The content of these pages is based on the Library's Critical Information Practices Framework, a curriculum for students and research skill development training offered by the Library.
For students
Use the framework to reflect upon your own development. Each of the strands below form a skillset and a phase of the research process, and are divided into three levels: undergraduate, dissertation and postgraduate taught, and postgraduate researcher. Read across all six strands, or focus on the skills that are most useful for your current project.
For staff
Use the framework to think about how information practices are included in your teaching, and whether some of the skills set out below might be incorporated into subject teaching or module learning outcomes – from scoping a literature search through to evaluating sources. The Research and Academic Support team would be delighted to discuss embedding Critical Information Practices training into modules.
Critical Information Practices
The skills you need for Library research, and support to develop them, from undergraduate to doctoral researcher.
Understanding the context of information means understanding the processes through which information and content is created or generated, how it is used, the systems in which it is stored, found and interacted with, and the responsibilities which accompany its use. It also means understanding how changes in technology, including AI, have significantly reshaped this context, presenting further ethical and critical considerations for users and creators of information.
Planning and preparation are phases of the research process which define the scope of the project, identify the information required, and formulate a strategy to acquire it. Although planning will always take place at the beginning of a project, plans will be refined and reformulated throughout the research lifecycle as more information is acquired and the scope of a project changes.
Undertaking the search is the process of putting the planning into practice, implementing the search strategy and navigating the results; this involves employing the features of different search tools and databases and knowing what to do with them.
Evaluate critically refers to the ability to ask questions about information sources, including AI generated outputs, to assess their strengths and weaknesses and make balanced judgements about them. It involves learning to evaluate search results, which may require returning to planning and searching, and to choose the most appropriate information sources for a need.
Being an organised researcher means keeping appropriate records of research material and storing it purposefully and carefully. Careful storage and record keeping ensures the resilience of individual research projects, and enables effective communication of research.
Communication is the skill employed when using research sources and shaping material into an output; this ranges from adherence to the conventions of scholarly writing and acknowledgement of sources, through to formulating a publication strategy.
This framework sets out the information practices and research skills which are needed during each phase of the research process, from planning a search for information through to communicating your research. It is built to help students to assess their own skills, and to help module leaders to build research skills into their curricula.
Explore the six strands and consider which of your skills to develop or consider where Critical Information Practices might form part of a module.
