What is Information Literacy?
Information Literacy is the ability to think critically about information. It is the ability to evaluate the information provided to determine if the information is appropriate for your needs. Information Literacy helps promote problem solving skills and thinking skills - asking questions and seeking answers. It is finding information and sources and evaluating the information and sources and being able to form opinions and draw conclusions based on the information.
This concept includes the skills of understanding how to:
Why is it so Important?
Below are some links to definitions and examples of Critical Thinking:
Below are some links to definitions and examples of Synthesizing Information:
What is Critical Thinking? Let us start with what it is NOT. It is NOT being negative, showing displeasure or disapproval or being emotionally judgmental. That is the social connotation of the word "critical". In the academic and clinical practice setting, the phrase "critical thinking" has a positive meaning.
Per Dictionary.com, critical thinking is defined as "disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence". (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/critical-thinking)
Per Rasmussen College, "Critical Thinking includes identifying a problem, determining the best solution and choosing the most effective method of reaching that solution. After executing the plan, critical thinkers reflect on the situation to figure out if the plan was effective and if it could have been done better." (http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/nursing/blog/understanding-why-nurses-need-critical-thinking-skills/) Critical thinking applies thinking, reading, writing, listening and speaking. There are many factors in critical thinking, including gathering, focusing, organizing, analyzing, generating, integrating, and evaluating information.
Critical thinking in research is the method of evaluating all the information gathered, including the sources from which the information is obtained by and determining the value of the information in relationship to the situation. It means evaluating the sources that you use to find the information to determine the value of the source. Information from an undergraduate's blog post is not going to have as much weight as information from an article in JAMA.
For nursing, it also means utilizing the Evidence-Based Practice methodology for determining the quality and strength of the information found. It means developing the skills to become a critical thinker beyond the classroom. This practice will allow you to develop deductive and sound reasoning skills and become self-confident in your thought process and your decision making skills.
What is synthesizing information? Synthesizing information is the process in which you connect multiple sources of information together and create a cohesive statement and/or argument. Per Dictionary.com, synthesize is: "to form (a material or abstract entity) by combining parts or elements" (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/synthesize) It is the method of pulling together information and finding the connection in that information (even if the information is in conflict) to say something new.
According to California State University: "Synthesis refers to the ability to put parts together to form a new whole. This may involve the production of a unique communication (theme or speech), a plan of operations (research proposal), or a set of abstract relations (scheme for classifying information).Synthesis refers to the ability to put parts together to form a new whole. This may involve the production of a unique communication (theme or speech), a plan of operations (research proposal), or a set of abstract relations (scheme for classifying information)."
http://www.csun.edu/science/ref/reasoning/questions_blooms/blooms.html
Analysis and Synthesis are closely related.
Although analysis and synthesis are closely related, there are differences between the styles. The publication "Analysis, Synthesis and and Response Papers" from Grand Valley State University offers an excellent overview of the styles with a specific focus on writing for nurses.
Scholarly Writing
As a professional, you will be expected to demonstrate scholarly writing which reflects higher level critical thinking skills and synthesis of information.
Writing well organized and articulate scholarly papers is an important skill indicative of higher education and required of accredited master level educational programs and professional presentations.
This type of writing is characterized by the ability to generate complete, concise and clear responses which are necessary to communicate ideas clearly and effectively. This is not only an important skill for academic coursework but also for professional documentation.
What is a Scholarly Article? Scholarly Articles are articles that have been written by scholars or professionals in the field. They often have distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from news, general interest or "popular" articles. This differences include: journal that the article is written in, language of the article (is the article in written in the jargon of the field or is it written in non-technical language), and format of the article (scholarly articles usually include abstract, methodology, results, conclusion and references). Below are tips to help determine if an article is a scholarly article:
Looking at the Citation
These criteria are most important when you are looking at a citation for an article in an index, a database, or a bibliography:
Does the periodical title depict a very specific subject area?
Does the article have a complex and lengthy title?
Are the authors' names listed along with their degrees, titles, or other credentials and/or the names of the institutions with which they are affiliated (particularly colleges or universities)?
Was the article cited in a subject-specific index or database (e.g., Education Index, Medline, Sociological Abstracts)?
Does the periodical title contain the words Journal, Studies, Research, or Review?
Is the article long -- more than 5 pages?
Looking at the Article On-Line (all of the above, plus:)
These criteria will be most helpful when you're looking at a full-text article on-line:
Does the article use technical language and specialized vocabulary? Does it assume some subject knowledge on the part of the reader? Is it complex ¬ easily comprehended by a general reader?
Does the article include footnotes, a bibliography, or list of references?
Is the text accompanied by tables & charts, but not many photos or drawings? (unless the field is visually-oriented, such as art, design, or architecture)
Does the article report on the results of research or experiments?
Does the article include a review of the literature, i.e., a summary of other articles written on the topic?
Does an abstract or summary of the article appear before the article itself begins?