Academic Information Seeking (Coursera)

Attending the course will enable you to:

• Identify your information need

• Evaluate databases and other information resources

• Set up search strategies and use various search techniques

• Formulate search strings based on your own research assignment

• Identify relevant material types

• Undertake critical evaluation of your sources

• Search more efficiently on the internet

• Avoid plagiarism

• Cite correctly

• Work with reference management

• Document your search process

The course is intended for undergraduate students but the lessons will be useful to anyone who is interested in becoming better at finding scientific information. There are no formal requirements for the course.

The series consists of 21 lectures that are organized into three modules. The lectures include small assignments and quizzes (to check comprehension). The lectures will each touch upon a topic that is essential to the information seeking process. To get the most out of the lecture series, we recommend that you access the lectures while you are working on an academic paper. We also recommend that you watch the lectures in the order in which we have structured them. We recommend that you create and fill out a log book while attending the lectures. We have created a log book template that you can use during the course.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Preparing your search process

In Module 1, we focus on preparation. We explain how to use a log book to document your searches, provide ideas for generating search terms, introduce you to various types of literature, material and information resources, and to reference management.

WEEK 2

Performing your searches

In module 2, you will learn to search for and find information. You will learn how to set up a search strategy and you will be introduced to various search methods and search techniques.

WEEK 3

Evaluating your search results

In module 3, you will learn how to evaluate, use and document your search results. You will get tips on how to critically assess information, you will be introduced to concepts like copyright and plagiarism, and you will learn how to insert citations and bibliographies into your papers.