Reading and Activity #4

Normally, when I am searching for information for an assigned research paper, I automatically begin my searching with Google. I usually attempt to use library resources, like databases, but for the most part, I have trouble finding the full text articles. I should ask for help, but usually I do not see anyone around to help. Also, I feel like finding help will put me behind because I usually procrastinate with research papers. Being a student, both readings related to me. I found them to be very true and I felt like they were writing about me. Also, the report was very on track with what students are thinking, feeling, and struggling with when it comes to the research process.  

Steven Bell’s article “The Infodiet: How Libraries Can Offer an Appetizing Alternative to Google” discusses the overwhelming use of Google over academic libraries. Students are choosing to use Google to find information for research papers rather than taking the time to find information from academic libraries. Bell compares the quality of academic library information to the quality of Google information by relating academic libraries to food “carving stations” and Google to “greasy burgers and fries”. Then stating, “Too many students are bringing a ‘supersize it’ mentality to research, in effect asking librarians, ‘Can you Google-ize that for me?’” Bell’s point is that students prefer Google because it produces fast and easily accessible information with little thinking involved. The article then introduces James Morris, dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, who has named this problem “infobesity.” Bell goes on to argue that the information on Google is like a “junk-food diet” and leads to low- quality research papers. Hopefully solving this problem will be aggregators that offer Boolean searching and more advanced features that will find more precise, “nutritious” information as long as students are willing to take to the time to understand a more complex search process. The obstacle will be to get students to choose the “healthier” option over the “unhealthy” one: Google. Bell is noticing that database producers and librarians are beginning to morph to be more like Google in offering easily accessible, full text works. The problem seems to be that these databases are filling up with journals that are full text—convenient—, but do not contain the highest quality of information that conducting a more in depth search would have uncovered.  Although this is occurring, ProQuest and RedLightGreen are attempting to make their databases easier to use but still maintaining high quality information. Bell explains that professors can help direct students to use databases by requiring certain sources for papers; however, he claims that some professors do not understand the databases themselves consequently not requiring students to use them. All in all, Bell urges the importance of evaluating research.  

“Truth Be Told: How College Students Evaluate and Use Information in the Digital Age,” by Alison Head and Michael Eisenberg, is a fascinating information literacy progress report. The report uses a sample of students from different Universities around the country. The sample students were surveyed about how they find, use, and evaluate information from the web as well as library resources, like information from journals, books, and information from databases. Not surprisingly, the report found that students take more time to evaluate information from the web and spend less time evaluating information from the library. The main reason for this is because web information can be very unpredictable in its authority and content while students assume that library resources have already gone through an evaluation process by the librarians. The charts showed that a good amount of students asked their professors for help with evaluating sources; however, not many students asked librarians for help. It was discovered that students will use the library services but not the librarian services. The report also found that when searching for materials, students first use course related material then proceed to the web for information. The charts that were provided showed interesting findings that might surprise some professors. For example, professors may assume that students rely on Wikipedia for information, when in fact students who use Wikipedia are using the sources that it provides. Students were also surveyed about how they evaluate personal research. Again, not surprisingly students evaluated the information less critically but asked friends, family, and professionals for help with the evaluation, rather than asking professors. One of the main points of the report is that students have the most trouble in the beginning stages of finding information for a research paper. Pinning down a topic was difficult for many students so difficult that they wanted their professors to choose one for them. Also, students feel overwhelmed by the vastness of information and then find it somewhat difficult to go through and filter relevant information from the irrelevant. Like Bell’s article, the importance of librarians and professors coming together to encourage students to critically evaluate information is stressed.