LIS 518 - LECTURE 3-4
Lecture: Selection and evaluation of sources/information
The selection and evaluation of sources is very important in reference work. You use selection criteria for buying and adding to the collection and for recommending items to patrons. Some general guidelines on reference sources (print or electronic): Authority-- who wrote or published it? their credentials; are articles signed for the entries? Scope-- what does it cover? does it cover what it says it will? For example, if is "international" is it English speaking world international only? Audience-- is it age appropriate. If it is a dictionary for children, are the words, definitions, readability appropriate? Readability- is it clear and precise; it is audience appropriate?-- specialized, scholarly, popular, general, age. Print size and font-- is it readable? Graphics-- fonts, pictures, illustrations appropriate? Are they distractions or do they truly add to the value? Cost-- is the cost worth the item? Does the information appear anywhere else so perhaps you don't need to purchase? Physical components: binding: can you open the book up and photocopy from it without breaking the binding? Is it too large and unwieldy for no apparent good reason? Bias/objectivity-- fair and balanced writing? pushing a point of view without stating so? excluding groups (of course you would not critique an encyclopedia of women composers for not having men listed if the title says that it is only women).
Attached is a chapter on the selection and evaluation of reference sources from the Bopp and Smith textbook Reference and Information Services: An Introduction, 3rd Ed. [READ ARTICLE-printed 2/11/10]
Librarians are looked to for evaluating information. Helping librarians and also developed by librarians are sites that help to "bust" hoaxes, misinformation, rumors. Here are two:
Librarians' Internet Index: Quacks, Rumors, & Hoaxes
Snopes
This lecture thread will begin with encyclopedias.
From Merriam-Webster dictionary: " a work th
at contains information on all branches of knowledge or treats comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge usually in articles arranged alphabetically often by subject"
Attached is Chapter 18, "Encyclopedias" by Holly Crawford from the Bopp and Smith text, pages 433-459. [READ ARTICLE-printed 2/11/10]
A dictionary provides correct spelling, correct pronunciation, and definitions of words. Dictionaries may also provide word history or etymology, origin of phrases, and usuage. Online dictionaries often have audio portions where you can hear the correct pronunciation of a word. Go to Merriam-Webster Online and look up these words to hear how they are pronounced:
1. segue
2. pariah
3. lambaste
Print dictionaries have special features as well. If possible for you, find a desk or abridged dictionary in your home or in a library. Go to the back. See if it has biographical listings, listings of colleges and universities, geographical listings or other such information.
Definition in print dictionaries also often contain expanded information beyond definitions. Look up these words in a print dictionary if it is possible for you:
1.Currency
2. Measurement
3. Alphabet
Describe what you find.
From the Cassell's and Hiremath text, here is the chapter on dictionaries attached. [READ ARTICLE-printed 2/11/10]
Attached is an example of a post to Wikipedia on librarians that was taken down shortly after its appearance. Before opening it, be aware that derogatory/profane language is used. I am including this because it shows the need for editing which Wikipedia has embraced.
“Librarian: Librarians are evil,mean bitches.”
Attached is an article on young people's perceptions and usage of Wikipedia. It is available full text through the Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database accessible through the UB Libraries if you find that the formatting in the attachment is not readable.
Young people's perceptions and usage of Wikipedia. By: Luyt, Brendan, Zainal, ChiaZuhailaBteChia, Mayo, Olivia Victoria Petines, Yun, Tan Siow, Information Research, 13681613, Dec2008, Vol. 13, Issue 4
Database:
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text
*Title:*
Young people's perceptions and usage of Wikipedia.
*Authors:*
Luyt, Brendan
Zainal, ChiaZuhailaBteChia
Mayo, Olivia Victoria Petines
Yun, Tan Siow
*Source:*
Information Research; Dec2008, Vol. 13 Issue 4, p50-50, 1p
*Abstract:*
Introduction. This exploratory study investigated the perception and
usage of Wikipedia among young people. Method. Fifteen respondents
aged thirteen to twenty-four were selected for the study. The
respondents were composed of secondary and tertiary students, and
recent tertiary level graduates. An interview schedule was designed
to explore user experiences at three levels: the initial encounter
with Wikipedia, the time when the user felt comfortable with
Wikipedia, and the user's current state. Questions were open-ended
and semi-structured to allow for probing. Interviews were conducted
over a span of two weeks with each interview lasting 30-45 minutes.
Follow-up questions were asked of some of the respondents for
clarification purposes. Analysis. Interview data was used to test
Wikipedia, viewed as a technology, against the model of
technological appropriation developed by Carroll et al. for their
own study of mobile phone use among young people. Results. We found
that although Wikipedia is initially attractive for young people, it
generally fails to become deeply integrated (appropriated) into the
everyday lives of users, instead remaining an instrumental tool for
the fulfilment of a narrow range of tasks. We also found that over
time respondents do become aware of the problems of accuracy that
Wikipedia poses. Conclusions. Given that Wikipedia has not assumed
the role of a key technology in the lives of the young people
studied here, concern over its use by educators may be overstated.
