Discover
Study
Skills
Online.
Research and Information Literacy Skills
Activity 1 – Information needs
Consider the following information needs – what would you consider to be the most
appropriate place to access information? What issues are there associated with various
options?
Information Need
Finding out football
results
Deciding which political
party to vote for
Planning a holiday
Choosing where to live
Comparing UK history of
education with that of
another country
Identifying current issues
in a foreign country
Understanding foreign
visitors’ reasons for
visiting the UK
ADD THREE MORE
NEEDS BELOW
WWW
Books
Academic
Journals
Original
Research
Other?
Concerns
Discover
Study
Skills
Online.
Research and Information Literacy Skills
Activity 2 – Search Strategies
Identify the key words in the following research question:
What are young drivers’ attitudes to alcohol consumption when driving?
Key word 1:
Key word 2:
Key word 3:
Now, see if you can identify synonyms for each key word:
Key word
Synonym 1
Synonym 2
Synonym 3
Synonym 4
To conduct a successful search, you can run combined searches using “and” or “or” to help
you.
Try running a number of searches and note down how many results you are getting. If you do
not have access to an academic library, try using Google Scholar.
The search term(s) __________________________________________ yielded _______
results.
The search term(s) __________________________________________ yielded _______
results.
The search term(s) __________________________________________ yielded _______
results.
The search term(s) __________________________________________ yielded _______
results.
The search term(s) __________________________________________ yielded _______
results.
What are you finding out about search terms and combining them?
Repeat this exercise with a research question you have identified yourself:
Research question:
Key word 1:
Key word 2:
Key word 3:
Now, see if you can identify synonyms for each key word:
Key word
Synonym 1
Synonym 2
Synonym 3
Synonym 4
To conduct a successful search, you can run combined searches using “and” or “or” to help
you.
Try running a number of searches and copy and see how many results you are getting. If you
do not have access to an academic library, try using Google Scholar.
The search term(s) __________________________________________ yielded _______
results.
The search term(s) __________________________________________ yielded _______
results.
The search term(s) __________________________________________ yielded _______
results.
The search term(s) __________________________________________ yielded _______
results.
The search term(s) __________________________________________ yielded _______
results.
What are you finding out about search terms and combining them?