MUS 351: Introduction to Music History I
Information Literacy Assignment Workbook
MUS 351 partially satisfies University Studies in Information Literacy [IL]. What exactly do we mean when we say “information literacy,” and why is it important?
The American Library Association (ALA)has defined information literacy as
“a set of abilities requiring individuals to:
- recognize when information is needed and
- have the ability to (a) locate, (b) evaluate, and (c) use effectively the needed information.”
The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL)has defined information literacy as
“the set of integrated abilities encompassing:
- the reflective discovery of information,
- the understanding of how information is (a) produced and (b) valued, and
- the use of information in (a) creating new knowledge and (b) participating ethically in communities of learning.”
UNCW’s University Studies program recognizes that:
- Information literacy skills have become crucial for any lifelong learner, in part due to rapidly changing information technologies and increased access to a variety of information resources.
- A student’s ability to make critical choices about information is essential during his or her college career and beyond.
- Information literacy is essential in all disciplines and achieving information literacy skills positions students for academic, professional, and personal success.
To foster the development of students’ information literacy skills within the music curriculum, this course shares the following Common Student Learning Outcomeswith other IL coursesat UNCW. In accordance with these learning outcomes, students will:
- Develop an effective strategy to search for, identify, and retrieve information in order to fully address an information need. (IL 1)
- Analyze retrieved information in order to evaluate its currency, authority, accuracy, relevance, and purpose. (IL 2)
- Synthesize and appropriately cite retrieved information in order to ensure information is utilized ethically and legally. (IL 3)
- Create a finished portfolio of written assignments –annotated bibliography, program notes, literature review, and research project prospectus –using retrieved information, and reflect on the iterative processes used to find, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically and legally utilize information. (IL 4)
To achieve these learning outcomes, our work will be shaped by several threshold concepts (core ideas that, once understood, open up new pathways to understanding and participating in the discipline). These concepts are outlined in the ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education.
Final portfolios will be evaluated using the Information Literacy and Written Communication VALUE rubrics designed by the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U).
Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education
Chicago: Association of College & Research Libraries, 2015
Searching as Strategic Exploration
Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops.
The act of searching often begins with a question that directs the act of finding needed information. Encompassing inquiry, discovery, and serendipity, searching identifies both possible relevant sources as well as the means to access those sources. Experts realize that information searching is a contextualized, complex experience that affects, and is affected by, the cognitive, affective, and social dimensions of the searcher. Novice learners may search a limited set of resources, while experts may search more broadly and deeply to determine the most appropriate information within the project scope. Likewise, novice learners tend to use few search strategies, while experts select from various search strategies, depending on the sources, scope, and context of the information need.
Knowledge Practices
Learners who are developing their information literate abilities
- determine the initial scope of the task required to meet their information needs;
- identify interested parties, such as scholars, organizations, governments, and industries, who might produce information about a topic and then determine how to access that information;
- utilize divergent (e.g., brainstorming) and convergent (e.g., selecting the best source) thinking when searching;
- match information needs and search strategies to appropriate search tools;
- design and refine needs and search strategies as necessary, based on search results;
- understand how information systems (i.e., collections of recorded information) are organized in order to access relevant information;
- use different types of searching language (e.g., controlled vocabulary, keywords, natural language) appropriately;
- manage searching processes and results effectively.
Dispositions
Learners who are developing their information literate abilities
- exhibit mental flexibility and creativity
- understand that first attempts at searching do not always produce adequate results
- realize that information sources vary greatly in content and format and have varying relevance and value, depending on the needs and nature of the search
- seek guidance from experts, such as librarians, researchers, and professionals
- recognize the value of browsing and other serendipitous methods of information gathering
- persist in the face of search challenges, and know when they have enough information to complete the information task
Searching as Strategic Exploration
Assignment
Part I: Topic Selection and Determining Information Needs.“The act of searching often begins with a question that directs the act of finding needed information. […] Learners who are developing their information literate abilities determine the initial scope of the task required to meet their information needs.”
Choose a single musical work (or a particular aria/song or movement from a large-scale work)that you are currently studying in your applied lessons or performing in an ensemble. This work can date from any era in music history, but it should be a work not covered in MUS 351–352 classes (choose a composition not already included in theNorton Anthology of Western Music).
Now imagine that, for your upcoming public performance of this work, you will provide your audience with written program notes that will help them better understand the historical/aesthetic context of the piece and its composer. What are program notes? Read the two professional examples provided in Jonathan Bellman’s Short Guide to Writing About Music(Chapter 4, “Practical Writing: Program and Liner Notes,” pp. 55–65).
