Technical Writing

Course Code: IT1255

Program: Information Technology
Faculty: Computing and Information
Course coordinator: Dr. Bedine KERIM
Course Instructor: …………………………………….

2023-2024

Al-Baha University - Faculty of Computing and Information

Lecture 5: . INFORMATION
LITERACY

Al-Baha University - Faculty of Computing and Information

Outline
• 5.1 information formats
• 5.2 The information timeline
• 5.3 The research cycle
• 5.4 Research tools
• 5.5 Search strategies
• 4.6 Evaluate sources

Al-Baha University - Faculty of Computing and Information

INFORMATION LITERACY
• What does it mean to be information literate? Simply stated, information
literate individuals “know how to find, evaluate and use information
effectively.”
• In college, you typically find, evaluate, and use information to satisfy the
requirements of an assignment. Assignments often specify what kind of
information you need and what tools you should use– or avoid– in your
research.
• In this chapter, you will learn
• how to identify different information formats;
• where to conduct your research;
• how to search effectively;
• how to evaluate sources you find

Al-Baha University - Faculty of Computing and Information

 5.1 INFORMATION FORMATS
• Traditionally, information has been organized in different formats,
usually because of the time it takes to gather and publish the
information. For example, the purpose of news reporting is to inform
the public about the basic facts of an event. This information needs to
be disseminated quickly, so it is published daily in print, online, on
broadcast television, and radio media.
• new information formats can include electronic journals, e-books,
news websites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites.
• There are some direct correlations such as books and journal articles,
but there are also some newer formats like tweets that didn’t exist
until recently

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 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY INFORMATION
SOURCES
Primary sources allow researchers to get as close as possible to
original ideas, events, and empirical research as possible.
Examples of primary sources are interviews, letters, emails, Tweets,
Facebook posts, photographs, speeches, newspaper or magazine
articles written at the time of an event, works of literature, lab notes,
field research, and published scientific research.
Secondary sources analyze, review, or summarize information in
primary resources or other secondary resources.
Examples of secondary sources are journal articles, books, literature
reviews, literary criticism, meta-analyses of scientific studies,
documentaries, biographies, and textbooks.
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 POPULAR, PROFESSIONAL, AND SCHOLARLY
INFORMATION
• At some point in your college career, you will be asked to find peer-
reviewed resources on your research topic. Your professor may
explain that these appear in scholarly journals. You may wonder what
makes ascholarly journal article different from an article in a
magazine, like National Geographic or Sports Illustrated

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Differences among magazines, professional
journals, and scholarly journals

INFORMATION

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 5.2 THE INFORMATION TIMELINE
oInformation about an event or issue appears in publications according
to a predictable pattern known as the information timeline.
oFor example, it typically takes several months to years for information
about an event or issue to appear in scholarly publications.
oIf you choose a topic that is very recent, you may have to rely more
heavily on news media, popular magazines, and primary sources (such
as interviews you conduct) for your research.

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The information timeline and typical sources.

Al-Baha University - Faculty of Computing and Information

 5.3 THE RESEARCH CYCLE
• Although information publication follows a linear timeline, the
research process itself is not linear.
For example, you might start by trying to read scholarly articles, only to
discover that you lack the necessary background knowledge to use a
scholarly article effectively.
• To increase your background information, you might consult an
encyclopedia or a book on your topic. Or, you may encounter a
statement in a newspaper editorial that inspires you to consult the
scholarly literature to see if research supports the statement.
• The important thing to remember is that you will probably start your
research at different points and move around among resource types
depending on the type of information you need
Al-Baha University - Faculty of Computing and Information
The research cycle

Al-Baha University - Faculty of Computing and Information

 5.4 RESEARCH TOOLS
DATABASES
• Very often, you will want articles on your topic, and the easiest way to find
articles is to use a research database.
• For example, if your topic is Artificial Intelligence, you can use a research
database to look in thousands of journal titles at once and find the latest
scientific and technical research articles– articles that don’t always show
up in your Google searches.
• Most databases require subscriptions for access; check with your college,
public, or corporate library to see what databases they subscribe to for
youtouse.
• you likely use databases in everyday life. For example, do you store contact
information in your phone? If so, you create a record for everyone for
whom you want to store information.

