Information Literacy

Knowing what sources you need and how to find them is VERY important. Information-literate individuals can identify the type of information they need, locate reliable and valuable sources, and access and use them. As part of your deep dive, you need to be able to:

• determine keywords
• search online and the college library
• determine if results are trustworthy, reliable, and valid
• determine if results are helpful

For assistance, visit the Lehman library at Library Link

Reading & Note Taking

Reading academic sources to synthesize them for an answer requires careful, slow reading. Notes are a key part of ensuring you have gotten what you need from your sources during your deep dive. Unlike reading for pleasure and entertainment, using structured strategies like 3Reads can help you gain more from your reading time, ensure you understand what you are reading, and prevent re-reading and revisiting (and if you must reread or revisit, it can make that work easier and more effective).

Synthesis

Synthesis is the process of critical and creative thought, combining evidence with your knowledge base. Synthesis happens when you combine the knowledge and ideas you gain from your readings to answer teh question from your deep dive. Synthesis is stating your new conclusions and answers, using evidence from others’ readings. Many students mix up summary (briefly restating what a source says) with synthesis (using sources to support ideas, answers, and conclusions). For more information on synthesis, you might want to view this source from Excelsior College. 

For assistance with note-taking, reading, and synthesis, visit the Tutoring Center at Instructional Support Services Link