This study investigated university student information literacy skills benchmarked by the Association of College and Research Libraries: (a) determine the extent of information needed, (b) access the needed information effectively and efficiently, (c) evaluate information and its sources critically, (d) understand the economic, legal, and social…

This article discusses a group of new technologies--blogs, wikis, podcasts, social bookmarking, online photo galleries, and RSS (Real Simple Syndication)--collectively referred to as the Read/Write web. These tools allow users to easily create and publish online content, and are beginning to have a profound impact on curriculum, classroom…

It is increasingly clear that the Internet will be the defining technology for reading, writing, and communication in the 21st century. But without the ability to locate information in an efficient and effective manner, students' access to information on the Internet is limited. This article introduces SEARCH, a strategy classroom teachers can use…

Incorporating information literacy exercises into the science curriculum will help students to navigate through the myriad of information available in different formats, and to become better scientific thinkers and writers. Here we describe how we incorporated such exercises in introductory biology and evaluate their effectiveness in achieving our…

For much of the twentieth century, Markov theory and Markov processes have been widely accepted as valid ways to view statistical variables and parameters. In the complex realm of online searching, where researchers are always seeking the route to the best search strategies and the most powerful query terms and sequences, Markov process analysis…

Fifty-nine fifth-grade students were asked to use an unfamiliar textbook on a familiar topic to locate the answers to three questions, all of which contained terms that could be found in the book's index. As an analysis of covariance indicated, those who were asked guiding questions before and during their search were more successful in locating…

Designed for educators requesting information from ERIC and for the search intermediary who channels educators' requests to a search service, this updated guide explains in non-technical language the steps involved in preparing a computer search for the ERIC database. A beginning section on how to initiate a search discusses the choice of a…

Describes the process one women went through to find a job in another part of the United States. Tips on job-search strategies, such as self-assessment and skills assessment, are given. (EJT)

This guide is a preliminary tool to be used to introduce online ready reference searching of government documents. The first half includes basic guidelines for determining whether a question warrants a ready reference search, selecting appropriate databases, and searching techniques; administrative notes and procedures; and guidelines denoting the…

Designed to assist teachers in teaching introductory courses in searching online databases at the adult or secondary level, this manual discusses very basic searching techniques and strategies and is intended to stimulate further study rather than teach in-depth searching skills. Examples in the manual are taken from databases in the Bibliographic…

Building on a prior investigation of users' formulations and needs in fiction, this study was conducted to determine dominant patterns in public library user-librarian search interactions. Based on analysis of 134 actual user-librarian conversations about fiction recorded under everyday library conditions in Danish public libraries in 1976, it was…

Designed to assist teachers in teaching introductory courses in searching online databases at the adult or secondary level, this manual discusses very basic searching techniques and strategies and is intended to stimulate further study rather than teach in-depth searching skills. Examples in the manual are taken from databases in the Bibliographic…

This collection of materials for a three-hour instructional program for young people and adults in the effective use of the public library includes an introduction to the program, a teaching guide for the librarian, a packet of materials for students, and a summary of 90 evaluations of the program as it was presented at two area libraries and…

Use of syntactic trace as an access strategy for large files containing arbitrary languages for which thesaurus-based and multiple attribute search techniques are unsuitable. (LS)

Question analysis and search strategy development were broken down into nine steps for answering reference questions. These steps were examined for possible mechanization of the answering process. Such automation was not proved feasible. (LS)