Library Guides: Information &amp; Research Literacies GLO: Effective Assessments

Effective Assessment Examples

Ensure your students demonstrate the application of Information & Research Literacy concepts, by mapping assessments to elements of the GLO.

Knowledge

GLO Element: Demonstrate that disciplinary knowledge is developed through research and evidence.

Example Assessment Task	Details
Look at the treatment of a topic over time.	Builds awareness of the process of scholarship on a topic — what do researchers now know that they didn’t know before, how might the social context of research have had impact on a topic, etc.
Critically review a research paper, with consideration of its impact.	Builds understanding of research methodology, requires deep reading of a research paper, and improves information search skills as students locate and retrieve later papers that cite the original.
Compare items retrieved by searches using different search engines or journal databases.	Demonstrates that journal databases and search engines have different functions. This helps them learn to make deliberate choices about which finding tool to locate information in various fields, at differing levels, or in differing formats.
Starting with a short article or announcement in the popular press, locate the original research and evaluate the accuracy of the announcement.	This highlights the distinction between popular and scholarly press, and helps students understand the differences in audience and level of authority.
Identify a significant event and compare the contemporary news reports with the later scholarly treatments.	Heightens awareness of difference in perspective between the immediacy and detail of the contemporary account and the treatment of the event by later scholars. Students are often intrigued with old newspapers and magazines, and finding a topic, then using an index to find another article, helps them understand the use of indexes.
Compare the treatment of the same topic in two different disciplines.	This helps students both practice physically locating material and learn to identify the perspectives and approaches of different disciplines.

Skill

GLO Element: Demonstrate the skills required to locate, access and critically evaluate existing information and data.

Example Assessment Task	Details
Prepare brief annotated bibliographies which include primary and secondary resources.	This assignment may ask students to retrieve a variety of sources – articles, books, personal accounts, web sites – and describe the contribution of each source to an understanding of the topic. This can help students develop a sense of the scholarly conversation around a topic.
Retrieve and compare two sources of information on the same topic.	Demonstrates the impact that the author’s background, intent and audience may have on the information presented, and may highlight the differences among various disciplines. Works well when students are asked to locate deliberately disparate sources, such as an article from a popular magazine or website and another from an academic journal, articles from conservative and liberal sources , articles from different disciplines, or a personal and an organizational web site.
Create a class subject bibliography online that all students contribute to.	Use an online tool such as EndNote Online, Mendeley, or Diigo and ask students to contribute annotated references. This can introduce managing and organising information, as well as copyright and licensing issues around sharing and distributing information.

Application

GLO Element: Synthesize and apply information and data to different contexts to facilitate planning, problem-solving and decision making.

Example Assessment Task	Details
Design an assessment that demonstrates how to structure and sequence a complex task.	A staged essay with an annotated bibliography, peer-reviewed essay draft, final essay, and reflections on how the essay could have been improved.
Write a proposal for an extended research project.	This may include, for example, preparing a literature review to identify gaps and the consideration of sources of data for the proposed research project.
Prepare a response plan for a situation.	Introduces students to standards and evidence-based practice. Asking students to distinguish between licensed and freely available information helps them see what may be available in workplace settings and understand information as a commodity.
Develop an infographic supported by statistics and data on a topic.	Introduces students to primary data sources, teaches them to synthesize information and meaning from data.

Assessment examples adapted from Drew University’s Designing assignments to develop information literacy.