In each example, what information does the author share about the piece and its composer? Make a list of all the items of information (e.g., date of composition/premiere performance, geographic location, composer’s biographical details, reception, analysis of the piece, etc.) that each author chose to include. Then, based on these two examples, make a list of all the types of information that might be included in program notes.
Program Notes Example 1: Giovanni Gabrieli, Canzona
Program Notes Example 2: Tommaso Albinoni, Oboe Concerto in G minor
Informationto Potentially Include in Program Notes:
Without looking up any information, what existing knowledge do you already have about the work you’ve chosen? In a brainstorm, write down everything that you know (off the top of your head!) about the work and its composer.
Based on the two examples of professional program notes you’ve read and given your existing knowledge, make a list of information that you need to find in order to successfully write your program notes. What information do you hope to discover about your chosen work and, in turn, share with audience members to help enhance their appreciation of the music? Keep in mind that you may not be able to find all of the information you seek, so use this space to brainstorm all of the research questions you have about your selected work.
Searching as Strategic Exploration
Assignment
Part II: Creating a Preliminary Bibliography, Locating Sources
Learners who are developing their information literate abilities:
- identify interested parties, such as scholars, organizations, governments, and industries, who might produce information about a topic and then determine how to access that information
- match information needs and search strategies to appropriate search tools
- use different types of searching language (e.g., controlled vocabulary, keywords, natural language) appropriately.”
What are your current strategies and practices for finding information? How would you go about locating the information you need to write your program notes?
-Without looking ahead in this handbookand being completely honest (it’s okay!!), write down your go-to methodology (i.e., step-by-step search process you would normally follow).What search tools are you using, and what terms are you using to search?
-Using that methodology, create a bibliography of your sources (including any audio/video recordings) in Chicago/Turabian style. Use the Turabian manual, the back of Bellman’s Short Guide to Writing About Music, or Purdue OWL to ensure your formatting is correct.
-Reflect on the strengths and weakness of your current methodology. Are you confident in the reliability and currency of sources obtained, as well as the thoroughness and accuracy of the information you located? Have you satisfactorily solved your information need? What, if any, information, are you still seeking?
Current Research Methodology:
Preliminary Bibliography:
Reflection:
Searching as Strategic Exploration
Assignment
Part III: Research Consultations and Revising Your Bibliography
Learners who are developing their information literate abilities:
- understand that first attempts at searching do not always produce adequate results
- realize that information sources vary greatly in content and format and have varying relevance and value, depending on the needs and nature of the search
- seek guidance from experts, such as librarians, researchers, and professionals
Schedule an individual or group research consultation withthe liaison librarian to the Department of Music, Beth Thompson (). Take detailed notes during your consultation.
Following your appointment, begin gathering new sources found using search tools or strategies recommended by Ms. Thompson. Write a short reflection: what newtoolor strategies did you learn to use? In what ways did your appointment with a specialist librarian enhance your ability to find credible information to complete your program notes?
New Sources Found:
Reflection:
Your MUS 351 professor is also available for assistance with matching your information needs to appropriate search tools, as well as refining your search strategies and helping you locate materials. Use the following list of recommended search tools, then schedule an individual or group research consultation if you need additional guidance or assistance using resources like Interlibrary Loan.
Recommended Tools for Research in Music History:
- Find the Grove Music Online encyclopedia article on the composer of your piece.
- From the library’s music guide (), go to Oxford Music Online (first under Recommended Databases).
- Search for the composer of your piece and select the Grove Music Online article on this composer. (Make sure it’s Grove Music Online, not the Oxford Dictionary of Music, the Oxford Companion to Music, or anything else.)
- This Grove article will be your first source. In the upper right-hand corner of the article, click on the pencil icon, select “Preview citation in Chicago,” then download the citation to Word. Note that you will need to adjust font, font size, and punctuation (e.g., retyping foot marks "…" as quotation marks “…”).
- Gather more relevant sources from the bibliography at the bottom of the Grove Music Online composer article.
- For composers about whom much has been written, this bibliography will be divided into multiple sections; look through the sections most relevant to your research topic (e.g., “Operas” if you are researching an aria from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro).
- Where possible, locate primary sources (e.g., letters, diaries, and writings by the composer and/or the composer’s contemporaries).
- If you do not have reading knowledge of languages other than English, your choices likely will be limited to English-language sources. However, you may be able to use RILM (see below) to find English-language abstracts summarizing the main argument and content of these sources.
