Information Retrieval and

Structuring for Use

Coverage
 Overview
 Types of information
 Basic library skills
 Internet search skills
 Evaluating information on the internet
 Organising information for use (Referencing

skills)
Overview
 Information retrieval is concerned with all the
activities related to the organization,
processing and access to information of all
forms and formats.
 An information retrieval system allows people

to communicate with information system or

service in order to find information-text,
graphic images, and sound recordings or
video that meets their specific information
needs.
 It is the lesson that describes the various
kinds of information sources, how to search
for information in library and on internet, and
how you can use the results of a search in a
professional manner to improve your
Information literacy.
 In short this can be seen as your ability to:

1. Identify your information needs

2. Search for information
3. Critically evaluate information
4. Creatively use information
 As a student, you should understand:
1. The differences between various types of
information
2. The need to evaluate the sources of information,
and that you should primarily cite only primary
information
3. When to use which information
4. How to create a search question to optimize your
results
5. How, when and why to cite in order to avoid
plagiarism.
Various Types of Information
 Scholarly or academic information
◦ Typically written by academicians for academics
within the same research area.
◦ It uses the technical terms for that field of
research.
◦ Within the areas of science, technology and
medicine this type of information is typically
found in scientific journals.
◦ Many of these journals apply a Peer Review
process
 Popular Information
◦ Popular scientific texts are aimed at people who are
not experts in the area. Journals such as Scientific
American or New Scientist supply such articles; they
provide a good picture of a subject using non-
scientific terminology and without the details of a
scholarly text.
 Patent information
◦ is a legal document granting the inventor the right
to exclude others from making, selling or importing
the claimed invention for a certain period of time.
◦ Patent information are widely used by commercial
organisations to identify the areas their competitors
are working in, or to guide their own research, and
are very useful as background material for a study
of emerging technologies.
 Commercial information
◦ such as a trade journals or an advertisements, may
come from a company informing its customers
about new products or updates, or from someone
trying to get you to buy a product.
◦ Commercial information is more likely to be biased
than scholarly information and you should always
be aware of the purpose behind it.
◦ It can, however, be a good source of information if
you want to know the price of a product from
different companies.
◦ product catalogues are examples of useful
commercial information.
 Primary and secondary information
◦ A primary information source is the original source
for a specific piece of information.
◦ A research article in a scientific journal discussing
new experimental results is an example of a
primary information source.
◦ A secondary information source uses primary
information but is not the original source: it could
be a review article discussing already published
datasets, or someone reciting a story they’ve heard
from someone else.
◦ Wikipedia is a well-known secondary information
source, as are trade journals or the science sections
of daily newspapers.
◦ Sometimes, important information present in the
primary source may be excluded or misinterpreted
in the secondary source.
◦ When you want to use information you have heard
or seen somewhere, you should always make sure
that you refer to the primary information.
◦ You should, of course, have read the primary
information when you cite it; you should never cite
anything you have not read yourself.
 Formal and informal information sources
◦ One way to distinguish the two is to say that
everything printed is formal information while all
information that is exchanged orally is informal.
◦ Primary sources are first-hand and not interpreted
by anyone else, they offer a personal point of view,
and are created by a witnesses of, or participants
in, an event (except in cases of historical research
written after the fact).
◦ Researchers also create primary sources.
◦ Sources that present new research, original
conclusions based on the research of others, or an
author's original perspective are more helpful and
effective for your needs.
◦ They allow you to interpret the information rather
than relying on the interpretations of others.
◦ This is why your instructors may require you to
seek out original research for your assignments.
◦ Keep in mind that because primary sources reflect
the true meanings and ideas put forth by authors,
the information itself may not be completely
objective, well-reasoned, or accurate.
◦ Secondary sources are information sources that
interpret, include, describe, or draw conclusions
based on works written by others.
◦ Secondary sources are used by authors to present
evidence, back up arguments and statements, or
help represent an opinion by using and citing
multiple sources.
◦ Secondary sources are often referred to as being
“one step removed” from the actual occurrence or
fact.
◦ Most books (including textbooks), documentary
movies, art, book, movie, and theatre reviews;
analysis of a clinical trial, newspaper/magazine,
articles written as historical, opinionated, or
reflective accounts; documentaries, biographies
dictionaries, encyclopaedias; Websites (also
primary), a research paper written by you, literature
reviews and meta-analyses are examples of
secondary sources.
 Peer Review
◦ Peer review means “examination by equals”, and is
intended to be a form of quality control.
◦ In the world of academic publishing, peer review
means the examination of a manuscript intended
for publication in a journal to ensure that it meets
the standards of quality and ethical behaviour set
by the publishers.
◦ The task of the reviewer is to ensure that the author
has used scientific method in the research.
◦ Peer-reviewed information is generally a primary
and formal information source.
The Library and the Internet
 The library and the internet are the two main
areas where one can retrieve information.
 Since the two are different in terms of

