Information Literacy

Information Literacy includes:The ability of a student to:

1. Identify the need for informationSelect a topic

2. Access information Perform Web and library database searching (HW 1 and Lab 8)

3. Evaluate information criticallyDetermine if sources are relevant, current, reliable (Lab 8)

4. Use information for the specific purposeWrite the paper (Final Project)

5. Use information ethically and legallyCorrectly compile in-text citations and reference list (HW 2)

APA formattingRules of style and formatting pertaining to uniformity in written communication.

Includes uniform use of:• punctuation and abbreviations• construction of tables• selection of headings• citation of references, and • presentation of statistics

First developed over 80 years ago

APA's style rules and guidelines are set out in a reference book called The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

APA basics

The APA style paper has 4 major sections– Title page– Abstract page– Main Body– References page

Title page• Page header – 1 line at the top of the page includes:– The words : “Running Head:” followed by the title of the

paper flush left – The page number flush right

• title of the paper– in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half

of the page with no more than 12 words in length.– All text on the title page, and throughout your paper,

should be double-spaced.– title may take up one or two lines.

• author's name,• institutional affiliation

Sample title pagehttp://mlink.mccc.edu/~lyncha/itcluster/documents/informationliteracy-sampleAPApapaer.pdf

Abstract Page

• Begin a new page. • Include the page header (described above

except without the words “Running head”). • On the first line of the abstract page, center

the word “Abstract” (no bold, formatting, italics, underlining, or quotation marks).

• Beginning with the next line (no indentation), write a concise summary of the key points of your research.

Sample abstract pagehttp://mlink.mccc.edu/~lyncha/itcluster/documents/informationliteracy-sampleAPApapaer.pdf

Main Body• typed, double-spaced, standard (8.5" x 11")

paper, 1" margins on all sides, 12 pt, Times New Roman font.

• page header at the top of every page (do not use the words “Running head”.

• in-text citations required - follow the author-date method (author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998),

• All in-text citations must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

Sample Main Bodyhttp://mlink.mccc.edu/~lyncha/itcluster/

documents/informationliteracy-sampleAPApapaer.pdf

References page

• Double spaced• hanging indentation - All lines after the first

line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin

• Authors' names are inverted (last name first)• Alphabetized by the last name of the first

author

Sample References pagehttp://mlink.mccc.edu/~lyncha/itcluster/documents/

informationliteracy-sampleAPApapaer.pdf

Library DB:Author, A. A. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Web page:Author, A. A. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Your information literacy assignment