Knowledge is Empowerment

TUTORIAL

Guide 25. THE INFORMATION CYCLE

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The Information Cycle: from User to Producer

PRIMARY SOURCES

SECONDARY SOURCES

WEB

USERS/PRODUCERSResearchers

FacultyStudents

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KNOW THE PLAYERS

• USER/PRODUCER: In order to produce one essay we read at least 3 articles. To write an article just look at the list of references of one peer-reviewed article, which may have 50 or more.

• PRIMARY SOURCES: experimental/observational data.

• SECONDARY SOURCES: Journals, books, etc. US University has purchased annual access to databases that contain peer-reviewed sources). Collaborative systems like DOAR, DOAJ, OAISTER, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, GOOGLE BOOKS.

• WEB: A great platform to host all the players

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TIMING

• How old do you think what you are reading is if it was published in 2010?

• If it is a Journal, let’s count: Data collection & analysis: 1st. year; writing, presentation at meetings: 2nd. Year; Journal peer review, published & indexed: 3rd. Year.

• Perhaps today’s retrieved article is 3 years old. There is a waiting list in the publishing arena.

• How long do you think books take? Electronic sources?

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WHY PEER REVIEW• To validate the work published in the article-

journal: data analysis, methodology, results & sources.

• The journal’s editors have 3-5 specialists in the area of study review the work.

• Pre-print means there has been no peer review yet.

• Post-print means it has been peer-reviewed, but with author’s changes.

• Databases, Repositories (DOAR), DOAJ, OAISTER, WHOLIS, have peer-reviewed articles.

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• Wikipedia has no peer-reviewed articles; have you taken a look?

• Remember this link if one day you publish an article and want to know about the copyright laws for your own work:

• http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/

• Be more aware of who publishes what you read & who supports or validates the information in it.

WHY PEER REVIEW

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WHAT GOES FOR PEER REVIEW?

• Articles• Books• Chapters• Master’s & PhD Theses • All documents that the institution

decides to be validated by specialists.

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WHAT GOES TO REPOSITORIES

• Pre & Post Prints• Books• Book Chapters• Theses• Technical Reports• Manuals• And all documents permitted by

copyright law

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DO YOU KNOW WHO & WHAT YOU ARE QUOTING in your essay?

• Regarding time, is it the most recent, up-to-date research?

• Peer-reviewed: is it?• How many more articles has the

author written?• Is the author an expert in the field?• Do you know the institution behind

the author?

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PRACTICE YOUR CRITICAL THINKING

• SELECTING YOUR AUTHORS• SELECTING YOUR TERMS• SELECTING YOUR REFERENCES• SELECTING YOUR SEARCH

STRATEGIES• SELECTING YOUR DATABASES