organisation of information, one has to

acquire skills of using each.
 One thing worth noting is that the basic skills

that you will learn might not be exhaustive

especially for using a particular library.
Basic Library Skills
 A library is a collection of resources in a
variety of formats that is organized by
information professionals or other experts
who provide convenient physical, digital,
bibliographic, or intellectual access and offer
targeted services and programs with the
mission of educating, informing, or
entertaining a variety of audiences and the
goal of stimulating individual learning and
advancing society as a whole (Eberhart,
2010).
 There are four basic types of libraries
1. Public library – used by all members of the
country
2. Academic library – library at educational
institution to support educational program
3. Special library – library established, supported
and administered by a business firm, private
cooperation, associations, government agency or
other special interest group or agency to meet
information needs of its members or staffs in
pursuing the goals of the organization. E.g.
national science library, library of the
government, parliament, minister of finance etc.
4. National Library – keeps all documents of
and about a nation under some legal
provision and thus, represent publications
of and about a nation
 To be able to use certain library effectively,
you need to understand the classification
system that libraries use, the type of
catalogues and how to use the call number to
access a source you need
Classification of Books in Libraries

 A library classification, or a bibliographic

classification, is a system according to which
library materials or information resources are
arranged on library shelves, typically
according to subjects, and allocating a call
number.
 There are two main and commonly used
classification system:
1. The Library of Congress Classification system (LC)
2. The Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC)
The LC System
 This is used in most college and university
libraries.
 In this system, all knowledge is divided into 21

broad subject areas by letters of the alphabet

except I, O, W, X, and Y .
 There is no significance for the letters of the

alphabet chosen for each broad subject area.

 There is no need to memorize this

classification system, but it is helpful to know

how it works so that you can quickly find
books.
 For example:
◦ A: General works
◦ B: Philosophy, psychology and Religion
◦ G: Geography, Anthropology and Recreation
◦ GA: Mathematical Geography
◦ T: Technology in General
◦ TA: Engineering (general) Civil Engineering
◦ Q: Science
Dewey Decimal Classification System
(DDC)
 The Dewey Decimal Classification system is
used for the Curriculum and Juvenile
Collections.
 This system uses numbers to group books by

subject
 In this system, all knowledge is represented

by 10 broad subject classes as:

◦ 000 Generalities
◦ 100 Philosophy and related disciplines
◦ 200 Religion
◦ 300 The social sciences
◦ 400 Language
◦ 500 Pure sciences
◦ 600 Technology (applied sciences)
◦ 700 The arts
◦ 800 Literature
◦ 900 General geography and history
 The Dewey Decimal system is a hierarchical
system, which means, within each broad class, it
develops progressively from the general to the
specific.
 For example:

◦ 600 Technology (applied sciences)

◦ 640 Domestic arts and sciences
◦ 646 Sewing, clothing, personal grooming
◦ 646.7 Personal grooming
◦ 646.72 Personal appearance
◦ 646.724 Care of hair
◦ 646.7242 Professional hairdressing for women and
girls
The Library Catalogue
 The library catalogue connects you to everything
owned by a particular library or its branches.
 It lists the materials held by the library and

indicates where each item is located in the

library.
 The catalog also tells you if an item is available

or checked out.
 If it is checked out, you can use the catalog to

put the item on hold for you when it is returned.

 It provides access to items by their author, title,

subject, or co-author, translator, etc.

Types of Library Catalogue
 Card catalogue – information about the book
is written on a card
 Book catalogue – information about the

books available are written in the book.

