Internet, Research & Information Literacy

This module develops learners' ability to find, evaluate and ethically use digital information. Students practise advanced search techniques, assess source credibility, and identify misinformation, deepfakes and manipulated media. The course also introduces scholarly databases, DOIs and peer review as cornerstones of academic research. Learners finish able to construct a reliable research trail suitable for university-level work.

Learning Outcomes

Construct precise web queries using Boolean operators and search modifiers.

Evaluate online sources using the ACC (Accuracy, Credibility, Currency) framework.

Distinguish between peer-reviewed, grey and popular sources.

Locate and cite scholarly articles via Google Scholar and open repositories.

Recognise misinformation, disinformation and deepfakes in online media.

Use DOIs and persistent URLs to retrieve and share academic resources.

Apply ethical research practices including citation and avoidance of plagiarism.

Describe how search engines rank results and how personalisation affects discovery.

Topics Covered

How the web, URLs and HTTPS work

Search engine mechanics and ranking factors

Advanced search operators (site:, filetype:, intitle:, OR, quotes, minus)

Boolean logic in queries

Source evaluation and the ACC framework

Primary vs secondary vs tertiary sources

Peer review and academic publishing

Google Scholar, DOAJ and institutional repositories

DOIs, ORCID and persistent identifiers

Misinformation, disinformation and malinformation

Deepfakes, manipulated images and reverse image search

Fact-checking tools and workflows

Citation styles (APA, Harvard, MLA, Chicago)

Digital footprint and online privacy

Skills Developed

Formulating precise research questions Executing advanced web searches Critically appraising online information Using academic databases Detecting manipulated media Citing sources correctly Managing a personal research library Protecting personal data online

Suggested Resources

{'title': 'Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers', 'author': 'Mike Caulfield', 'source': 'webliteracy.pressbooks.com'}

{'title': 'Google Search Help: Operators', 'author': 'Google', 'source': 'support.google.com/websearch'}

{'title': 'Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning', 'author': 'Stanford History Education Group', 'source': 'sheg.stanford.edu'}

{'title': 'Research Skills Toolkit', 'author': 'JISC UK', 'source': 'jisc.ac.uk'}

{'title': 'DOI Handbook', 'author': 'International DOI Foundation', 'source': 'doi.org'}

{'title': 'Detecting Deepfakes', 'author': 'MIT Media Lab', 'source': 'detectfakes.media.mit.edu'}

{'title': 'Creative Commons Licence Chooser', 'author': 'Creative Commons', 'source': 'creativecommons.org'}

Assessment

Assessment combines a structured search log, a short annotated bibliography, a misinformation case-study report, and a multiple-choice final test on information literacy concepts.

search_log25%

annotated_bibliography25%

case_study_report25%

final_mcq_test25%

Practice bank: 199 MCQs · Timed mock & self-paced modes

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