1. The Advantages & Pitfalls of
Teaching Legal Research
Techniques to
Generation Google
Jamie Marie Keller, JD, MLIS
Reference Law Librarian
Florida Coastal School of Law
Presented to North Carolina Central University,
School of Law

2. Roadmap
 Literacy & Ability of Generation Google
 The Single Search Box Conundrum
 The Wikipedia Debate
 Three Ways to Incorporate Information
Literacy into Every Class

3. Types of Literacy
Lane Wilkinson, Reorganizing Literacy, SENSE & REFERENCE (Sept. 19, 2011),
http://senseandreference.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/reorganizing-literacy/.

4. Information Literacy Defined
A set of abilities requiring individuals to
„recognize when information is needed and
have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use
effectively the needed information.‟
Assoc. of Coll. & Research Libraries, Info. Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Educ., AMN. LIBRARIES ASSOC.
(2012), http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency.

5. Information Literacy
Basic Research Skills
Recognize Need for Information
Construct Research Strategy
Locate & Access
Compare & Evaluate
Organize, Apply, & Communicate
Synthesize & Create
Novice Beginner Competent Proficient Expert
Adapted from SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy (England), in Irmin Allner, Designing
Effective Writing Assignments and the Teaching of Information Literacy, (Sept. 2009),
http://www.tamuk.edu/cte/PRESENTATIONS/effective_writing_assignments_september2009.ppt

6. Advantages & Pitfalls of
Generation Google Searching
1. Can access print & 1. Rely mostly on digital
digital sources sources
2. Don‟t use controlled
2. Use keyword vocabulary or operators
searches
3. Don‟t use databases
3. Use search engines 4. Rely on “name brands”
4. Want to be efficient 5. Unable to evaluate source
researchers
6. Unable to cite the info
properly
ILENE F. ROCKMAN, Introduction: The Importance of Information Literacy, in INTEGRATING INFORMATION LITERACY INTO THE
HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM: PRACTICAL MODELS FOR TRANSFORMATION (2004) available at
http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/78/07879652/0787965278.pdf; Alison J. Head & Michael B. Eisenberg,
Finding Context: What Today’s College Students Say about Conducting Research in the Digital Age, PROJECT INFORMATION
LITERACY PROGRESS REPORT (Feb. 4, 2009), http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf.

7. Even Google Recognizes a Lack of
Search Ability as a Problem
 A Google a Day - http://agoogleaday.com/
 Power Searching with Google MOOC -
http://www.powersearchingwithgoogle.com/
See also, Daniel M. Russell, aGoogleADay in the Classroom, SEARCHRESEARCH
(July 30, 2012) http://searchresearch1.blogspot.com/2012/07/agoogleaday-in-
classroom.html.

8. Single Search Box Conundrum

9. Single Search Box Conundrum
 Just Search!
 Familiar look & feel
 They don‟t think about the info they already have
 A great way to include info literacy instruction
 Most students start at Google or Wikipedia
Alison J. Head & Michael B. Eisenberg, Finding Context: What Today’s College Students Say about Conducting Research in
the Digital Age, PROJECT INFORMATION LITERACY PROGRESS REPORT (Feb. 4, 2009),
http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf; British Library, Researchers of Tomorrow: The Research
Behaviour of Generation Y Doctoral Students, JOINT INFORMATION SYSTEMS COMMITTEE (June 2012)
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/reports/2012/researchers-of-tomorrow.aspx.

10. The Wikipedia Debate
 Even courts are citing to Wikipedia, why
can‟t we?
◦ Courts use it for “the wisdom of the crowd”
◦ Issues with reliability, as anyone can edit
Use it as a starting point!
See, Hanna B. Murray & Jason C. Miller, Wikipedia in Court: When & How Citing Wikipedia & Other Consensus Websites is
Appropriate, SSRN (June 30, 2010), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1502759; Noam Cohen, Courts Turn
to Wikipedia, but Selectively, N.Y. TIMES, (Jan. 29, 2007) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/29/technology/29wikipedia.html;
Joe Palazzolo, Which Federal Appeals Court Cites Wikipedia Most Often?, WALL ST. J. L. BLOG (Apr. 2012).,
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/04/23/which-federal-appeals-court-cites-wikipedia-most/; Dan Baker, Wikipedia at the Federal
Circuit Courts of Appeal, NOTA BENE, U. OF HOUS. O‟QUIN L. LIBR. BLOG (Apr. 28, 2012),
http://notabeneuh.blogspot.com/2012/04/wikipedia-at-federal-circuit-courts-of.html; Dan Baker, Wikipedia at the Federal
Circuit Courts of Appeal – Part 2, NOTA BENE, U. OF HOUS. O‟QUIN L. LIBR. BLOG (May 30, 2012),
http://notabeneuh.blogspot.com/2012/05/wikipedia-in-federal-courts-part-2.html; Dan Baker, Wikipedia in State Courts – Part
3, NOTA BENE, U. OF HOUS. O‟QUIN L. LIBR. BLOG (July 14, 2012), http://notabeneuh.blogspot.com/2012/07/wikipedia-in-state-
courts-part-3.html.

11. WebEmpires.org, in Andrew Liszewski, The Top 50 Sources Where Wikipedia Gets Its Facts, Gizmodo (Jul. 26, 2012, 9:00 am),
http://gizmodo.com/5929207/the-top-50-sources-where-wikipedia-gets-its-facts.

12. The Wikipedia Debate
 Two reasons to use Wikipedia
1. To gain a basic understanding of an
unfamiliar idea
a. Jitney
2. To find synonyms or terms of art for
searching
a. rail track width

13. Information Literacy
Basic Research Skills
Recognize Need for Information
Construct Research Strategy
Locate & Access
Compare & Evaluate
Organize, Apply, & Communicate
Synthesize & Create
Novice Beginner Competent Proficient Expert
Adapted from SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy (England), in Irmin Allner, Designing
Effective Writing Assignments and the Teaching of Information Literacy, (Sept. 2009),
http://www.tamuk.edu/cte/PRESENTATIONS/effective_writing_assignments_september2009.ppt

14. Three Ways to Incorporate
Info Literacy into Every Class
1. Make every question & assignment use
operators and/or Wikipedia
2. Introduce one to three new operators in
every class session
3. Class discussion on why using the source
& have students evaluate it

15. Questions?
Jamie Marie Keller, JD, MLIS
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