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Information skills
[*This information packaged has been developed by the Open University]
Introduction
Can you recognise what information you need, find that information, evaluate its quality and use it effectively? These are all important information skills. This page aims to help you with information skills in key areas such as searching the web and citing references. It uses links to selected areas of SAFARI, the Open University Library's information skills package designed to help you feel more confident about finding, evaluating and using information. You will be able to read short sections and work through online activities to develop essential skills for your studies.
What do you need to find out about?
I need to know ...
Learn more about what the world wide web is and why you might use it by following this link to SAFARI section 3 topic 5.
Planning your search for informationLearn how to come up with key words and alternative words to build an effective information search by following this link to section 3 topic 7 of SAFARI.
Searching for information on the web:
Ever struggled with too many hits on a search engine? Learn how to get the best out of search engines, directories and gateways with search techniques (like using 'and or not' ) to narrow down your search by following this link to SAFARI section 4 topic 5.
We all want to make sure that our information is worth using - that it is reputable and of good quality. Learn how to use criteria to weed out the worst and recognise the best of web sites and other kinds of information by following this link to SAFARI section 5.
Organising information : using references and bibliographies
Learn how and why you should cite references in your work by following this link to SAFARI section 6 topic 5.
Then find out more about how to list references at the end of your work in a bibliography by following this link to SAFARI section 6 topic 6.
For more information, see the OU Library guide to citing printed and electronic resources in bibliographies.
Sharing information : using mailing listsThe Internet can help you to keep up to date with the latest in your field and to share your knowledge and opinions with others. Find out more by following this link to SAFARI section 7 topic 3. For more detailed information on using mailing lists, see the OU Library guide to using mailing lists.
Finding information for your subject
To use your information skills to explore your subject area, why not look at the subject pages of the Open Library website and track down the topics that interest you.
Or if you'd like to take a subject-specific approach to improving your information literacy and Internet skills, try one of over fifty Virtual Training Suite tutorials which introduce resources and internet skills across a range of subjects.
This glossary aims to explain some of the jargon you will come across when looking for information. Commonly used words and phrases are listed alphabetically and accompanied by a simple description. see Glossary
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