Also, the fact that the respondents were aware of the drawbacks to
its use should make the message of the need for checking alternative
sources an easier one to impart to students. The key conclusion,
however, is the need for those wishing to design more popular
information systems to take into account the deeper needs of users
to experiment with technology in order to make it fit their lives
rather than the other way round. This is something that even
Wikipedia, it seems, has been unable to achieve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Information Research is the property of Information
Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple
sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express
written permission. However, users may print, download, or email
articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No
warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer
to the original published version of the material for the full
abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts)
------
Young people's perceptions and usage of Wikipedia
Introduction
Introduction. This exploratory study investigated the perception and
usage of Wikipedia among young people.
Method. Fifteen respondents aged thirteen to twenty-four were selected
for the study. The respondents were composed of secondary and tertiary
students, and recent tertiary level graduates. An interview schedule was
designed to explore user experiences at three levels: the initial
encounter with Wikipedia, the time when the user felt comfortable with
Wikipedia, and the user's current state. Questions were open-ended and
semi-structured to allow for probing. Interviews were conducted over a
span of two weeks with each interview lasting 30-45 minutes. Follow-up
questions were asked of some of the respondents for clarification purposes.
Analysis. Interview data was used to test Wikipedia, viewed as a
technology, against the model of technological appropriation developed
by Carroll et al. for their own study of mobile phone use among young
people.
Results. We found that although Wikipedia is initially attractive for
young people, it generally fails to become deeply integrated
(appropriated) into the everyday lives of users, instead remaining an
instrumental tool for the fulfilment of a narrow range of tasks. We also
found that over time respondents do become aware of the problems of
accuracy that Wikipedia poses.
Conclusions. Given that Wikipedia has not assumed the role of a key
technology in the lives of the young people studied here, concern over
its use by educators may be overstated. Also, the fact that the
respondents were aware of the drawbacks to its use should make the
message of the need for checking alternative sources an easier one to
impart to students. The key conclusion, however, is the need for those
wishing to design more popular information systems to take into account
the deeper needs of users to experiment with technology in order to make
it fit their lives rather than the other way round. This is something
that even Wikipedia, it seems, has been unable to achieve.
A number of studies have examined the accuracy and structure of
Wikipedia (Chesney 2005; Cohen and Rozenzweig 2004; Emigh and Herring
2005; Voss 2005; Viegas et al. 2007), but little has been written to
explain why people are drawn to it in the first place. This exploratory
study aims to investigate how young people, one of the major user groups
of Wikipedia and of most concern to educators, perceive and utilize this
tool from the perspective that this technology is socially constructed
by users as well as designers.
Wikipedia is a free, Web-based encyclopaedia running on wiki technology,
a technology that allows anyone to quickly create or edit Web pages.
Wikipedia has a huge breadth of content, having to date approximately
7.9 million articles in 253 languages (Wikimedia 2007). Unlike
traditional reference tools which have more stringent review processes
involving subject experts and professional editors, Wikipedia relies on
the collaborative effort of volunteers, sourcing its content from more
than 75,000 active contributors (Wikimedia 2007; Wikipedia 2007). The
advantage this is that anyone who wants to contribute may do so and
articles are updated quickly, in fact, having the ability to change as
events unfold. The disadvantage is that the same thing that fuels
Wikipedia (the ability to be freely edited by anyone) has been the
source of issues and controversies regarding its accuracy and
reliability. Despite this, Wikipedia remains popular and is among the
top ten most visited Websites in the world, only trailing giants such as
Yahoo.com and Google.com (Alexa 2007). An April 2007 survey in the
United States of 2,200 people aged 18 and older found that 36% consulted
Wikipedia. In terms of age, 44% of 18-29 year olds use Wikipedia, while
a lower percentage of usage was registered for adults aged 30 and older,
suggesting that it is especially popular with young people and making it
no surprise that Wikipedia is ranked the leading Website in the survey's
educational and reference category in terms of traffic generated (Rainie
and Tancer 2007).
Previous Work <#toc
Despite its popularity, Wikipedia has attracted relatively little
scholarly attention and what attention has been given appears to focus
on issues of accuracy and reliability. As far as the authors are aware
no studies have been conducted on the perception of Wikipedia held by
one of its most numerous user groups: young people. However, there is a
growing body of work on the use of the Internet by this user group.
In an early study, Fidel et al. (1999) examined the searching behaviour
of high school students in the United States. They found that students
generally enjoyed using the Web to find information for their projects.
