Information search · 3/6

Match the channel to the question

Choose documentation, research, data or reporting and trace the actual evidence.

About 15–20 minutes. The following cases are fictional.

Record your first judgment

A review says a tool supports team export; an old tutorial says it does not. Both rank highly. Which should you trust?

My initial judgment, confidence and reasons

Understand the judgment process

Check version, plan and update date first: both may describe different conditions. For current features, locate the applicable official instructions and test if needed. Official documentation is close to the publisher but may be incomplete or lag unusual behavior.

Reviews of research can map terminology and scope; original studies supply particular methods and data. Primary status is question-dependent: a launch statement establishes what an organization said, not necessarily whether its effect claim is true.

News locates events and disputes; follow it to notices, reports, datasets or studies. Search and AI summaries are leads. Do not treat an unopened citation as verified. Preserve the section supporting the claim, not just a homepage.

Checks you can perform

Decide whether you need rules, data, methods or reporting.
Check date, version and population.
Follow citations to the evidence-bearing source.
State what that material does and does not support.

Guided practice

How would you resolve the team-export conflict?

My analysis and checking plan

Explore the explanation

Compare plans and versions; find current export documentation and release notes; test a small sample under the target account. Preserve unresolved discrepancies and seek support. Ranking is not applicability.

Apply it in a new context

News reports higher use of public spaces in a city. What must you check before citing the number?

My independent response

Compare after attempting

Trace the table or report: place, period, definition, denominator, collection and revisions. Repetition of one report does not create independent data.

Preserve a revision record

What changed your judgment? What still supports it? When will you review?

Neither an official domain nor a primary-source label guarantees reliability. Fit and methods still matter.

Check whether you supplied inspectable evidence, a feasible next step and revision conditions. Revealing an answer is not mastery.

Source and scope

Cornell University Library — Getting Started with Library Research

The source provides conceptual or methodological background. Cases, steps and exercises are authored here; they are not the original experiment or evidence of this course’s effectiveness.

I have completed this section; uncheck to undo

Completion is a personal record, not proof of mastery or certification.