Written by Announcement for all sections of INFO 200 SP 2026
As you continue developing your blog reports and working toward the literature review matrix and final paper, I want to clarify expectations around sources and graduate-level writing in INFO 200.
This course is grounded in scholarly research. Your work should focus on library and information science (LIS) studies that examine the information behaviors and information needs of your chosen information community. The literature review matrix, in particular, should consist of peer-reviewed scholarly research found via your own independent research.
Graduate-level writing in INFO 200 means:
• Supporting claims with research evidence
• Synthesizing peer-reviewed studies
• Framing your analysis within LIS theory (from the LIS model/theory assignment)
If direct LIS research on your specific community is limited, you may draw from:
• Studies of closely related or overlapping communities
• Broader studies your community fits within (Think creatives/artists for a paper focusing on Zine creators or health info seeking studies in general for a specialized info community related to certain conditions or diseases.)
• Relevant research from adjacent fields (e.g., education, health, sociology) — especially when it meaningfully informs information behavior or information access
However, the backbone of your analysis should remain research-based and theoretically informed.
If you find yourself making assertions about a community’s information behaviors, technology use, or lived experience, pause and ask: What research supports this? That habit is central to the intellectual work of this course.
Keep digging in the LIS databases and continue building a strong scholarly foundation for your work.
