How do you find, store, organize and disseminate relevant information? Do you have a plan?
First Steps
When I need information, my first step is to quickly assess the type of information required, the time constraint for acquiring answers, potential sources of credible information and the ease of access to the information required. My next steps would be dependent on the quick assessment from step one. There are various scenarios in which I would ask someone for information. For instance, if I need urgent confirmation of a process which I have been taught, but do not routinely use, my first step would be to ask an expert (such as a Program Lead) or a colleague who routinely uses that process and is well-versed in it. Another circumstance in which I would ask someone is to get some guidance on key resources within which I could find my answers. This helps me to narrow down my search and save time. When conducting investigations, I also routinely gather information by asking clients or facility operators questions (in-person, on phone or through emails). This is important to get a first hand account of situations
Tools For Curating Content
If I require information stipulated in legislation, a practice support document or a guideline, I would search for a copy of the document and review it to gather the information needed. I may search various places, including the following:
My personal or office "library" for hard copies
The internet (using search engines like google, specific government or other agency websites, institutional library to which I have access)
Internal and external databases, shared drives and web-based collaborative platforms such as SharePoint
Relevant files, books, folders or notes saved on my computer
Hand-written notes from workshops, webinars, etc.
Capturing Quality Information
I typically find or collect relevant and accurate information because, with time, I have improved my skills for searching, sorting and weeding out credible sources. Through years of experience, I have also improved my ability to ask the right questions to elicit quality, accurate and relevant information.
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"Ask the right questions to elicit quality, accurate and relevant information."
There are times when my initial search leads me to a source which I am not familiar with. In those instances, I try to use some keywords from that source to search known repositories for credible references.
I judge the quality of information gained based on the source. For example, I have a higher level of confidence in credible or reputable government or international agencies. I also judge the quality based on how the sources describes information on the aspects of the subject which I am familiar with. When an expert on a subject shares information and backs it with other credible resources, it is also a good indication of the quality of information. With investigations, I frequently utilize a technique taught in school, where we ask the same question to multiple players in the incident, in order to paint a more accurate depiction of events.
Storing and Targeting Information to an Audience
When I find good information I apply it to my practice or daily life. Sometimes, I share the information with others who may benefit from it, via email and social media platforms (e.g. WhatsApp). For information retrieved online, I may download and save pdf versions in labelled files on my computer hard drive (USB sticks as well in the past) or save website links to favourites or a note file (using OneNote since starting this course), to make the information easy to retrieve. I may also keep hard copies of books, printed and hand-written notes for future reference. The key to retrieving information that I have stored lies in keeping the information organized. Whenever I fail to organise information, it is difficult to retrieve. There are times when I save information thinking that it would come in handy later, but when more current information becomes available, I discard it.
Improving Content Curation with a Plan
Familiarize yourself with the different features and functionalities of curation tools.
After reviewing suggested resources and some content curation literature, I plan on using Microsoft Edge Collections and Diigo for content Curation. I selected Collections because it is already installed on my browser, and I have previously dabbled a little, and Diigo because it appears quite user-friendly for a novice.
My plan is to learn more and get familiar with the different features and functionalities of these tools, so that I can gather and organize relevant pieces of information in a way that makes it easy for me to retrieve the information. At the end of the course, I will save these resources by exporting to OneNote and/or Excel. Below is a screenshot of both of my tools in action.
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