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Example of research database, Academic Search
Premier. controlled vocabulary are labeled

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 Common general databases in academic
• Academic Search Premier
• Academic OneFile
• JSTOR
SPECIALIZED: Examples of specialized databases and their subject focus

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 LIBRARY CATALOGS
• A library catalog is a database that contains all of the items located in
a library as well as all of the items to which the library offers access,
either in physical or online format.
• It allows you to search for items by title, author, subject, and
keyword. Like research databases, library catalogs use controlled
vocabulary to allow for powerful searching using specific terms or
phrases.
Example of the location of a call number in a library catalog.

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 LIBRARY CATALOGS
• CONSORTIA AND INTERLIBRARY LOAN: In the course of your
research you will almost certainly find yourself in a situation where
you have a citation for a journal article or book that your institution’s
library doesn’t have
• GOVERNMENT INFORMATION : Another important source of
information is the government. Official government websites end in
.gov
• EXPERTS: People are a valuable, though often overlooked, source.
This might be particularly appropriate if you are working on an
emerging topic or a topic with local connections.

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 5.5 SEARCH STRATEGIES
• How to construct searches that will allow you to find the most
relevant, useful results as efficiently as possible.
DEVELOP EFFECTIVE KEYWORDS
- When deciding what terms to use in a search, break down your topic
into its main concepts.
- The best thing to do is to use the key concepts involved with your
topic
- In addition, think of synonyms or related terms for each concept
- This may sound strange, since if you are looking for information using
a Web search engine, you usually get too many results. Databases,
however, contain fewer items than the entire web,
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 ADVANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES
• Once you have identified the concepts you want to search and have
carefully chosen your keywords, think about how you will enter them
into the search box of your selected search tool.
Some techniques in both research databases and web search engines:
-BOOLEAN OPERATORS
- Focus your search, particularly when your topic contains multiple
search terms.
- connect various pieces of information to find exactly what you are
looking for
- There are three Boolean operators: AND, OR, and NOT.
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 ADVANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES
• AND : Use AND in a search to
- narrow your results
- Tell the database that ALL search terms must be present in the
resulting records
- Example: cloning AND humans AND ethics (search terms connected
by AND)

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 ADVANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES
- OR : Use OR in a search to accomplish the following:
• connect two or more similar concepts (synonyms)
• broaden your results, telling the database that any one of your search
terms can be present in the resulting records.
• Example: (cloning OR genetics OR reproduction) serch terms
connected by OR

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 ADVANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES
- NOT : Use NOT in a search to
- exclude words from your search
- narrow your search, telling the database to ignore concepts that may
be implied by your search terms
- Example: cloning NOT sheep (search using NOT)

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 ADVANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES
Combining operators:
Example: ethics AND (cloning OR genetics OR reproduction)

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 ADVANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES
• PHRASES : Web and research databases usually treat your search
terms as separate words, meaning they look for each word appearing
in a document, regardless of its location around the other words in
your search term.
• TRUNCATION: Truncation, also called stemming, is a technique that
allows you to search for multiple variations of a root word at once.
-Most databases have a truncation symbol. The * is the most
commonly used symbol, but !, ?, and # are also used.

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 5.6 EVALUATE SOURCES
• Information sources vary in quality, and before you use a source in
your academic assignments or work projects, you must evaluate them
for quality
• There are five basic criteria for evaluating information:
1- Authority :
- Key Question: Is the person, organization, or institution responsible
for the intellectual content of the information knowledgeable in that
subject?
- Indicators of authority: formal academic degrees, years of
professional experience, active and substantial involvement in a
particular area

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 5.6 EVALUATE SOURCES
2- Accuracy:
- Key Question: How free from error is this piece of information?
- Indicators of accuracy: correct and verifiable citations, information is
verifiable in other sources from different authors/organizations,
author is authority on subject
3- Objectivity
- Key Question: How objective is this piece of information?
- Indicators of objectivity: multiple points of view are acknowledged
and discussed logically and clearly, statements are supported with
documentation from a variety of reliable sources, purpose is clearly
stated
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 5.6 EVALUATE SOURCES
4- Currency:
Key Question: When was the item of information published or produced?
◦ Indicators of currency: publication date, assignment restrictions (e.g., you
can only use articles from the last 5 years), your topic and how quickly
information changes in your field (e.g., technology or health topics will
require very recent information to reflect rapidly changing areas of expertise
5- Audience
Key Question: Who is this information written for or this product developed
for?
◦ Indicators of audience: language, style, tone, bibliographies

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