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Information Literacy: Support for Academics

Embedded Information Literacy Support

The Academic Librarian team have an excellent in-curriculum offer, delivering teaching, training and specialist support to students, helping to develop students' use of information and resources in their work and in using subject specialist search techniques and resources. 

We recommend one session a year per level of programme, preferably in a research or skills module, to ensure skills instruction is differentiated, built upon and developed. Session content is mapped to the information literacy framework 

We can deliver sessions face-to-face or online (Teams/Collaborate) as appropriate to each programme.

For more information or to discuss embedding information literacy sessions and support into your programme please contact your Academic Librarian. To book a session please use the teaching request form.

Indicative sessions offered

This session is aimed at With Foundation/Access to HE/Foundation Degree programmes. To have the most impact these sessions should be delivered as students approach their first assignment.

Session overview:

  • Different categories of information sources (primary secondary and tertiary)
  • Different types of information sources (books, articles/websites) and their strengths and weaknesses
  • Accessing a module resource list 
  • Conducting a simple search for a topic/title/author
  • Accessing print and eBooks
  • Key sources of help and support (Subject Guides, Develop@Derby)

This session is aimed at first year undergraduates and to have the most impact should be delivered as students approach their first assignment.

Session overview: 

  • Different types of information sources and when to use them
  • Developing a basic search strategy
    • Understanding the assignment question
    • Identifying keywords
  • Using basic search techniques (phrase search/truncation)
  • Conducting a basic topic search on Library Search (discovery platform)
  • Key sources of help and support (Subject Guides, Develop@Derby, Inter Library Loans)

 

This session is aimed at second year undergraduates and it builds upon the content in the novice level session. It could also be delivered as a refresher session for final year undergraduates in semester one. 

Session overview:

  • Developing an effective search strategy
    • Understanding/formulating the research question
    • Identifying keywords, synonyms, alternative terms, spelling variations.
  • Using advanced search techniques (Boolean operators AND/OR, truncation phrase search)
  • Conducting a search using the advanced search option in Library Search (discovery platform)
  • Using personalised features on Library Search to help manage searches
    • Creating an account
    • Saving searches
    • Tagging results

This session is aimed at final year undergraduates and it builds upon the content in the intermediate level session. It could also be delivered, in semester one, as a refresher session for PG taught students returning to education after a break. 

Session overview:

  • Developing an advanced search strategy
    • Formulating a research question
  • Using more complex search techniques and field searching
    • Boolean operators, truncation, phrase search
  • Conducting an in-depth search on key subject databases
  • Using citation searching to expand literature searching 
  • Using personalised features on subject database to help manage searches
    • Creating an account
    • Saving searches
    • Exporting results
    • Setting up alerts

 

This session is aimed at PG taught students (MA/MSc/MRes) and it builds upon the content in the advanced level session. It could also be delivered to final year undergraduate students who are completing a systematic type literature review for their dissertation.

Session overview:

  • Developing an in depth search strategy
  • Using complex search techniques , field searching and controlled vocabularies (where applicable) 
    • Boolean operators
    • Proximity searching
    • Nesting
  • Conducting a complex search on key subject databases
    • Advanced search option
    • Combining search sets (where applicable and appropriate)
  • Using citation searching to expand literature searching 
  • Using personalised features on subject database to help manage searches
    • Creating an account
    • Saving searches
    • Exporting results
    • Setting up alerts

We are also able to deliver bespoke sessions tailored to fit your group/module and could include for example: 

  • Referencing
  • Critical thinking and evaluation 
  • Using specific databases/resources.

Please contact your college Academic Librarian to discuss your requirements. 

Getting started with Library Resources are subject specific online tutorials that develop students skills in finding and using information. They introduce students to key library resources (Library Search, Browzine, Subject Guides) and how to access print books, eBooks and articles.  They can support students with learning how to use library resources independently. Tutorials are aimed at first year undergraduates and provide asynchronous support in addition to embedded sessions. Students can download a certificate on successful completion of a tutorial. 

Please contact your college Academic Librarian if you would like a tutorial creating for your programme.