Information Literacy for Policy Makers and Influencers
UNIT 2: DEFINING AN INFORMATION PROBLEM
Before you can find information,
you need to clearly understand
the problem you are seeking to
solve. There are three steps to
articulating an information
problem:
1. Understanding the topic
2. Assessing information need
3. Formulating search strategy
1. UNDERSTANDING THE
TOPIC
You need to start by finding general information about a topic. This
assists you to shape and formulate the topic. This initial research can
help you to create terms/words to assist in developing search queries.
You can also find lists or links to sources relevant to answer the
question.
Sources of information include:
Reference sources
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Encyclopaedias
Dictionaries
Thesauri
Directories
Databases
 Catalogues
 Abstract databases
Internet resources
 Search engines
 Information gateways
Promotional material
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Guides
Brochures
Newsletters
Fliers
Individuals
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Colleagues
Subject experts
Researchers
Consultants
Academics
Librarians
Information Literacy for Policy Makers and Influencers
2. ASSESSING INFORMATION NEED
There are four steps to assessing information needed:
I. Determine the purpose of the information
– Is it for a specific purpose?
– Is it for a definition?
– Is it for answering a particular question?
II. What sort of information are you looking for?
– Specific information, e.g. a fact, figure or date
– Quotation
III. Information already known
– What do you know about this topic/question?
IV. Information not known
– What don’t you know about this topic/question?
3. FORMULATING SEARCH STRATEGY
Formulating a search strategy makes it easier to search for information
from electronic sources. Keywords/Search terms can be used to search
for information and later to categorise information and sources.
Keywords/Search terms can be:
I. Categories
Words which describe a group which your topic is a member of
II. Subtopics
Words which
subdivide the topic
III. Synonyms
Words with similar
meaning.
IV. Related terms
Words related to
the topic
A mind-map can be a useful tool for selecting search terms. The
example shown above is for the term ‘Information Literacy’.