The internet is an incredible invention. You literally have the whole world in your pocket at all times: you can communicate with your aunt in Australia, search for a recipe for buns, or even find sources for your assignment no matter where you are. It sounds undoubtedly fantastic, but can you trust everything you find on the internet? Watch this video and judge for yourself:

You won't believe what Obama says in this video:

After watching this video, you have hopefully answered no to the question above. The fact that the internet is so accessible is good. That's precisely what allows you to stay in touch with your aunt in Australia, but there is also a downside: accessibility means that everyone can post everything. There is no quality control on the internet. As the video shows, even finding news you can trust can be difficult. However, when it comes to writing an academic text, higher demands are placed on finding good, credible, and secure information than when reading the news of the day. Therefore, when looking for good sources for your assignment, it is essential that you are able to navigate the maze of information on the internet and that you can distinguish the reliable sources from the unreliable ones. Being information literate will help you to do this.

In the Norwegian Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning, it is stated that the student - after completing a bachelor's degree - should be able to "find, evaluate and refer to information and scholarly subject matter and present it in a manner that sheds light on the problem" (Ministry of Education and Research, 2011, p. 24). This is the core of the concept of information literacy.

The importance of information literacy is also reflected in your study plan. All study plans at INN include information literacy skills. The formulations vary from program to program, but the content is broadly the same. In the study plan for the Bachelor's degree in Nursing 2021/22, it is stated that the students should develop skills in finding and utilizing high-quality academic information resources within their subject areas, both in education and practice. The plan defines information literacy as the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information and subject matter for one's own needs. This is a key academic competence and the basis for lifelong learning, involving referencing techniques, source criticism, plagiarism, and subject-specific searching (Universitetet i Innlandet, 2023, "Informasjons- og kildekompetanse").

Here we also see that the concept of information literacy is broken down into the following components:

Source criticism - how to assess and evaluate the sources you find to determine if they are suitable for use.
Referencing techniques - how to properly cite the sources you find.
Avoiding plagiarism - knowing when and how to cite others' works, ideas, and efforts.
Subject-specific searching - how to find sources for your own work.

Information literacy is the topic of this learning path. Part 1 of the learning path deals with source criticism and how to determine if the sources you find are suitable for use in your academic work. Part 2 deals with referencing techniques and shows you how to cite your sources correctly. Lastly, part 3, deals with academic integrity and how to avoid plagiarism. Literature searching is subject-specific, so it is not covered in this learning path. However, the library offers courses in literature search for all subjects and programs at the university.

Sources:

Universitetet i Innlandet (2023). BASY Bachelor i sykepleie. Retrieved 7. mars 2023 from https://studiekatalog.edutorium.no/inn/nb/program/BASY/2023

Ministry of Education and Research (2011, December 15). The Norwegian qualifications framework for lifelong learning. Nokut. https://www.nokut.no/en/norwegian-education/the-norwegian-qualifications-framework-for-lifelong-learning/