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Toolkit for Faculty

Library research tools for Canvas

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À La Carte Information Literacy Menu

Do you know how the library can help your class? Below is a list of the most common topics presented, and the time needed to cover them, in an information literacy session at SAC Library. Please select which topics you would like included for your class. 

Note: Instruction sessions are not limited to this list. If you would like other topics, resources, or technologies covered please contact us. We would be happy to discuss other possible sessions with you.

To request a library session, start here

Library Orientation

Topic Time Needed Information Covered
Website 5 min

  • Services offered

  • Hours of operation

  • How to contact

  • Where to search for resources

  • Chat

Library Account

TexShare

Course Reserves

 10 min

  • Explanation

  • How to set up account

  • How to request 

  • How to monitor account
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) 5 minutes

  • Explanation 

  • How to request

  • How to monitor account

 

Beginning Your Research

 
Topic Time Needed Information Covered
Topic Identification & Selection 15 minutes

Determine topic that:

  • Is not too broad or narrow

  • Satisfies assignment parameters

  • Has sufficient sources
Develop a Research Question (Designed for students who have a topic) 20 minutes

  • Differentiate between research topic & question

  • Create researchable question

  • Determine focus
Generating and Using Keywords 15 minutes

  • Determine keywords

  • Find synonyms or related concepts
Boolean Searching 5 minutes

  • Explanation of Boolean search terms

  • Show how Boolean operators are used
What Is a Scholarly Journal Article? 15 minutes

  • Determine characteristics of a scholarly article

  • Understand peer review process

  • Identify whether or not articles are scholarly
Primary vs. Secondary Sources 10 minutes

  • dentify characteristics of each

  • Determine if article is primary or secondary source
Finding and Using Different Article Types 15 minutes

  • Provide examples of:

  • Scholarly journals

  • Literature Review

  • Newspapers

  • Popular magazines

  • Trade publications

  • Determine the following for different article types:

  • Characteristics

  • Purposes

  • Intended audiences

  • Identify different types of articles when searching library databases

 

Locating and Gathering Information

Topic Time Needed Information Covered
SAC Resources for starting your research 20 minutes

Search using:

  • Research guides by subject

  • A to Z list of databases 

  • Main library search box
Using Discovery (the main library catalog) 10 minutes

  • Guided practice using catalog

  • Use filtering search strategies
Searching with Google Scholar 10 minutes

Emphasize preferred uses of Google Scholar:

  • Find articles from reference list of another article

  • See if Google Scholar has article instead of making Interlibrary loan request
Guided Researching 30-60 minutes Students do research with help of librarian and class instructor (Note: They should have some prior knowledge of research techniques and how to navigate the SAC Library databases)
Searching specialized databases 20-30 minutes per database

Instruction on how to use discipline specific or specialized databases like:

  • PsycArticles

  • Cinahl Ultimate

  • Ovid Nursing

  • MEDLINE plus

  • Access World News

  • Nexis Uni

  • LitFinder

  • Others

 

Evaluating Resources

Topic Time Needed Information Covered
Evaluating Library Database Articles 20 minutes

Evaluate article based on your choice of:

  • 5Ws

  • SCARAB

  • Radar

  • Sift
Evaluating Online Resources 30 minutes

Apply the following strategies for evaluating online sources

  • Read laterally

  • Fact checking

Web vs. Library Research

 30 minutes

  • Determine advantages of using library databases

  • Contrast techniques of searching

 

Managing Information

Topic Time Needed Information Covered
Save Citation Information and Articles With Microsoft Word and One Drive 15 minnutes

  • Organize research

  • Save pdf of articles in One Drive

  • Save citation information on Word doc for:

  • Notes

  • Annotated bibliography

  • Reference/Works Cited/Bibliography

 

Using Information Ethically

Topic Time Needed Information Covered
Plagiarism Awareness 15 minutes

  • Strategies to avoid

  • Consequences of plagiarizing
Understanding Fair Use 15 minutes

  • Copyright basics

  • Determine whether situation is/is not fair use
Citing Your Sources (APA, MLA, Other citation styles) 20 minutes

Workshop for:

  • In-text citations

  • Reference/Works Cited/Bibliography… page

Artificial Intelligence

AI

 20 minutes

Ethical use of AI

  • What AI can help with

  • What AI can not help with

 

Media Literacy

Topic Time Needed Information Covered
News Literacy 60 minutes

Practice strategies for:

  • Spotting:

  • Fake news sites

  • Twitter bots

  • Fact-checking

  • Claims on websites

  • Wikipedia entries

  • Politicians’ claims

  • Online photos/videos

 

San Antonio College Library
Located in the Moody Learning Center (MLC), floors 2-4
1819 North Main Avenue., San Antonio, TX 78212
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