When asked to report what features most impressed them they noted the
diversity of information, its currency and the ease with which it was
accessible. Interestingly, although they believed that they already
possessed sufficient Internet searching skills (mostly entering keywords
into search boxes) they frequently had problems finding the information
they needed to complete assignments at least within the short time frame
that they considered reasonable for such tasks.
Simon's notions of bounded rationality and satisficing (Simon 1957)
inform Agosto's (2002) study of the Web decision-making behaviour of
American youth. They found that young people faced constraints on their
searching which they divided into three categories: time constraints,
cognitive constraints and physical constraints. All of these prevent a
more complete search, hence creating a situation of bounded rationality.
Agosto's respondents employed strategies of reduction and termination
rules to deal with constraints, although frequently these strategies
ended the search before a satisficing result was obtained (Agosto 2002).
Valenza (2006) divides the issues identified in her overview of the
research on youth information-seeking behaviour into four categories:
cognitive, affective, social and physical. The lack of appropriate
skills (cognitive issues) coupled with limited equipment (physical
issues) and a lack of coaching opportunities (social) creates a
situation where students feel confused and frustrated despite believing
that they possess good searching skills (affective issues).
Most studies of Internet searching behaviour or use by young people
focus on searching and evaluating skills. However, a few studies have
tackled deeper questions. In her meta-analysis of the literature,
Dresang (2005), for example, argues that despite the negativity
surrounding much of the literature about youth and the Internet, it is
important not 'to miss the golden nuggets embedded in these studies.'
(p. 182). Dresang specifically draws attention to the ease with which
children take to non-linear text as an example of the positive aspect of
their information-seeking behaviour.
Watson (1998), employing a strictly qualitative approach, set out to
explore the meaning the Internet held for Grade 8 students in the United
States, a far rarer research goal in the literature. A number of themes
were developed through interaction with her respondents. There is not
enough space to discuss each theme here, but a few need to be
highlighted as they are of relevance to the current study. The first of
these is that students associated the Internet with certain notions of
time. They differentiated between the frequent necessity of using time
efficiently versus the pleasure of browsing for the unexpected and they
stressed the need to be patient in the face of the amount of information
available online. The students also related the Internet to certain
skills including the ability to develop a search strategy, but also
abilities to skim quickly through large quantities of text and to be
able to define the object of the search in the first place.
McMillan and Morrison (2006) also employed qualitative methods (in this
case autobiographical essays) to examine the meaning of Internet
technology held by young adult college students in the United States.
This interesting study sought to 'understand how the Internet is
integrated into their daily lives and their social interaction'
(McMillan and Morrison 2006: 74). Among its many findings, the article
echoes some of the points made by library and information studies
scholars, namely that young people are overwhelmed by the amount of
information available and that some of them are frustrated in their
inability to determine good from bad in the online environment. More
optimistically, however, the study also found that 'young people are
aware of both benefits and dangers associated with interactive
technologies' although that did not seem to affect their actual patterns
of Internet use.
In our own study, we focus not on the Internet in general, but on what
is arguably one of its key applications and, while we want to explore
how students use Wikipedia, we also want to move away from a
preoccupation over the rightness or wrongness of its use, to explore
instead the meanings and perceptions held by its young users about the
role it plays in their lives. In this, we follow Sundin and Haider who
have explored the various discourses surrounding information use in the
debate over Wikipedia versus Citizendium, not with the motive to prove
one side correct, but to understand the complex and often overlapping
positions taken by participants in the debate (Sundin and Haider 2007).
To do so we use Carroll's technological appropriation model (Carroll et
al. 2001) which in turn is grounded in the social construction of
technology movement.
The social construction of technology <#toc
In recent years social factors affecting technological development have
been the subject of intense interest in the scholarly community.
Bijker's Social Construction of Technology approach, for example, places
social groups at the forefront of technological design (Bijker 1997).
For those following Bijker's approach, technology is characterized by a
certain interpretative flexibility in that the meaning (the problem for
which the technology exists as a solution) assigned to the technology
can differ between particular social groups. For Bijker, these different
meanings are what determine the trajectory of technological change as
designers try to develop modifications that better fit the meanings
assigned by key social groups to the technology. Bijker's own research
focused on a number of technologies, including the development of the
bicycle (Bijker 1997).
Latour and Callon have also developed an influential theory of
technological development that focuses on social groups and
actor-network theory (Callon 1986; Latour 1987). In Latour's and
Callon's views, technologies become successful as they develop extensive
and interlocking networks of actors (both human and non-human) around
themselves. These actor-networks are actively cultivated by the
inventors and designers of technology who are required not only to
enroll a sufficient number of actors, but also to ensure that they are
able to control their behaviour. A variety of translations that work to
lock actors into networks on favourable terms for the technology achieve
these aims, but as Latour shows in one study of Aramis, an innovative