Module Identifier IL31820  
Module Title INFORMATION SOURCES: ACCESS, USE AND EVALUATION  
Academic Year 2004/2005  
Co-ordinator Ms Anoush Simon  
Semester Semester 1  
Other staff Dr Geraint I Evans  
Course delivery Lecture   10 Hours 10 x 1 hour lectures  
  Seminars / Tutorials   6 seminars  
  Practical   3 Hours 3 x 1 hour practicals  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam2 Hours  50%
Semester Assessment A user study 2500 word count assessment  50%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
   






Brief description

This module adopts a user-centred approach to the study of information use and information sources. It examines what sources are used by particular user groups and why. Practical experience is provided in using various information tools, such as the Internet and other electronic information resources, bibliographies and bibliographic utilities, which provide users with access to the information they require, either directly or indirectly. As more users are now involved in searching for their own information, the module will also examine how to evaluate sources of information, especially those available on the world wide web.

Aims

People are surrounded by information, which they receive and disseminate all day, every day. Users, either individually or as members of a group, obtain information from a bewildering variety of places, using a constantly changing range of sources, including formal and informal, published and unpublished, print and electronic, which ideally should reflect the particular information need being met. This module aims to examine what information sources are used by various users, for what purpose and to meet what needs. It will examine how to investigate the information needs and use of particular user groups, what information tools provide access to formal/published sources, including various bibliographies and bibliographic utilities, abstracting and indexing services, and Internet search engines, and what the particular information functions are of certain information sources. Given the increasing facility with which users can undertake their own searching in the expanding electronic information environment, both to retrieve references to the particular information sources they need and/or directly to the required information itself, this module will also examine how users might evaluate the information sources they use.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Background
Allcock Sheila (1999) Information sources in development studies London: Bowker-Saur
Bradley Phil (2002) The Advanced Internet searcher?s handbook 2nd. London: LA Publishing
Case, Donald (2002) Looking for information: A Survey of Research on Information Seeking, Needs, and Behaviour New York: Academic Press
Chowdhury G.G. and Sudatta Chowdhury (2001) Information sources and searching on the world wide web London: LA Publishing

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6