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• About InfoSkills
• Evaluation form
• Glossary
• Help
• Main Menu
• Module 1 - Planning
• Module 2 - Finding information
• Module 3 - Evaluating information
• Module 4 - Writing and plagiarism
• Module 5 - Using information ethically
• University of Newcastle policies

Module 1 - Planning

• Learning outcomes
• Considerations for the most effective us of your time
• Analysing assignment questions
• What does the question mean?
• What kind of answer is required?
• How much detail is expected in the assignment?
• From what perspective should I be writing?
• Practice - Assignment questions
• Assignment planning techniques
• Brainstorming
• Writing a thesis statement
• Mind mapping
• What is a research strategy?
• Planning for research
• Practice: identifying keywords
• Sources of information
  • Books
  • Journals
  • Newspapers
  • Internet
  • Government documents and legislation
  • Statistics
• Informal sources of information
• Types of information
• Primary and secondary sources of information
• Practice - primary and secondary sources
• Comprehensiveness of sources
  • Examples
• Scholarly and popular journals
  • Features of scholarly journals
  • Features of popular journals
• Practice - scholarly and popular journals
• Current and historical sources of information

Module 2 - Finding information

• Learning outcomes
• Where do I start?
  • Reading lists
  • Bibliographies
• What is a citation?
• Tools used to find information
• Library catalogues
• Finding books and other items
• Call numbers
  • More about call numbers
• Finding journal articles
• Library databases
• Searching the right database
  • Considerations
• Effective Searching
  • Limiting your search
• Search terms and descriptors
• Boolean
  • And
  • Or
  • Not
• Truncation
• Truncation practice
• Wildcards
• Proximity operators
  • near or adjacent
  • With(in)
• Nesting
• Nesting practice
• Searching the Internet
• Search the Internet practice
• Reviewing
• Managing search results

Module 3 - Evaluating information

• Learning outcomes
• Why is it important to evaluate information?
• Evaluation and different publication types
• Practice - Evaluation
• Criteria for evaluation
  • Accuracy
  • Timeliness
  • Authority
  • Reliability
  • Validity
  • Point of view or bias
• Practice - criteria for evaluation
• Additional practice
• Evaluating books
• Evaluating Internet resources
• Evaluating Internet resources - activity
• Practice - evaluating internet resources

Module 4 - Writing and plagiarism

• Learning outcomes
• What is academic integrity?
• University of Newcastle policies relating to Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
• Academic dishonesty
• Academic fraud
    - Falsification of data
    - Dishonest conduct in relation to exams and assessments
    - Re-using your own work
• Plagiarism
     - Collusion and group work
• Research misconduct
• Plagiarism detection and prevention
• Consequences of academic dishonesty
• Strategies for good academic practice
     1. Effective note taking
        - Saving time and avoiding time wasters
        - Surveying the arguments and supporting evidence
        - Record your citations
     2. Paraphrasing appropriately
     3. Summarising correctly
        - tips for effective summarising
     4. Using direct quotations appropriately
        - how and when to use direct quotations
     5. Using common knowledge
     6. Organising your sources
     7. Referencing your sources
• Referencing styles
  
  

Module 5 - Using information ethically

• Learning outcomes
• What is intellectual property?
• What is copyright?
• What is protected under copyright
• Indigenous copyright
• Fair dealing
• How long does copyright last?
• Copyright and the Internet
• Practice - copyright
• Censorship and freedom of speech
• Censorship and freedom of speech issues
• Privacy and security
• Illegally obtaining account numbers and passwords
• Tracking and recording your Internet usage
• Computer viruses
• Information technology use
• Respecting the rights of others and using inclusive language
• Practice - using inclusive language

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University of Newcastle policies

• Copyright Law
• Rules governing the administration of assessment items
• See also A Guide to the Assessment Policies and Procedures of the University of Newcastle
• Student Academic Integrity - Policy
• Student Academic Integrity - Procedure
• Code of Ethical Academic Conduct
• Student Misconduct Rule
• University Computing and Communications Facilities - Conditions of Use
• Library Use Policy
• Inclusive Language Policy