Students often need help understanding the processes used to produce and publish different kinds of sources and the motivations of content creators.
Without this grounding, students often struggle to select and evaluate appropriate sources for their research.
Know what is meant by “format” when we talk about information.
Develop an understanding of the characteristics of common information formats that are useful in research.
Develop an understanding of how the print or online status of a source is not the same thing as the format.
Discover materials to help teach and explain this skill as well as ideas for assignments, assessments, and reflections.
Looking for additional advice and resources for this skill? Contact the author for more help.
Get ideas about how to best reinforce this skill and integrate it into your own course design.
Begin talking about types of sources from Day 1. Every time you show or introduce a source, have a five-minute discussion about what kind of source it is, who wrote it, and why we would read/use it. Don’t just tell them this information; have a conversation and ask them to guess/contribute.
Use the suggested module assignments/activities throughout the course, taking 5-10 minutes each class to do one until you feel your students have become confident at discerning the differences among source categories.
Don’t assume your students understand any of these categories or sources until you’ve spoken about it explicitly with them.
For example, many students assume anything they read in a newspaper is “news,” not recognizing that opinion and analysis pieces are often presented side-by-side with the news.
Be careful when you dismiss certain kinds of sources; overly broad language can be confusing for students.
For example, discouraging students from using blogs can preclude them from using blogs with editorial control and associated with reputable organizations.
When you are setting parameters for types of sources, make sure you are clear and you are clear with students about what you want and why.
For example, requiring students to use one “internet source” and one “scholarly article” is complicated when scholarly journals exist in both print and online formats.
We can help students by using consistent language across services and courses. Using “format” to refer to the way information is packaged and created with reference to its purpose encourages students to think about these aspects of resources. The video Format: Introduction explains this idea more thoroughly.