Information Acquisition and Writing Skills (3cr)

Objectives

Information acquisition skills
Students can
- expand and develop their knowledge by using systematic information search and retrieval methods.
- adapt the main information search techniques to different databases and user interfaces.
- find information relating to their own field of study in a systematic and efficient manner, including material from international sources.
- find the most relevant, up-to-date, and comprehensive sources relating to their own field.
- use different types of source materials.
- use sources ethically, by observing intellectual property rights etc.
- apply critical judgment to the information found.

Writing skills
Students can:
- plan a writing task in advance and follow the plan throughout the writing process.
- incorporate relevant sources into their own texts in a versatile and critical manner; combine their own ideas with information from different sources in order to create a coherent and stylistically unified whole.
- write, clear, informative and grammatically accurate texts in formal style.
- follow the guidelines for writing a bachelor’s thesis laid down in TAMK’s Report Guide.

Students possess a knowledge of ethics, innovation and international issues.

Content

Information acquisition skills
- How can systematic information search and retrieval methods be used to expand and develop one’s knowledge?
- What are the basic information search techniques?
- What are the main Finnish and international databases and information sources for the students’ fields of study.
- How can information search be planned and carried out effectively?
- How can different types of source materials be used?
- What is meant by ethical use of information? e.g. How should intellectual property rights be observed?
- How are information search results and source materials evaluated?

Writing skills
- Stages in the writing process
- The basic structure of a written text
- The conventions of academic writing
- Supporting one’s arguments
- Using sources
- Incorporating in-text references to sources
- Standard lay-out of formal documents
- Writing formal texts

The student
- is capable of carrying out research and development projects, utilising existing knowledge in the area concerned.
- has the language skills necessary to work in his/her chosen field, and to develop the field as a whole.
- is capable of taking responsibility for his/her own actions and the consequences of these actions.
- can act in accordance with the ethical principles which apply to his/her professional field.