At Intermediate level it is expected that students will be able to undertake the following:
I.1 Recognize the importance of using a variety of good quality information resources for all academic work
I.2 Recognize the possible need for initial background research to inform a more comprehensive search for relevant information
I.3 Modify a broad information need into a manageable focus
I.4 Obtain specialist library help (e.g. from a relevant Librarian)
I.5 Identify the value of and differences between a variety of potential information resources, and determine which are preferable for a specific topic
I.6 Identify a range of resources available for their specific area of study
I.7 Understanding the difference between popular and scholarly journals, and understand the meaning of “peer review”
I.8 Combine keywords in a search using Boolean operators when searching on library resources AND search engines
I.9 Identify synonyms, related terms and alternative spellings for keywords
I.10 Access databases and/or indexing & abstracting services to search for relevant journal articles on a topic
I.11 Recognize when to use a cross search facility (i.e.: Article Search) and when to search within an individual database for a more sophisticated search
I.12 Refine a search to increase/decrease the number of results returned
I.13 Determine if the search strategy should be revised
I.14 Evaluate whether a journal article is relevant to a particular topic
I.15 Retrieve full text articles in print or electronic format via the library (catalogue and databases)
I.16 Use a limited number of non-journal databases for finding relevant information on a topic, where appropriate (e.g. market research databases)
I.17 Determine whether sufficient information has been retrieved to address the topic or question
I.18 Understand the intricacies of plagiarism and how it can be avoided
I.19 Use information gathered to formulate or support own arguments
I.20 Process ideas from several sources and put them together in a reasoned argument