Self-Assessment Essay

Introduction to Information Literacy, Library 1210, one of the most helpful classes a freshman can take in his or her first semester of college. This class helped me not just with basic library knowledge, but also showed me different strategies to research topics and issues that pertain to anything that you would need information on. I also learned how to use this information, and learned how to properly classify it so I can use it in the appropriate contexts.
Now that I have gone through the past 11 weeks working in my LIBY class, I look back and I see the list of things that I have done in this class. The first Course Objective, is to "recognize and articulate an information need." I think that now after taking this class, I have gotten better at recognizing the different types of information that are needed for the different types of situations. Before the class, I would just use generic information on everything that I completed. However now I understand when a certain type of information is needed, and when it is properly applicable. I also now know where I can find such material, as there are databases that are generic, as well as specialized in a certain field of study. For example, if I am looking for information about Beethoven, I can use the Classical Music Library, which can be found in the library list of databases.
The second objective was to formulate a research question. This was the objective in which I experienced the greatest change. At the beginning of the quarter, I had no idea what a research question was, however as the year went on, I made some failures as well as successes to develop my research question regarding to my cluster topic. At first, my research question was very simple. It was about phase changes, but then developed into the specific phases of ice, water, and steam. After a few blogs and some work in class, I came up with my final research question of "What are the differences between the molecules of ice, water, and steam, and how are these molecules arranged differently in these three phases." I saw a major change because I had to use many different search ideas to find information and develop this main question. As I used different search ideas, I used different databases, such as Academic Search Premier, Lexis-Nexis, and EBSCO Host within the library catalog, and thus I saw the greatest and most notable change within this Course Objective as I was using more resources and a variety of research themes.
Prior to taking this class, the only search strategies I used was going onto Goggle and entering words that pertained to my topic or desired information. I did have a strategy from senior year in high school where you tried to use the least amount of words to get quality results. However that was more of a game than a search strategy. In my library class, I first learned how to use the different databases on the library catalog. Then from there, I learned how to effectively use different search strategies to get the most relevant results. I learned which databases were appropriate for which situations, and I learned how to correctly use these databases. Without this class, I would have no idea how to use these databases. When using these databases, I also furthered my search strategies in that I learned how to use Boolean Operators as well as shorter, more direct search terms and phrases. These newly acquired skills have only helped my search arsenal, and I will continue to use these strategies for future assignments. Also, this is how I progressed in the fourth objective of "evaluating strategies and results, and revise them as needed." This was one of the simpler objectives, as you get instant feedback. As soon as you enter a search into a database, you get your results right away. I did a lot of revising during this quarter, mostly with my research question. If you look at my first blog concerning my research question, I started out with a very simple question. However, as the year continued, I developed better search strategies and thus got better results. Instead of just searching one word such as "ice," I searched a group of words such as "ice and their arrangement of molecules." This evaluation and realization of the need to alter my search strategies stemmed from the fact that I was getting inadequate search results.
The next Course Objective is "how to make effective use of traditional and new library resources and tools." This was the most fun of all of the objectives. This is where I was introduced into the library catalog, and the databases within it. I learned which databases were appropriate for which topics. A majority of the time you can tell when to use which databases by simply looking at the database title. For instance, you are not going to use PubMed to find an article on luxury cars. I did make some mistakes by not using the appropriate database, and so I had to learn the hard way. I would use the database, but after a few searches I would realize that the particular databases that I was using wasn’t helpful to my topic. So to overcome this, I would take note of this database and remember it, so the next time I used that database I would only be using it when necessary. Taking note of situations like this one allowed me to have more effective searches on future assignments, and helped me to avoid making the same mistake twice. The Internet can be a very helpful thing, and this is definitely the case with the school library. The students today have a great blessing in that we can use the Internet to see if a book is available in our school library. 20 years ago, when my parents went to school, they didn’t have this luxury. It is really helpful being able look up a book in the library from the comfort of my dorm room. Also with these fancy databases, it is much easier finding an article or source on whatever it is that you are looking for. Also let’s not forget the Haystac catalog, which allowed me to look up the call numbers of books, and using the call number is a traditional tool for finding information. Call numbers organize the books in the library and one class period I used a call number to find a book that was relevant to my research question and cluster topic. I have definitely used these resources and tools to my advantage and these resources and tools are the main reasons as to why I was able to succeed in my searches, and also why I was able to overcome my failures.
The research process and the results come from a series of trial and error searches. When I didn’t get adequate results, I had to think of different ways find results. As was the case in my second to last blog, I used a variety of databases to finally come up with the actually articles that I used. I found that you have to be very patient and creative when using different databases, as you may spend a lot of time searching through one database and then you come up without any results for what you were looking for. When I was looking for information for my first blog about ice, water, and steam I used a variety of databases and went through a lot of trial and error events just to find the couple of articles that I actually used for me blog. However, taking your time and thoroughly using the databases, you create a good understanding of each database, and the way I overcame these failures was to develop this knowledge for each database. So even though I may have failed in the beginning, I succeeded in the long run.
The final Course Objective was to "understand and apply principles of information ethics." For me, this was a tough objective, as it was hard for me to find the ethics and background of some of the information that I found. Sometimes I would just find the material that I was looking for and without looking at its origin or ethics, I would include it in a blog, or whatever I needed the information for. I have since learned during my time in class to look more deeply into the meaning of information, as you can get yourself into some trouble if you don’t. While doing my blog on MLA and APA format, I searched information on the two types of formats, and I didn’t look deeply into its ethics. I would take information that came from sources that weren’t credible, rather than to look for information that came from a quality source. I did understand copyrights and I did apply those to my searches. I am very good at quoting and citing whenever appropriate. As this class progressed, so did my skills at quoting and giving credit where credit is due. I have never really had a problem with plagiarism, and this class only helped me to further develop my skills in ability to avoid plagiarizing and using someone else’s work as my own. When I did need to use a large bulk of information from an author or whoever it may be, I did a good job of breaking that information down and as Professor Soules showed us, and I used only the main points from that author. Matter of fact, this understanding of information ethics helped me in my Public Speaking class. I did a speech on presidential candidate, Rudy Giuliani, and used some of his quotes in my speech. I was able to only use the main points from his quotes, and I cited him very clearly and distinctively.
This class has been instrumental in my growth as a freshman in college. I now know how to navigate myself through the rather large library, I know how to use the databases, which can be found in the A-Z list of databases, and I have also effectively used the Course Objectives stated in the class syllabus. Not only have I gotten better as a student in the LIBY 1210 class and have met and understood the objectives, but this class has also helped me in some of my other classes as well. I have already used the skills and information that I have learned in the class in my other classes, and I plan to continue this. Although this class may be over, it will always be a part of me as a student and as a person. Whenever I am doing research or just looking up silly information, I will use the skills that I have acquired in this class in the future days to come.