Skip to Main Content

USU 1730: Home

[USU|1730]

Making an Informed Decision

We all have to make decisions in life and we often need to do research to make good decisions. Information literacy can help us make informed decisions. 

Information literacy is understanding how to find, evaluate, and use information ethically. 

In other words, information literacy includes:

  • Where and how do you find information? 
  • How do you know if that information is credible and relevant?
  • How do you ethically give credit for the information you find and share?

Spectrum of Sources

The Spectrum of Sources is a tool to help you evaluate the information you find and determine its usefulness for your situation or decision. Here is the Spectrum we looked at in class:

Entertainment

General News

Specialist Publications

Scholarly

Examples

BuzzFeed,

National Examiner, Vanity Fair

Time Magazine, National Geographic, USA Today

Quilting Arts Magazine,

The American Biology Teacher

The Journal of Water Sanitation, Transgender Studies Quarterly

Content

General interest topics and entertainment

Current events

Hobby and career-specific information

Specific to a narrow area of research

Author

Journalists, freelance writers, paparazzi

Journalists, Editorial staff, scholars, freelance writers

Individuals with experience or professionals

Experts with academic credentials

Audience

The public

Broad audience of concerned citizens

People with similar interests/hobbies or work in the same field

Scholars and professionals in the field

Purpose

To entertain, promote, or advertise and sell

To inform

To educate

To move the profession forward; to gain a new understanding of the subject area

Cost to Access free - $ $$ $$$ $$$$$

Help Donovan Out by Researching!

We used Academic Search Ultimate to do our initial search. You can also do some basic Google searches and search through some of the news sites listed below to find out what people are saying about the question of whether college is worth it. You might also want to see what people say about starting or running a small business, since that is one of Donovan's considerations.

CQ Researcher is an online news magazine we purchase for you and it might have more in-depth information on this question.

You can always ask a librarian for help!

Access & Troubleshooting

Having problems accessing resources?
See our Online Access page for help.