 OPAC (online public access catalogue) -

information about books available are stored

in the computer (database)and one can
access by searching in the computer
Call Number
 A call number is an arrangement of letters and
numbers assigned to an item located in a library's
collection in order to provide a library user with
an easy way to locate the item on the shelf.
 It is a unique address for a particular item in a

library.
 Books are placed on the shelves according to

these call numbers. 

 You need this call number to find a book in the

library.
 It is available from the library catalog, and is

printed on the spine or cover of each book.

 Call number order for LC
M1 .D15 1990 ML881.D2 1988
ML 881.D2 1993 MT1.D15 MT76.D29 v.2
MT 76.D4 v.1

 Call number for DDC

302.23082 B661 302 .23082 K63
302 .23082 R622 302 .23083 S853
302 .230835 B674
Basic Internet Search Skills
 The internet has become the first stop for
most people in their quest for information of
any nature.
 Internet search sites can search enormous

data bases of Web pages using titles,

keywords or text.
 Before starting your search, it is better to

have a basic understanding of the tools used

to retrieve information: internet, World Wide
Web and search engine
 The internet and the World Wide Web (Wed)
are often used interchangeably, but they are
not the same.
 The internet provides the electronic

communication structure while the Web uses

the structure to find and display information
from a variety of sources.
 You can search for information on the Web

using any number of different search engines

 Search engines, on the other hand, are large
databases of Web page files.
 Search engines use programs called spiders

or robots to crawl through Web pages, Index

the information and add it to the search
engine.
 Examples of search engines are Google, Ask,

AltaVista, Yahoo, Bing, Excite, Yandex,

Wolfram Alpha, Baidu and so many others.
 No two search engines are exactly alike in
terms of size, content, speed, ranking
schemes and search options.
 There are some search engines (Meta search

engines) that aggregate information from

different search engines – they have no
database.
 Examples include Dogpile, Metacrawler,

Mamma, Search Com, Excite etc.

 Subject gateways are also tools for internet
sources.
 They are collection of websites on a particular

subject; contain only web resources that have

been evaluated and maintained by subject
specialists
 Examples include INFOMINE, IPL2, Intuite,

SciCental, Science Accelerator, Academic Info

etc.
Technical Information Search Process
 Searching for information can be frustrating
and the results overwhelming.
 Analyzing your topic, and then using the

search techniques effectively, will help you to

easily obtain the information you need.
 First, take time to think about exactly what

you are looking for – be specific.

 It may be useful to write out your topic in the

form of a sentence or question to help clarify

what type of information you exactly need.
 Once you identify your topic, break it into key
concepts.
 Write down all the key words and phrases

that best describe your topic.

 Think of synonyms or related terms for each

concept or point.
 Consider spelling variations and singular and

plural forms.
 For example:
◦ “What are the effects of global warming on coasts?”
 There are three important concepts: effects,
global warming and coast
 Other related search terms for “effect” could

be influence, results, impact or

consequence.
 Global warming: greenhouse effect, climate

change or changing of climate

 Coast: coastline, shore, seashore or beach
 To do a basic search on most search engines,
type in a key word you have identified.
◦ E.g.: global warming.
 This will produce the greatest number of
results including those which you do not want.
 A multiple keyword search retrieves more
specific results.
◦ E.g. Global warming coast
 Note: Put the most important key words first.
 Put “ “ marks around phrases to ensure that
they are searched exactly as combined,
otherwise, they would be searched separately.
 You can refine and improve your search by

using different techniques to broaden or

narrow your search results.
◦ Use plus sign + before the word (without space) to
require its inclusion
 E.g. +coast
 Use a minus sign to exclude a word
◦ A word or phrase preceded by a – will exclude that
word in the search results.
◦ E.g. –causes
 Use lower cases to find both upper and lower
case versions of a word
 Use upper case in only exact upper case

matches
 Boolean Searching
 The majority of reference databases and
internet search services use the Boolean
operators AND, OR and NOT.
 Use of the operator AND narrows your search

because the results must contain all of the

search terms connected by the word AND, not
just one of the words.
◦ Example: heart AND lung
◦ newborn AND infant
◦ dyslexia AND adults
 Use of the operator OR broadens your search
because the results must contain at least one
of the search terms connected by the word
OR.
◦ Example: heart OR lung
◦ adolescent or teenager
 Use of the operator NOT excludes terms so
that your results do not contain any of the
terms that follows it
 Use NOT to exclude unwanted concepts or

words
◦ Example: lung disease NOT smoking
 Truncation
 Truncation means to shorten by cutting off a
part.
 During a search we often want to use the

same keyword to cover a range of inflections,

as well as a number of compound words built
up from the same word
 Typing the stem or root of the word plus *, ?

