Module 1.
How to Solve an Information Problem
1. Define Problem
2. Strategize
3. Seek & Evaluate
4. Use & Evaluate
5. Synthesize
Where to Start Research

Contents:
Introduction
Module 1. How to Solve an Information Problem
Module 2: Search Techniques
Module 3: SD Library Network
Module 4: Proquest
Module 5: Infotrac
Module 6: Lexis-Nexis
Module 7: OCLC Firstsearch
Module 8: 
Module 9: 
Module 10: 
Module 11: Internet Searching
Module 12: Evaluating Internet sources
Module 13: Scholarly vs. Popular
Module 14: Citing sources
Module 15: How to Get Material Not Available Online

Module 1 Step 3: Seek & Evaluate

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How to Solve an Information Problem ...

Step 3. Seek & Evaluate = Locate the information.
[Note: Other modules teach you how to use specific search tools to search for and find information]

• Seek: Search for and find the information using the tools and sources identified in Step 2. That is....

a. Ask a librarian how to find what you need.

b. Use the online library catalog to find out what material the library owns or subscribes to, including encyclopedias, textbooks, magazines & journals, books, handbooks, almanacs, statistical compilations, dictionaries, directories, audiovisual, and multimedia sources. The Library Catalog of the Karl E. Mundt Library at Dakota State University is a database in the information service called the South Dakota Library Network (or SDLN).

~ Definition ~ A database is an electronic file of information that is selected and organized for a specific purpose. The Library Catalog database contains records of items in the library. Each record describes an item by providing citation (author, title, publisher, date of publication), subject headings, some additional information about the source, and location in the library.

~ Definition ~ An information service typically provides access to several databases through a single interface. That is, the search screens and search features are the same or similar for every database in the information service. For example, the South Dakota Library Network (SDLN) is an information service that provides access to several databases, one of which is the Library Catalog.

The online library catalog may be searched by linking to the information service called South Dakota Library Network. Module 3 explains how to search the databases of SDLN.

c. Use electronic periodical indexes to find articles published in magazines, journals, and newspapers. The Mundt Library provides access to many of these index databases by subscribing to information services such as Proquest, Infotrac, and Lexis-Nexis Academic. Modules 4-5 explain how to use Infotrac and Proquest to search their databases..

d. Use Internet subject directories and search engines to find material on the Internet. Module 5 explains internet searching.

• Evaluate: Is the search producing the material you need? -- the right content? the right quality? right time period? right geographical locations? If not,
  • are you using the right words to describe the topic?
  • the right sources?
  • the right tools to get to the sources?
• Evaluate: Have you discovered additional terms that should be searched? If so, search those terms.
• Evaluate: Have you discovered additional questions you need to answer? If so, return to Step 1 to begin to answer new questions.

[The five steps are based on the "big six skills" for solving information problems described by Michael B.Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz in Information Problem-Solving: the Big Six Skills Approach to Library & Information Skills Instruction (Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing, 1990)].

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