically import references from a variety of sources

 organise these references and create a database of references
 generate in-text references and lists of references in the prescribed style, for example Harvard

There are numerous tools available for the automatic generation of bibliographies, such as the reference
feature on Microsoft® Word.

You may also consult the following websites for other reference-generating tools:

Harvard Generator. 2015. http://www.harvardgenerator.com/

Harvard Reference Generator: Perfect Harvard Referencing Every Time. 2015.

http://harvardreferencegenerator.com/

Harvard Style Reference Generator: Reference books, e-mails, journals and websites. 2015.
http://www.neilstoolbox.com/bibliography-creator/

Mendeley. 2017. https://www.mendeley.com/

Queen's University Belfast. 2013. Referencing made easy. Reference Generator.

http://www.qub.ac.uk/cite2write/harvard3l.html

231
Referencing Made Easy: The free tool to generate citations, reference lists and bibliographies. 2014.
https://www.refme.com/#/

The tools provide easy-to-follow instructions, which you need to follow step by step. Consult their
websites for further guidance.

If you decide to use one of these tools, it is still important to ensure that your in-text references and
reference list meet the requirements of the institution where you are studying. Don’t assume that these
programs will automatically create references that completely fulfil your requirements. You still need a
good understanding of referencing (as discussed in this learning unit) and it remains your responsibility
to check your references before submitting your assignment.

Activity 10.8

Explore any of the above-mentioned reference management programs. Decide which one will best suit
your requirements. Select any document, for example an assignment, for which you have to create
references. Follow the instructions of the program and create references for your document.

10.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this learning unit we covered in-text referencing and the creation of a reference list or bibliography. We
worked specifically with the Harvard system and used examples of print and digital (online) sources. It is
important to be aware that the types of information sources do not remain static, since new
developments occur frequently. A few decades ago, there were no social media and e-sources, but
today they are commonly used and reference systems make provision for them, too. It is necessary
always to consult the latest version of any reference system. Reference management programs can be
helpful in maintaining a record of the bibliographic details of sources and can save you time, but they
need to be used with caution. Ultimately, you are responsible for the correct and successful completion
of the information task, including the referencing of your sources.

10.8 QUESTIONS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. Why is it necessary to use referencing?

2. Why is it necessary to include in-text referencing?
3. Why do you have to create a list of references or bibliography at the end of your assignment?
4. How do you know which reference system to use?
5. Why should you use reference management programs with caution?

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NB: The bibliography refers to the sources consulted in writing this study guide. Students do not
have to read these sources.

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