Information Skills

 

The acquisition and dissemination of scientific information is of vital importance to all teaching and research activities at the university. The last few years have witnessed an explosive increase in the possibilities available. Those who want to be able to deal with all information currents in an adequate way will have to develop their information skills ('information literacy').

Information skills are skills you apply and employ in searching for, assessing and processing information. Aside from involving your becoming familiar with specific databases and search methods, information skills are built predominantly by practising them. In doing so, you will find that searching for information more often than not is an iterative process. Problem based learning has turned out to be an adequate approach to aquiring information skills. Therefore, this module includes a case, to illustrate how to tackle an information problem. This example will take you through the various specific elements of the total process.

How to use the module
The information skills module consists of three parts:

1. 'tackling the problem', which is worked out in a detailed and concrete step-by-step plan,
2. the theory surrounding the information skills referred to in the step-by-step plan,
3. a completed case that takes you through all the steps of the process, allowing you to practise and to develop your own skills.
   

Start by studying the step-by-step plan under 'tackling the problem'. To work out (parts of) the case yourself and for other information problems you can use the attached work sheet .


 

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