TWU Libraries

Level 1 Skills Test

The Texas Woman's University Libraries are pleased to offer an Information Literacy Program designed to help you improve your research skills. We provide regularly scheduled orientation tours as well as library workshops and individual and small group instruction at your convenience. Librarians team with faculty to provide discipline specific instruction to university classes and we collaborate with faculty to develop library assignments.
We look forward to working with you.

Information Literacy Skills

1. Recognize and articulate the need for information
2. Identify and use a wide variety of information sources
3. Select and use online catalogs, databases, and the Internet to find and retrieve information
4. Access and use information ethically and legally
5. Analyze and evaluate information

Complete this test to determine your library skills proficiency level.

Choose the most accurate answer to the question. Click on the letter options (the buttons A, B, C, D, or E in each set of answers) and you will receive a popup message. Click on OK in the popup message box to continue.

1. You are given an assignment to write a research paper and you can choose your own topic. Where can you find ideas or topics for your paper?

Internet
TV, radio, newspapers
your textbooks
general or subject specific encyclopedias
all of the above

2. In order to find information about a topic, you must first determine which words best describe what you are searching for. These terms will become the keys for searching online catalogs, databases, and the Internet for information on your topic.

What are the key words or phrases in the following statement?

The employees' excellent work attitudes are directly related to our low rate of absenteeism.

rate and absenteeism
work attitudes and absenteeism and employees
work attitudes and employees

3. Think about other words, descriptors, terms and concepts that you might use. Which of the following might also be used to search for information on this topic?

job attendance and work attitudes
unemployment and absenteeism
salaries and employment

4. Information is available to you in a variety of sources and formats. Some are entertaining and others are more scholarly. Which of the following sources could you use to look for information about unemployment and the stock market?

books
newspapers
journal articles
almanacs
all of the above

5. Which of the following has records showing the locations of all the books, journals, newspapers, and audiovisual materials available through the TWU Libraries?

EbscoHost
TWU Libraries online catalog
Ready Reference

6. After you find a book listed in the online catalog, what do you need to note in order to retrieve the book from the library shelves?

call number and author
location, call number and author
location, call number and status (avaiable or checked-out/discharged)
author and title

7. Which of the following library locations is not in the Denton Main TWU Blagg-Huey Library?

TWU's Woman's Collection
TWU Parkland Library
Main Library - Reference

8. A class you are taking requires that you read three journal articles related to a topic of your choosing. Which of the following would be the correct resource to use to find and select journal articles?

an online library catalog
an index (database or print)
an encyclopedia

9. AND, OR, & NOT are terms that can help you limit or broaden your results when you are searching for journal articles on a specific topic. Read the following assignment and select the search statement that will retrieve the best information.

Discuss mandatory prison sentences as a deterrent to driving under the influence of alcohol.

prison and alcohol and driving
prison or alcohol and driving
prison or driving

10. Which two of the following indicates that a journal is scholarly?

very current information and splashy advertisements
articles have footnotes or bibliographies and go through a peer review process where they are critiqued by experts in the field
sold at supermarkets and lots of color pictures

11. Which of the following is a true statement?

Everything you read on the Internet is true.
Material that is found on the Internet can be legally freely used in personal web pages.
Material that you create for the web is protected by copyright.

12. A student should provide full citations to the sources used in a research paper in order to:

give credit to the author
allow others to find the sources
lend credibility to the research paper
all of the above

13. Which two of the following choices will help you cite sources properly?

a style manual
Citing Resources web page
a bibliography
a and b
b and c

14. Name some of the ways you can request help from a librarian.

use the Ask a Librarian request form.
call or go to the library information desk.
call the librarian on his/her cell phone at 3 am in the morning.
a and b

If you have questions or need help with your research, please email us and we will be happy to assist you.