#SearchSmart! Information Literacy Tutorial

Bibliographic Database
A database that contains records of publications, including books, articles, reports, and other documents, often including abstracts and other bibliographic details.

Bibliographical Reference
A set of elements (such as author, title, publication date, publisher, etc.) that uniquely identify a document and are presented according to standardized and internationally agreed styles.

Bibliography
A systematic list of works, documents, and sources related to a specific author or subject, described and ordered according to a consistent criterion.

Boolean Operator
A word or symbol used in search queries to combine or exclude keywords. Common Boolean operators include AND, OR, and NOT, which help refine search results.

Browsing
In a bibliographic search, it refers to the action of scrolling through an ordered list of terms.

Catalogue
An ordered list of documents owned by one or more libraries, described using consistent standards and uniform principles. The main purpose of the catalogue is to help users find the documents they need in the library. Most catalogues are available online and are known as OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue).

Citation
A reference to a source of information. It typically includes the author, title, publication date, and other relevant details necessary to identify and locate the source.

Citation Style
A set of rules on how to cite sources in academic writing. Common styles include APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard.

Conceptual Maps
Graphical diagrams used to show the links between concepts (expressed as keywords), especially in terms of hierarchical relationships and connections.

Copyright
A declaration of the exclusive right to publish or distribute a particular work.

Database
An organised collection of information, data, and documents in digital form, accessible through various query channels.

Digital Library
An online collection of digital objects, such as texts, images, and multimedia, which can be accessed electronically.

Document Delivery (DD)
The delivery of a document reproduction, such as an article from a periodical.

Document
An entity in any form and medium that contains useful information for consultation, study, and research. This includes written documents (books, articles, manuscripts), iconographic documents (images, portraits, drawings, photographs), audio (phonograph records, tapes), visual (films, microfilms), audiovisual (combining audio and visual), and realia (coins, medals, reliefs).

E-Book
An electronic version of a printed book that can be read on a computer or handheld device.

Editor
The person in charge of compiling a work that includes several texts but is not the author of all individual contributions.

Field
In computer language, it is the smallest information unit of a database record (e.g., Author, Title, Subject) meant to hold a homogeneous group of data. It also refers to the relevant query box in a search form.

Full-Text Database
A database that provides the complete text of documents, such as journal articles, books, and reports, rather than just citations or abstracts.

None at the moment.

Please send suggestions to sjeffries@uwc.ac.za.

Hold
A request for an item that is currently checked out to another user. The item will be reserved for the requester when it is returned.

Impact Factor
A measure used to establish the influence of a scientific journal. It is calculated by relating the number of articles published in a journal within a given period to the number of citations they received in the specialised literature. In a given year, the impact factor of a journal is the number of citations received in that year for articles published during the preceding two years, divided by the total number of articles published in those two years.

Indexing
The process by which the contents of a resource (catalogue, database, search engine) are made searchable by applying or combining various query criteria (author, title, subject).

Information Literacy
A set of skills useful for retrieving, locating, evaluating, and using information effectively.

Information Retrieval
The process of obtaining information from databases, libraries, or other repositories based on user queries.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
A service that allows patrons of one library to obtain books owned by other libraries.

Issue
A single number of a periodical publication.

Journal
A periodical publication that contains scholarly articles, research findings, and reviews, often peer-reviewed.

Journal Article
A scholarly article published in an academic or professional journal. It presents original research, reviews, or theoretical discussions and is often peer-reviewed.

Keyword
A meaningful word in a text or title used as an access point in bibliographic searches.

Keyword Searching
A search method that uses words or phrases to find information in databases or search engines, based on matching the keywords with indexed terms in the records.

None at the moment.

Please send suggestions to sjeffries@uwc.ac.za.

Metadata
Data that describes other data, such as the author, title, and keywords of a document, helping to identify and manage information resources.

Monograph
A non-periodical publication designed as a complete unit, not intended to continue indefinitely. It can be in print or electronic format.

None at the moment.

Please send suggestions to sjeffries@uwc.ac.za.

Open Access
A publishing model that allows free and unrestricted access to scholarly research, making articles available online without subscription fees.

OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue)
See Catalogue.

Peer Review
A validation process for scholarly literature where manuscripts are anonymously reviewed by experts (peers) in the field before publication to ensure quality. Also known as refereeing.

Periodical
A publication issued regularly in subsequent parts, with numerical and chronological indications, intended to continue indefinitely.

Plagiarism
The practice of using someone else's work or ideas without proper attribution, considered a serious academic offense.

Primary Source
An original document or firsthand account of an event, such as diaries, letters, research data, or historical documents.

Proxy
A service that allows remote access to subscribed electronic resources with restricted access, from outside the University network.

Reference
A library service providing answers to users' questions, identifying and interpreting their needs using available resources in the most convenient and complete way. It can also be done remotely through modern communication systems.

Reference List
A list of all the sources cited in a research paper or publication, usually presented at the end of the document.

Referencing / Reference
The act of citing sources in your work to acknowledge the ideas and research of others and to provide evidence for your arguments.

Realia
Physical objects used as teaching aids, such as coins, models, or artifacts.

Review Article
A type of journal article that summarizes and synthesizes the existing research on a particular topic, often identifying trends, gaps, and future directions.

Refereeing
See Peer Review.

Reference
A library service providing answers to users' questions, identifying and interpreting their needs using available resources in the most convenient and complete way. It can also be done remotely through modern communication systems.

Secondary Source
A document that discusses, interprets, or analyzes primary sources, such as reviews, critiques, and textbooks.

Source
Any context (data, document, person, entity) from which direct information on a certain topic can be obtained to draw data and evidence, trace a specific historical period, or determine the dimensions and variations of a particular phenomenon over time and space.

Subject
A term or combination of terms, expressed in controlled language, that describes the topic of a work.

Subject Vocabulary
A vocabulary of terms and related references considered most appropriate to express the content of a document, and therefore usable in the search by subject. Subject vocabularies are usually integrated into online catalogues.

Tertiary Source
A source that compiles and summarizes information from primary and secondary sources, such as encyclopedias, directories, and textbooks.

Thesaurus
A glossary of terms related to a general or specific field of knowledge, linked in a hierarchical and relational order to provide a controlled vocabulary useful for document searches.

uKwazi
A information resource discovery tool used by the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to provide access to various academic resources and services.

UWC Library Services
The library services offered by the University of the Western Cape, including access to physical and digital collections, research support, and various information literacy programs.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
A web address that allows access to a resource on the Internet.

Virtual Reference
A library service that provides assistance to users through digital communication methods, such as chat, email, or video conferencing.

Volume
A set of issues or a year of a periodical publication.

Webinar
An online seminar or workshop that allows participants to interact with presenters and access information remotely.

Wildcards
Symbols that replace one or more characters at the beginning, end, or middle of a word. Wildcard characters may vary between databases (e.g., *, $, !).

None at the moment.

Please send suggestions to sjeffries@uwc.ac.za.

None at the moment.

Please send suggestions to sjeffries@uwc.ac.za.

None at the moment.

Please send suggestions to sjeffries@uwc.ac.za.