or $ symbol at the end of the word will

retrieve all forms of the word
 For example:
◦ climat * finds: climat -e, climat -es, climat -ic,
climat -ical, climat -ology, climat –ological
◦ coast* finds: coast -s, coast -al, coast -line, coast -
s, coast -er, coast -ing, coast -guard, coast –wise
 Example of left-hand truncation:
◦ *national finds: supra –nationa, inter –national,
multi -national
◦
 Stop Words
 Stop words are commonly-occurring words that
are ignored by the search engine and therefore do
not need to be included in the search.
 Examples are about, again, all, almost, also, of and

the as well as operators such as and, not, or or.

 If you need to search for a phrase that contains

stop words, place the phrase within braces or

quotation marks (depending on the database
interface, check HELP to see what applies).
 For instance, enter {block and tackle} or “block and

tackle”.
The search circle
Good
enough? INFORMATIO
N NEED

Search
Evaluation
Question

Search Information
Results Source
 Evaluating Information on the
Internet
 Unlike print materials, some content you find
on the internet may not have been verified or
edited for correctness.
 In that sense, not everything you find on the

internet is authentic or accurate.

 You can evaluate a website using the five

criteria: authority, accuracy, currency,

objectivity and coverage.
 Authority:
◦ The author, including publisher, contact addresses
and type of website
◦ Author’s identity clearly indicated
◦ Author’s qualifications and credentials well stated
◦ Contact information such as phone number and
physical address, not just email
 Accuracy
◦ Free from grammatical, spelling and typographical
errors
◦ Facts presented are free from obvious errors
◦ Writing style
◦ Citation and reference
◦ Bibliography
 Currency
◦ Date of publishing
◦ Updates and revision of links
◦ Currency of links
 Objectivity
◦ Purpose of the document: Information provided
meant for public of knowledge?
◦ Free of advertising pitch
◦ Objective met by the content
 Coverage:
◦ Clarity of content
◦ Balance between textual and graphical information
◦ Supporting links with any form of explanation or
annotation
◦ Sources of information
 Alternatively, you can evaluate and recognize
web sites that provides credible information by
asking:
 WHO
 WHAT
 WHEN
 WHERE AND
 WHY
 WHO: Ascertain author or publisher
credentials
◦ Have you heard of the author? Is he/she well known
in the field?
◦ Is the source a qualified professional or
organization?
◦ Can you find information about the author verifying
credentials either online or in print?
◦ Is the site a personal page or blog, a page on
an .edu site?
◦ Does the information contain several grammatical,
spelling and typographical errors? Such errors
indicate a lack of quality control and can actually
produce inaccuracies in information
◦ Is there an email address listed to contact the
author for additional information?
◦ Is there an About section to give you some of this
information?
 WHAT – Objectivity and coverage
◦ Is there any bias in the way the Web page is written?
◦ Is it written by an interest group?
◦ Does the page present both sides of an argument?
◦ Is it sponsored - if it is – by who?
◦ Is the information presented as an opinion and
clearly stated as such?
◦ is there a wide coverage of the topic?
◦ does the site try to be comprehensive or specific?
◦ Is reliable evidence used to support the
information, e.g. references to research,
government documents, reports of enquiries.
 WHEN – Currency
◦ Is there a relatively recent date of last update listed
on the page?
◦ Check the data itself for currency. Is it still up-to-
date and accurate?
◦ Are there no many dead links on the site?
 WHERE - Publication information
◦ Determine the Web site’s owners and sponsors, if
any.
◦ Use the site’s About Us statement to find out what
they say about themselves and their purpose in
providing the information on the site.
◦ Use Who is, a database of domain registrations to
determine who owns the website.
• WHY - Verify all information - read the site
documentation?
◦ Look for the Data source
◦ Note differences between Web editions and print
editions with the same or similar titles
◦ Note the individuals or organization responsible for
the information supplied by the site.
◦ Confirm the document or information’s
completeness and accuracy.
◦ Find two or more credible sources that say the
same thing.
◦ Evaluation of quality of information depends upon
the background the searcher brings to his search.
◦ If you don't have an extensive background in the
area in which you are seeking information, you
need to verify your results by checking with other
Web sites or print sources - do they all agree?
 The type of organization behind a Web site
can give some clues to its credibility
 For example:
◦ .gov/.go/.gc means government
◦ .ca Schools, educational organizations, libraries,
museums, and some government departments may
be registered under a 2-digit country of origin
code, such as .ca, .uk, or .au.
◦ .edu to mean education or ca for some countries
including Canada.
◦ .org to mean organisation
◦ .com profit organizations; .com indicates
commercial organizations
◦ .net organizations directly involved in Internet
operations, such as Internet service providers
 NOTE THAT: anyone can apply for and use
these letters in their domain names.
 Structuring information for Use:
Referencing Skills
To reference is to acknowledge the sources of
information and ideas used to create a project
or assignment or research report.
 Referencing involves keeping a list of

