Assessing Information Literacy in General Education

Canvas

These outcomes can be integrated into Canvas courses in order to streamline assessment. To add any, or all, to a course in Canvas go to:
Outcomes > Find > Account Standard > Eastern Michigan University > Information Literacy

Students will implement an effective research process in order to meet an information need.

Learning Resources:

• Research Exploration Exercise (Susan Archambault)
• Formulating a Good Research Question (University of West Florida)
• Concept/Mind Mapping (University of West Florida)
• Picking Your Topic IS Research (NCSU)

1. a. Identify a focused interest or question.

Students use available resources to formulate a clear and focused research question.

• Advanced: Formulates a clear and focused research question.
• Proficient: Forumales a research question.
• Beginning: Creates an unfocused research question.

1. b. Gather information using appropriate search tools.

• Advanced: Uses a variety of appropriate search tools.
• Proficient: Uses at least one appropriate search tools.
• Beginning: Uses inappropriate search tools or cannot identify the search tools used.

1. c. Identify the need for revision of focus when needed.

• Advanced: Always revises focus when needed.
• Proficient: Sometimes identifies when focus should be revised.
• Beginning: Rarely or never identifies when focus should be revised.

1. d. Identify the need for revision of search strategies when needed.

• Advanced: Always revises search strategy when needed.
• Proficient: Sometimes revises search strategy when needed.
• Beginning: Rarely or never revises search strategy when needed.

1. e. Implements the process over an appropriate period of time.

• Advanced: Implements the research process over a period of time that allows for revision and acquiring highly appropriate, relevant information.
• Proficient: Implements the research process over a period of time that allows for some revision and acquiring sufficient, relevant information.
• Beginning: Implements the research process over a minimal period of time that does not allow for revision or acquiring sufficient, relevant information.

Students will evaluate information resources in order to determine their appropriateness for a specific purpose.

Learning Resources: 

• Reliability of Sources Tutorial
• Evaluating Web Sites Using the CRAAP Test
• How Information is Created Tutorial
• Peer Review in Three Minutes (NCSU)

2. a. Determine authority of source/author.

• Advanced: Questions/identifies authority all the time.
• Proficient: Sometimes questions/identifies authority of author or source.
• Beginning: Accepts all information found as equally authoritative.

2. b. Determine currency/timeliness.

• Advanced: Selects information with publication dates that are appropriate for the topic.
• Proficient: Identifies dates of information found.
• Beginning: Rarely checks for timeliness.

2. c. Determine intended audience.

• Advanced: Always identifies the intended audience for a piece of information.
• Proficient: Sometimes identifies the intended audience for a piece of information.
• Beginning: Rarely identifies the audience of the information used.

2. d. Determine relevance to particular need.

• Advanced: Can distinguish gradations of relevancy.
• Proficient: Sometimes judges relevance.
• Beginning: Rarely judges relevance.

2. e. Determine purpose of information.

• Advanced: Always identifies the purpose of the information.
• Proficient: Sometimes identifies purpose of information.
• Beginning: Rarely identifies the purpose of the information used.

Students will synthesize diverse information resources in order to answer a question.

Learning Resources:

• Understanding Plagiarism Tutorial
• Citation: A (Very) Brief Introduction (NCSU)
• Citing Sources

3. a. Cites the work of others through the appropriate use of a citation style.

• Advanced: Citation style is used correctly for all citations.
• Proficient: Citation style is used correctly for most citations.
• Beginning: There are problems with the mechanics of citation style for many citations.

3. b. Clearly distinguishes his/her own ideas from ideas taken from the work of others.

• Advanced: Ideas taken from the work of others are clearly referenced throughout the paper.
• Proficient: Some ideas in the paper appear to be derived from sources in the reference list, and aren't fully cited.
• Beginning: There is clear evidence that there are ideas in the paper that are not those of the author, yet lack appropriate citation.

3. c. Conclusions are based on the evidence and/or ideas of others.

• Advanced: The works cited are thoroughly used to reinforce/prove the conclusions.
• Proficient: The conclusion is not fully supported by the evidence/ideas in the works cited list.
• Beginning: The conclusion is not the product of assimilating multiple sources in the works cited list.

3. d. Develops original conclusions.

• Advanced: Conclusions are original.
• Proficient: The conclusion demonstrates some originality.
• Beginning: The conclusion is derived directly from one source.

3. e. Reads sources critically

• Advanced: Work shows clear insight into the meaning and relevance of all works cited in the bibliography.
• Proficient: Work shows some insight into the meaning and relevance of works cited, or clear insight into some of the cited works.
• Beginning: Work shows minimal insight into the works cited.