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INFO 200 – Information Communities

Literature Review Matrix

Here you will find the requirements and guidelines for the assignment followed by an assignment helper to get you started!

View a video about the assignment:

Description:

The literature matrix assignment is an organizational tool to help you prepare for writing the literature review section of your research paper. This assignment is designed to introduce you to LIS databases and other information sources and get you started on your information community research (Course Learning Outcomes: #1, #2 and #3).

By completing the literature review matrix assignment you will:

  • Focus your literature search
  • Develop reading and summarizing skills
  • Hone citation skills
  • Build understanding about research on your selected information community
  • Reflect, analyze and gain new perspectives on your information community’s information behavior and use

Use the provided template to organize your selected scholarly research and professional resources. Be sure to fill in each of the template components in order to capture all key elements of each article and organize your thoughts on how each fits in the research landscape.

Requirements:

Using LIS databases and other pertinent information sources, such as Google Scholar, locate 8 scholarly and/or peer-reviewed studies about the information needs and information-seeking behaviors of your chosen information community. These sources cannot be ones assigned throughout the course and should represent your independent research into your chosen information community. You can use sources that you have previously referenced throughout your blog posts and these sources can be utilized in your research paper. Make sure to download and use the provided template for this assignment. Your total score will be lowered if you do not use the provided template.

**Download the LitReviewMatrixTemplate_INFO200Rev3

Getting Started:

Begin by defining your selected information community and the value of studying the chosen community. Your research should focus on understanding the information seeking behaviors and needs of your chosen community.

Search LIS and related databases for scholarly and/or peer reviewed sources and identify scholarly sources that research the information behavior and needs of your information community. Collect the APA 7 style citations for each source and make sure each citation is correctly formatted. If you have trouble locating appropriate materials, check in with our King Library library liaison!

Use the Literature Review Matrix template while working with your sources. For each source, use one row to provide details about the article (e.g. authors, main ideas, methods, analysis, results, assumptions, conclusions) and your analysis of it (e.g. your conclusions distinct from the authors and the implications you see). Do this for all 8 scholarly, peer-reviewed studies, as noted above.  

Submission:

  • Worth 15 points, which is 15% of your total grade. 
  • Submit your Literature Review Matrix to Canvas (not your blog) using the naming convention: “LastName_NameofAssignment” as a PDF or Word document. 
  • All assignments are due on Sundays unless otherwise noted and must be turned in by 11:59 p.m. PT.   
  • If life circumstances require students to request an extension, please do so several days before the assignment is due or as soon as possible. 

Assignment Helper – LRM

The Literature Review Matrix (LRM) is intended to be critical exploration and evaluation of scholarly writings on a topic (in this case, your information community). In this assignment helper, you will find a step-by-step guide on how to successfully complete your Literature Review Matrix. You will find information on how to find reliable and applicable sources, as well as past examples you can use as references while completing your own work and information on how to correctly fill out the provided template.

In your formal research paper, the literature review provides context and background for your own study and illustrates how your research will contribute to a particular area of study. This assignment meets the INFO 200’s learning goals #1-3, and will give you experience in synthesizing the articles you have located concerning your community’s information behaviors. You will use this organizational tool to help you prepare for writing the literature review section of your research paper.

Download the example Literature Review Matrix with three entries: 

LitReviewMatrix_INFO200EXAMPLE

Getting Started:

  • Set aside time for researching your information community. Keep track of your potential sources using your choice of citation manager. Keeping an ongoing APA 7 formatted bibliography is a tremendous time-saver and helps ensure you properly acknowledge research sources.
  • Visit INFO 200 LibGuide for additional research tips.
  • Review the assignment rubric and requirements.

Determining Appropriate Sources:

  • The Literature Review Matrix assignment requires 8 secondary sources about the information needs and information-seeking behaviors of your chosen information community. The sources must be scholarly, peer reviewed articles or books. If you are unsure whether a publication is peer reviewed, visit ulrichsweb.com.
  • Consider these questions as overarching guides: 
    • What themes of information behavior did you find in your deep dive of the literature? 
    • What type of information does your community seek? 
    • Where do they look? 
    • Where can they find it?
  • While many sources might be useful in the research process to develop your understanding of the topic, the Literature Review Matrix is best managed through mindful selection of sources that best answer the aim of the assignment: what are the information behaviors and needs of your chosen community?

Completing the Matrix:

  • Download the LitReviewMatrixTemplate_INFO200Rev3. In the first section, define/describe your chosen Information Community and explain the significance of studying the information behaviors of this group (e.g. why is this research important). This can be an updated and revised version of your Blog Report #2.
  • For the Statement of Research box, craft a statement regarding your information community and what you want to learn about their information behaviors and needs and how libraries or information centers might provide services to them. For example: The paper based on these articles will demonstrate my understanding of the information behaviors and needs of your chosen community and how libraries and information centers might provide or update services to meet their needs. Customize the statement to reflect your information community.
  • Look up one of the articles from the example provided above and give it a quick read. Compare what you took away from the reading to the entry provided in the Matrix.
  • Use the Literature Review Matrix template. For each source, use one row to provide details about the article (e.g. authors, main ideas, methods, analysis, results, assumptions, conclusions) and your analysis of it (e.g. your conclusions distinct from the authors and the implications you see).
  • Utilize the King Library’s How to Read a Scholarly Article as a guide for filling in the Matrix.
  • Do this for all of your 8 scholarly, peer-reviewed studies, as noted above. Remember that these sources cannot be ones assigned throughout the course and should be representative of your independent research.
  • In the final section, list all of your sources included in the Matrix and your description/definition in APA 7 format.

Before submitting your assignment:

  • Spell and grammar check your document.   
  • Make sure everything is correctly formatted based on the APA 7 guidelines.
  • Take a break from your document and come back later to manually proofread your work.  
  • Ask a peer to proofread your document – offer to do the same for them.
  • If you submit your assignment on Canvas prior to the due date and discover you have corrections to make, you can re-submit your assignment prior to the deadline.
  • Submit your Literature Review Matrix to Canvas (not your blog) using the naming convention: “LastName_NameofAssignment” as a PDF or Word document. 
  • If life circumstances require students to request an extension, please do so several days before the assignment is due or as soon as possible.

Below are the three articles covered in the example of the Literature Review Matrix:

Cooke, N. A. (2017). Posttruth, truthiness, and alternative facts: Information behavior and critical information consumption for a new age. Library quarterly: Information, community, policy, 3, 211-221.

Pang, N., & Goh, D. P. C. (2016). Are we all here for the same purpose? social media and individualized collective action. Online Information Review, 40(4), 544-559. http://dx.doi.org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/10.1108/OIR-10-2015-0337

Tufekci, Z. (2013). “Not this one”: Social movements, the attention economy, and microcelebrity networked activism. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(7), 848-870. doi: 10.1177/0002764213479369

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