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Library and Research Skills Information search and evaluation assignment 1 ENVI114
Introduction
The exercise is based on identifying, summarising and evaluating information for a research task, focusing on three important types of source academic texts (books), journals and the Web. The aim of the exercise is to carry out an information search and evaluation for a geographical topic of your choice, and record the findings in a systematic way, using the assessment form which is also available electronically via Blackboard in the assignments folder. Download and save the form and then type your responses directly into it (i.e. using Word). You may expand or contract the box sizes and format to suit. Make sure it is easy to read though. You will need to then print the completed document, and hand it in at the 114 assignment box, in the photocopy room on the second floor of Cotton Building by 4pm on 15th August. The learning outcomes of this exercise include practice in the following: - defining the focus and purpose of an information search - identifying and selecting items in the Librarys book and journal stock that are appropriate for a specific research task - searching for relevant information on the Web using search engines and subject gateways - rapid evaluation of the information available in books, journals and the Web - thorough reading and understanding of written instructions (this document!) - submission of information by completing a standardised form1

Instructions
Take a look through the assignment form as you read these instructions

Select a geographical topic or issue that you find interesting and which seems significant and worthwhile. While it is up to you to decide your topic, you should avoid anything too broad (economic geography or the environment would be too broad) or too specialised (waste management in Masterton might be too specialised). Try to identify something fairly specific: e.g. problems of urban hydrology in New Zealand, the regeneration of waterfronts in Australasian cities or managing soil degradation in Africa or deforestation in South Asia. Identify a task for the information you are researching: e.g. writing an academic essay, a dissertation / monograph or possibly something shorter such as a briefing paper. You are not expected to write one of these you are merely seeking and reviewing some information that would be appropriate material if you were actually having to produce such an assignment.

For better or for worse this is a vital graduate skill; you are at least as likely to need to complete forms such as the one used in this exercise in a future career as you are to write en essay!

Search for information on your topic in a) two books in the Library; b) one chapter of a book; c) one journal article and d) two web pages found by searching with Google. See below for further details. Summarise the focus and content of each item, then comment briefly on its potential value, with respect to the imaginary research task you have identified, for example: - would this book provide a useful overall framework of key ideas and issues for an essay? - would the chapter offer a good case study to illustrate good practice in a report on urban regeneration, or perhaps guidance on the field research methods you might use in a dissertation? - would the web page provide an alternative, controversial line of argument on transport policy, or some up-to-date statistical evidence on population growth?

Use the information sources as follows: Library Materials

Two books in the University Library collection Use a combination of the online library catalogue and browsing on the shelves to find suitable titles. Search the Library Catalogue, using appropriate keywords that relate well to your chosen research topic (if you are not familiar with the catalogue system there are library sessions that are offered to students by library staff that you should make use of). Find the shelfmark number for several possible targets on your topic, so that you can quickly identify which part of the Library shelves to visit. You may actually find your titles by browsing other texts on the shelves with the same or similar classmark as the book identified initially in the online catalogue. Try to select your titles quickly and efficiently, by scanning the contents list, subheadings etc while in the Library (rather than borrowing a big pile of books in the hope that two of them might be suitable...). Note: the titles you choose do not necessarily have to be the best on the topic, so your search does not have to be exhaustive. For this exercise, the aim is to summarise the content, and to comment briefly on the contribution the two books might make to your chosen research task, as above. It would be OK if you decide a text would only offer supporting evidence, rather than being a key source (if you were doing the task for real, you would have to look further but you are not, as this is just a search and evaluation exercise). For each book, complete the relevant section on the form, to include: A full bibliographical reference (see guidance on Referencing in the Course Outline and also posted on Blackboard) A brief summary of the focus and content of the book (dont simply copy the contents page - try to indicate the most significant material and paraphrase) A brief commentary on the potential contribution the book might make to your research task. Use your judgement and imagination for these tasks. While you will need to skim read some of the book to get an impression of its content and relative

significance, but you are not expected to spend too long with it. The skill lies in rapid appraisal. One chapter of a book You could choose a chapter of one of the two books you are summarising or perhaps another book on your topic. Follow the same steps as for the books. Guidance on referencing book chapters is provided in the course outline.
A.