- Note that these entries are NOT in Chicago style. You will need to modify them accordingly. Use either the Turabian manual or the back of the Bellman Short Guide to Writing About Music to do so.
- Search RILM Abstracts of Music Literature for journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, and more on your composer, piece, and/or comparable works in that genre. This resource is located under Music Indexes and Bibliographies on
- Search JSTOR for peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles on your composer, piece, and/or comparable works in that genre. This resource is located under Recommended Databases on
- Search the UNCW library catalog ( and WorldCat ()
- Search Google Books (books.google.com) and Google Scholar (scholar.google.com), but be careful to choose scholarly sources from reputable publishers (e.g., university presses) and credible authors.
Based on your research consultations with the department’s liaison librarian and your professor, create a revised bibliography of the sources that seem most promising (i.e., thorough and relevant) in providing the information you need to write your program notes.
Revised Bibliography:
Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education
Chicago: Association of College & Research Libraries, 2015
Information Creation as a Process
Information in any format is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method.The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences.
The information creation process could result in a range of information formats and modes of delivery, so experts look beyond format when selecting resources to use. The unique capabilities and constraints of each creation process as well as the specific information need determine how the product is used. Experts recognize that information creations are valued differently in different contexts, such as academia or the workplace. Elements that affect or reflect on the creation, such as a pre- or post-publication editing or reviewing process, may be indicators of quality. The dynamic nature of information creation and dissemination requires ongoing attention to understand evolving creation processes. Recognizing the nature of information creation, experts look to the underlying processes of creation as well as the final product to critically evaluate the usefulness of the information. Novice learners begin to recognize the significance of the creation process, leading them to increasingly sophisticated choices when matching information products with their information needs.
Knowledge Practices
Learners who are developing their information literate abilities
- articulate the capabilities and constraints of information developed through various creation processes;
- assess the fit between an information product’s creation process and a particular information need;
- articulate the traditional and emerging processes of information creation and dissemination in a particular discipline;
- recognize that information may be perceived differently based on the format in which it is packaged;
- recognize the implications of information formats that contain static or dynamic information;
- monitor the value that is placed upon different types of information products in varying contexts;
- transfer knowledge of capabilities and constraints to new types of information products;
- develop, in their own creation processes, an understanding that their choices impact the purposes for which the information product will be used and the message it conveys.
Dispositions
Learners who are developing their information literate abilities
- are inclined to seek out characteristics of information products that indicate the underlying creation process;
- value the process of matching an information need with an appropriate product;
- accept that the creation of information may begin initially through communicating in a range of formats or modes;
- accept the ambiguity surrounding the potential value of information creation expressed in emerging formats or modes;
- resist the tendency to equate format with the underlying creation process;
- understand that different methods of information dissemination with different purposes are available for their use.
Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise and credibility, and are evaluated based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used. Authority is constructed in that various communities may recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of authority required.
Experts understand that authority is a type of influence recognized or exerted within a community. Experts view authority with an attitude of informed skepticism and an openness to new perspectives, additional voices, and changes in schools of thought. Experts understand the need to determine the validity of the information created by different authorities and to acknowledge biases that privilege some sources of authority over others, especially in terms of others’ worldviews, gender, sexual orientation, and cultural orientations. An understanding of this concept enables novice learners to critically examine all evidence—be it a short blog post or a peer-reviewed conference proceeding—and to ask relevant questions about origins, context, and suitability for the current information need. Thus, novice learners come to respect the expertise that authority represents while remaining skeptical of the systems that have elevated that authority and the information created by it. Experts know how to seek authoritative voices but also recognize that unlikely voices can be authoritative, depending on need. Novice learners may need to rely on basic indicators of authority, such as type of publication or author credentials, where experts recognize schools of thought or discipline-specific paradigms.
Knowledge Practices
Learners who are developing their information literate abilities
- define different types of authority, such as subject expertise (e.g., scholarship), societal position (e.g., public office or title), or special experience (e.g., participating in a historic event);
- use research tools and indicators of authority to determine the credibility of sources, understanding the elements that might temper this credibility;
- understand that many disciplines have acknowledged authorities in the sense of well-known scholars and publications that are widely considered “standard,” and yet, even in those situations, some scholars would challenge the authority of those sources;
- recognize that authoritative content may be packaged formally or informally and may include sources of all media types;
- acknowledge they are developing their own authoritative voices in a particular area and recognize the responsibilities this entails, including seeking accuracy and reliability, respecting intellectual property, and participating in communities of practice;
- understand the increasingly social nature of the information ecosystem where authorities actively connect with one another and sources develop over time.
Dispositions