1. Locating Valid & Reliable Information: On the Web Other Sources
Information Literacy:Presentation2 PTH 511 By Michael Parker,PhD, PT ,FACSM
Locating Valid & Reliable Information:
On the Web
Other Sources

2. What is Information Literacy?
The ability to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information

3. What does it mean to be information Literate? You are able to:
Identify need for information & formulate questions based on the information needed
Identify sources of information
Implement successful information search strategies
Critically evaluate and use information for a specific purpose
Use information ethically and legally

4. Identify need for information & formulate questions based on the information needed
Writing the Proposal for the Scholarly Project:
Identifies need for information – Justification of the Project, “The so-what?”
Formulate research question related to the justification or need for the information.
In this class, the you will write a clinical “PICO” research question in your assignment.
You will write a clinically focused question, addressing a Patient, Intervention, Comparison, & Outcome, a “PICO” question.

5. Identify sources of information
Sources of information related to the field of physical therapy that are reliable and valid:
On the Web
Other Sources, Library
Levels of Evidence (Strength of Research Design) and Primary vs. Secondary Sources

6. Implement successful information search strategies
Access the electronic Research data base resources available at the Welder Library
Access other electronic data base resources available through the APTA
Journals related to the physical therapy profession

7. Critically evaluate and use information for a specific purpose
Defining the foundational terms and principles of Research Design
Assess physical therapy research relative to the quality of the research design
Based on the research design, defend the use of the information to address a given research question.

8. Use information ethically and legally
Use AMA style to properly cite the information and honor an individual’s intellectual property

9. Evaluation of Web Sources: Some Guidelines1
Authors Credentials?
Information timely or current?
Intended Audience? Professionals, Scholars, practitioners, public, etc…
Web Page Accuracy, objective, supported by other primary sources-high level evidence?
Absence of Slanted Tone? Informs or Persuades/Sells?
Triangulation of Sources that agree with Web page findings, i.e., 3 sources to validate