resources used for research, as well as

ensuring that any quotes and ideas mentioned
are recorded accurately.
 In good academic practice, it is expected that
we appropriately acknowledge any ideas,
words, or work of other people in order to
avoid plagiarism.
 Academic writing encourages paraphrasing

information you have researched and read.

 Paraphrasing means re-wording something

you have read in to your own words.

 If you use someone else’s words or work and

fail to acknowledge them – you may be

accused of plagiarism and infringing
copyright
 When creating an authentic piece of work, we
are expected to:
◦ undertake research on what is already known
◦ analyse the research in the context of the work to
be produced
◦ compare and/or contrast existing knowledge
against our own findings/thoughts/opinions
◦ synthesize and present the document in an
appropriate way for the expected audience
◦ acknowledge all contributing sources appropriately
Why Referencing?
 Show respect for the work of others
 Help a reader to distinguish our work from

the work of others who have contributed to

our work
 Give the reader the opportunity to check the

validity of our use of other people’s work

 Give the reader the opportunity to follow up

our references, out of interest

 Show and receive proper credit for our
research process
 demonstrate that we are able to use reliable

sources and critically assess them to support

our work
 Establish the credibility and authority of our

knowledge and ideas

 Demonstrate that we are able to draw our

own conclusions
Two Parts of Referencing
1. In text citation: indicating within your
assignment the sources of the information
you have used to support for your ideas,
arguments and views.
2. Reference list: shows the complete details of
everything you cited and appears in an
alphabetical list on a separate page, at the
end of your work.
When to cite?
 When you use words, thoughts, ideas, etc. of
someone else
 When you directly quote
 When you paraphrase
 When you use or reference an idea or thought

that has already been expressed

 When you make any reference to another

source
 When another’s ideas, words or thoughts

have influenced your writing and research

Referencing Styles
 There are many different styles - over 100.
 It is essential to follow the style specified in

your assignments and not to mix styles.

 Consistency of style is important.
 Some of these styles are:
 APA (American Psychological Association )

mostly used in social science

 The Harvard style
 MLA (Modern Language Association) mostly
used in humanities
 CMC (The Chicago Manual of Style) most used

in history.
 IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers)
 One has to abide to the style that is required

or directed to use.
The APA Style (based on 6th
Edn. Guide Book, 2017)
 APA stands for American Psychological
Association.
 It is the style that you are to learn since it is

used by DIT.
 But remember to ask your instruct or

supervisor what style to use before you start

writing your work.
 We will learn few basic and important skills

by examples
In-text Citation
 When citing in text within an assignment, use
the author/s (or editor/s) last name followed
by the year of publication.
 Example:

