Information literacy is a process that involves searching for information, evaluating information, and then effectively applying the information for desired outcomes. According to McAskill (2008, 3-6), there are 5 steps in the information literacy process:
1) Recognize information needs,
2) Locate and evaluate quality of information,
3) Store and retrieve information,
4) Make effective & ethical use of information; and,
5) Apply information to create and communicate knowledge.
This analysis will articulate and synthesize four journal articles related to information literacy, showing how information literacy applies to scholarship, practice, and leadership. A conclusion will address the significance of information literacy to my own field, financial services management.
Few scholars or leaders are effective in practice in the modern age without exhibiting a high level of information literacy. The emergence of information technologies in the Information Age mandates such proficiency for success. According to the Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, "Information is expanding at an unprecedented rate, and enormously rapid strides are being made in the technology for storing, organizing, and accessing the ever growing tidal wave of information" (Final, 1989, p. 1). Scholars and leaders cannot resolve problems without access to and application of meaningful information.
In A Reaction to Information Literacy and Higher Education, Diane Zabel (2004) explains that students rely on the Internet as the "primary source" of information for coursework, but one in five "never make a judgment about the quality of information obtained from the Internet or other sources" (p. 17). Scholarship is undermined in practice by the use of information that is of poor quality or from unreliable or non-professional sources. Zabel (2004) argues ...