Information literacy allows you to recognize your information needs, locate and evaluate information and then use that information effectively. It's not just an academic skill -- you use it more often than you realize.
You want to buy a car. Here's how using information literacy can help:
Define - It should be obvious that you need a car, but what type of car? Is gas mileage a concern? Do you need space for a family? Can you afford the insurance on a sports car? Also think about which cars receive high safety ratings, have the highest customer satisfaction, and/or fall within your budget. Also, what type of incentives and maintenance packages do your local dealers offer? These are all types of questions you should ask yourself before even looking at a single car.
Locate - You might:
Analyze
Organize - Gather all your research into a notebook or folder before visiting the dealerships. You may wish to have separate entries or pages for each dealership to make it easier to compare deals and selling practices. Organizing your information will:
Share - Sharing your information will:
Evaluate - You bought the car, now what? Evaluating your purchase will:
You graduated and found a job posting for your dream job. Here's how information literacy can help:
Define - You may have to be flexible, especially for your first professional job, in what jobs you're willing to take. Are you willing to move? How far is too far to drive? Is child care a must? Think about what really is important to you and what are the things in a job you would just like to have.
Locate - You need to know not just the job requirements, but something about the company and the surrounding community. And you never know, after researching the company, you may realize that they aren't the right place for you -- thus saving you time and trouble.You might:
Analyze -
Organize - This step is especially useful when writing your cover letter and your resume. Organizing will:
Share - Feel free to have someone look over your cover letter and resume before submitting it. When you are satisfied with the final product, submit it to the company. A well-thought out and researched cover will:
Evaluate - Evaluating your cover letter and resume will:
In 2001, researchers at John Hopkins university were studying asthma. The researchers recruited healthy volunteers to under go bronchoconstrictive stimulus (they were given things that might trigger an asthma attack). One volunteer was 24 year old Ellen Roche, a lab technician at John Hopkins. On May 4, 2001, Roche was given 1 gm of hexamethonium as part of the research.
Before the clinical study even began, researchers did research on hexamethonium for any known negative side effects. They made use of Google along with Yahoo, LookSmart and GoTo.com. The researchers also referred to the PubMed database. Nothing was found.
OK, so they did research, how could they have messed up?
The researchers assumed they covered all their bases. However, Yahoo, LookSmart, and GoTo.com aren't appropriate places for medical research. They needed medical information from medical professionals - not websites. And while the PubMed database is an appropriate resource, it does not contain all medical reports or articles, especially older ones. No one ever looked at other reliable resources or at older resources. If they did, they would have found several 1950's reports on hexamethonium toxicity. They also would have learned that the FDA withdrew hexamethonium for human use in the 1970s.
The cost of the mistake?
The day following her intake of hexamethonium, Roche began experiencing a dry cough which turned into flu like symptoms within three days. Her condition steadily became worse and she was admitted to the hospital on the 9th for observation. On the 12th, she was transferred to the ICU. On June 2nd, Ellen Roche died due to progressive hypotension and multiorgan failure.
You can read more here.