◦ Water is a necessary part of every person’s diet and

of all the nutrients a body needs to function; it
requires more water each day than any other
nutrient (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011). or
◦ Whitney and Rolfes (2011) state the body requires
many nutrients to function but highlight that water
is of greater importance than any other nutrient. or
 ◦ Water is an essential element of anyone’s diet and
Whitney and Rolfes (2011) emphasise it is more
important than any other nutrient.
 Reference list entry:
◦ Whitney, E., & Rolfes, S. (2011). Understanding
nutrition (12th ed.). Australia: Wadsworth
Cengage Learning.
 If a work has three (3), four (4) or five (5)
authors, cite all authors the first time and
from then on include only the last name of
the first author followed by the words et al.
(‘et al.’ is Latin for ‘and others’)
 ◦ Research can be defined as a systematic method of
creating new knowledge or a way to verify existing
knowledge (Watson, McKenna, Cowman & Keady,
2008).
◦ Deciding on a research method demands the
researcher consider carefully the problem or area of
investigation being researched (Watson et al., 2008).
 Reference list entry:
◦ Watson, R., McKenna, H., Cowman, S., & Keady, K.
(Eds.). (2008). Nursing research: Designs and
methods. Edinburgh, Scotland: Churchill
Livingstone Elsevier.
 If a work has six (6) or seven (7) authors, cite
only the last name of the first author followed
by et al. each time you refer to this work.
 Reference list entry: include all names in the

reference list:
◦ Mikosch, P., Hadrawa, T., Laubreiter, K., Brandl, J.,
Pilz, J., Stettner, H., & Grimm, G. (2010).
Effectiveness of respiratory-sinus-arrhythmia
biofeedback on state-anxiety in patients
undergoing coronary angiography. Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 66(5), 1101-1110.
 When there are eight (8) or more authors, cite
only the last name of the first author followed
by ‘et al.’ each time you refer to this work.
 In reference list entry, include the first six (6)

authors’ names and then use ellipsis points

(...) before concluding with the last author’s
name.
 Example:
◦ Vissing, K., Brink, M., Lonbro, S., Sorensen, H.,
Overgaard, K., Danborg, K., ... Aagaard, P.
(2008). Muscle adaptations to plyometric vs.
resistance training in untrained young men.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research,
22(6), 1799-1810.
Direct Quotes Citation
APA does not encourage direct quotes, but
when necessary, it should be used only to
emphasis or stress a point in your essay.
 It must be copied exactly as written in the

original work including any punctuation or

incorrect spelling.
 When using a quote, include the author’s last

name, year of publication and page number/s

where the quote appears.
 To indicate a short quote (less than 40
words), enclose the quotation within double
quotation marks.
◦ “Self-directed learning is also a term with which
you will become familiar as you study in Australia
or New Zealand. Students are expected to take
responsibility for their own learning and organise
their own study” (Hally, 2009, p. 7).
 For a quote that is 40 words or more, include
it in your essay as a freestanding piece of text
or block form and do not use the quotation
marks.
 Double-space the entire quote.
 At the end of the quote, include the author’s

name, year of publication and page number/s

after the full stop.
 If the information you wish to use is cited by
another author, acknowledge the source you
have read, showing it is a secondary source
within the text citation by using the words “as
cited in”.
 Example:
◦ Fawcett (as cited in Polit & Beck, 2008) outlined the
four main concepts…
 In reference list entry, it will be:
◦ Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2008). Nursing research:
Generating and assessing evidence for
nursing practice (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA:
Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins.
Internet Sources

 Where possible, include similar information, in

the same order, as you would for other types
of information and other sources (who, when,
what) and then add the electronic retrieval
information required for people to locate the
material you cited (where).
◦ Author/s of the document or information – individual
or organisation/corporate author.
◦ Date of publication. If no date is available use (n.d.).
◦ Title of the document or webpage in italics.
◦ Complete & correct web address/URL
Internet – no author, no date
 When using information from the Internet
consider carefully the origins of the information
whether it is credible, valid and reliable
 Sometimes it is not clear who (author) wrote it

or when (date) it was written; you can do as

follows:
 In-text citation:

◦ (Pet therapy, n.d.)

 Reference list entry:
◦ Pet therapy. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.holisticonline.com/stress/stress_pet-
therapy.htm
 For organisation/corporate author
 Example:
◦ Ministry of Health [MOH], 2014) – first cite for in
text citation
◦ (MOH, 2014) for second and subsequent citation.
◦ Ministry of Health. (2014). Ebola: Information for
the public. Retrieved from
http://www.health.govt.nz/your-
health/conditions-and-treatments/diseases-
andillnesses/ebolainformation-public as reference
list entry