University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-16-2019
Abstract
Purpose
This paper argues that information containers provide valuable context clues that can help students make choices about how to engage with information content. The authors present a strategic approach to source evaluation rooted in format and authority threshold concepts.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors developed a source evaluation strategy with the objective of deciding whether to trust an information source. This strategy involves a set of cues to help readers mindfully engage with both the container and content of a given source.
Findings
When conducting research, non-experts are asked to evaluate content in the absence of relevant subject expertise. The cues presented in this paper offer practical tactics informed by the concepts of authority (to help make an accessible judgment of intellectual trust) and format (to help make more informed decisions about the content they find in a browser).
Originality/value
While librarians have produced many evaluative models and checklists to help students evaluate information, this paper contributes a unique strategic approach grounded in two information literacy threshold concepts – format and authority – and enacted through a series of actions drawn from website evaluation models, fact-checking, and metacognitive exercises.
Publisher
Emerald Insight
Publication Title
Reference Services Review
ISSN
0090-7324
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-04-2019-0024
Language (ISO)
English
Keywords
academic libraries, information literacy, library instruction west, cognitive authority, information formats, source evaluation, threshold concepts, genre theory, affect, fact checking
Recommended Citation
Russo, Alyssa; Amy Jankowski; Stephanie Beene; and Lori Townsend. "Strategic Source Evaluation: Addressing the Container Conundrum." Reference Services Review (2019). doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-04-2019-0024.
