the advantages & pitfalls of teaching legal research
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The Advantages & Pitfalls of Teaching Legal Research
Techniques to Generation Google
Jamie Marie Keller, JD, MLISReference Law Librarian
Florida Coastal School of Law
Presented to North Carolina Central University, School of Law
Roadmap
Literacy & Ability of Generation Google
The Single Search Box Conundrum
The Wikipedia Debate
Three Ways to Incorporate Information
Literacy into Every Class
Types of Literacy
Lane Wilkinson, Reorganizing Literacy, SENSE & REFERENCE (Sept. 19, 2011), http://senseandreference.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/reorganizing-literacy/.
Information Literacy DefinedA set of abilities requiring individuals to ‘recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.’
Assoc. of Coll. & Research Libraries, Info. Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Educ., AMN. LIBRARIES ASSOC. (2012), http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency.
Information LiteracyBasic Research Skills
Recognize Need for Information
Construct Research Strategy
Locate & Access
Compare & Evaluate
Organize, Apply, & Communicate
Synthesize & Create
Adapted from SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy (England), in Irmin Allner, Designing Effective Writing Assignments and the Teaching of Information Literacy, (Sept. 2009), http://www.tamuk.edu/cte/PRESENTATIONS/effective_writing_assignments_september2009.ppt
Novice Beginner Competent Proficient Expert
Advantages & Pitfalls of Generation Google Searching
1. Can access print & digital sources
2. Use keyword searches
3. Use search engines
4. Want to be efficient researchers
ILENE F. ROCKMAN, Introduction: The Importance of Information Literacy, in INTEGRATING INFORMATION LITERACY INTO THE HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM: PRACTICAL MODELS FOR TRANSFORMATION (2004) available at http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/78/07879652/0787965278.pdf; Alison J. Head & Michael B. Eisenberg, Finding Context: What Today’s College Students Say about Conducting Research in the Digital Age, PROJECT INFORMATION LITERACY PROGRESS REPORT (Feb. 4, 2009), http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf.
1. Rely mostly on digital sources
2. Don’t use controlled vocabulary or operators
3. Don’t use databases
4. Rely on “name brands”
5. Unable to evaluate source
6. Unable to cite the info properly
Even Google Recognizes a Lack of Search Ability as a Problem
A Google a Day - http://agoogleaday.com/
Power Searching with Google MOOC - http://www.powersearchingwithgoogle.com/
See also, Daniel M. Russell, aGoogleADay in the Classroom, SEARCHRESEARCH (July 30, 2012) http://searchresearch1.blogspot.com/2012/07/agoogleaday-in-classroom.html.
Single Search Box Conundrum
Single Search Box Conundrum
Just Search!
Familiar look & feel
They don’t think about the info they already have
A great way to include info literacy instruction
Most students start at Google or Wikipedia
Alison J. Head & Michael B. Eisenberg, Finding Context: What Today’s College Students Say about Conducting Research in the Digital Age, PROJECT INFORMATION LITERACY PROGRESS REPORT (Feb. 4, 2009), http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf; British Library, Researchers of Tomorrow: The Research Behaviour of Generation Y Doctoral Students, JOINT INFORMATION SYSTEMS COMMITTEE (June 2012) http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/reports/2012/researchers-of-tomorrow.aspx.
The Wikipedia Debate
Even courts are citing to Wikipedia, why can’t we?
◦Courts use it for “the wisdom of the crowd”
◦Issues with reliability, as anyone can edit
Use it as a starting point!See, Hanna B. Murray & Jason C. Miller, Wikipedia in Court: When & How Citing Wikipedia & Other Consensus Websites is Appropriate, SSRN (June 30, 2010), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1502759; Noam Cohen, Courts Turn to Wikipedia, but Selectively, N.Y. TIMES, (Jan. 29, 2007) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/29/technology/29wikipedia.html; Joe Palazzolo, Which Federal Appeals Court Cites Wikipedia Most Often?, WALL ST. J. L. BLOG (Apr. 2012)., http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/04/23/which-federal-appeals-court-cites-wikipedia-most/; Dan Baker, Wikipedia at the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, NOTA BENE, U. OF HOUS. O’QUIN L. LIBR. BLOG (Apr. 28, 2012), http://notabeneuh.blogspot.com/2012/04/wikipedia-at-federal-circuit-courts-of.html; Dan Baker, Wikipedia at the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal – Part 2, NOTA BENE, U. OF HOUS. O’QUIN L. LIBR. BLOG (May 30, 2012), http://notabeneuh.blogspot.com/2012/05/wikipedia-in-federal-courts-part-2.html; Dan Baker, Wikipedia in State Courts – Part 3, NOTA BENE, U. OF HOUS. O’QUIN L. LIBR. BLOG (July 14, 2012), http://notabeneuh.blogspot.com/2012/07/wikipedia-in-state-courts-part-3.html.
WebEmpires.org, in Andrew Liszewski, The Top 50 Sources Where Wikipedia Gets Its Facts, Gizmodo (Jul. 26, 2012, 9:00 am), http://gizmodo.com/5929207/the-top-50-sources-where-wikipedia-gets-its-facts.
The Wikipedia Debate
Two reasons to use Wikipedia
1. To gain a basic understanding of an
unfamiliar idea
a. Jitney
2. To find synonyms or terms of art for
searching
a. rail track width
Information LiteracyBasic Research Skills
Recognize Need for Information
Construct Research Strategy
Locate & Access
Compare & Evaluate
Organize, Apply, & Communicate
Synthesize & Create
Adapted from SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy (England), in Irmin Allner, Designing Effective Writing Assignments and the Teaching of Information Literacy, (Sept. 2009), http://www.tamuk.edu/cte/PRESENTATIONS/effective_writing_assignments_september2009.ppt
Novice Beginner Competent Proficient Expert
Three Ways to Incorporate Info Literacy into Every Class
1. Make every question & assignment use
operators and/or Wikipedia
2. Introduce one to three new operators in
every class session
3. Class discussion on why using the source
& have students evaluate it
Questions?
Jamie Marie Keller, JD, MLIS
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