One Journal Article There is a huge range of online search engines and information databases available for this task. To help familiarise yourselves with using databases (an essential skill for academic life), we are offering some informal sessions in week 5 (starting Monday 8th August) scheduled at the following times:

Day Tuesday 9th August Tuesday 9th August Wednesday 10th August Friday 12th August

Time 9:00-11:00 13:00-15:00 12:00-14:00 14:00-16:00

Room KK216 KK216 KK216 KK216

A tutor will be present to help you out in the first hour. If there is sufficient demand, we will offer arrange for tutors to be there for longer, but please let us know. Use your time wisely and please do not leave it until Fridays session to make use of these sessions. To find your article for this exercise, try using Web of Knowledge, (the link is listed under W in the LIBRARY ONLINE RESOURCES section of the Librarys home page. As with the book sources, briefly summarise the content, issues covered, case studies featured etc, and also suggest why and how the article might form a useful contribution to your research. Also provide a full reference for the article. Possible tip: it may be easier to identify your topic after having done some browsing in Web of Knowledge (or similar search engines) i.e. start with a journal article and build your information search from there.

Web Pages
B. Two web pages Identify and evaluate two web pages (rather than whole web sites) that would be suitable resources for your research topic / task. As with the book sources and journal article, the aim is to undertake search and critical evaluation of the two sources (especially important with Web materials!). Advice on this will also be available in the sessions offered in week 5, noted above.

Use Google (or another search engine) to find two relevant web pages, using two different, but related search terms. For example, for a task investigating eutrophication of New Zealand lakes and rivers, you could try linking different combinations of search terms such as: New Zealand pollution, agriculture, eutrophication etc. Wikipedia (and similar online encyclopaedias) can provide some useful background knowledge and links to more specific web sources for your topic, but should not be the basis of your search and evaluation. It might be useful to add a shortlist of suitable web pages to your Favourites/Bookmarks file in your Internet Browser so that you can easily find them again before choosing your final pair. However, although you should look at a number of web pages from your search results, dont be too exhaustive before making your choices. As with the book search, the aim is to identify two web pages that look relevant to your task, then to summarise their content and briefly comment on their quality and potential. It is OK if you decide these web pages would be of only minor importance for your task, as long as you record the necessary details (but they should be at least of some value useless is not an acceptable verdict here!). For each web page, complete the relevant section on the form, to include: The search term(s) used The full reference, including the URL (you can copy and paste this from the top of the browser window). See the course outline for detailed guidance on referencing including referencing a web page. Summary description of the focus and content of the web page, and the name of the organisation responsible for the web site containing the page. Brief comment on the potential value of the web page for your research task Some evaluation of the web page. Recall the criteria you discussed in your tutorial. Your evaluation need not be exhaustive, but try to identify the more significant characteristics of the page e.g. is it really up to date? Does it seem accurate and reliable? Biased opinion or reasonably balanced coverage of the topic? Are there useful images on the page?

NOTES
Submit the Information Skills assignment using the form provided for this exercise. Remember to write your name, ID and tutors names on the front of the form you submit! Submit it by 4pm on August 15th in the box marked ENVI/GEOG114 in the photocopy room on the second floor of the Cotton Building. You will find a blank copy of the form in the ENVI/GEOG114 assignments folder on BlackBoard. In Word format: double-click the filename and it should load, then save it in your own filespace before starting to type in your responses. Format the text to make your responses fit the boxes on the form (i.e. you can expand or shrink the space available as you wish). Dont forget the penalties for late assignments: Marks will be deducted for lateness (5% per day) (weekend is two days). This means that 5% will be deducted from the percentile grade. For example, if you scored 75% for the assignment 2, but handed in two days late, you will get 10% deducted and the grade will be reduced to 65% (i.e. where 100% is 20 out of 20). Back up your work religiously, a corrupt file or crashed computer is no excuse!