Gather: Finding and Accessing Information

Gather is the fourth pillar in the SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy. It means finding and accessing the information or data needed for a task. After learners identify what they need, decide the scope, and plan a search strategy, they begin to gather useful sources.

Gathering is the stage many students think of as “doing research.” However, in the SCONUL model, gathering is only one part of information literacy. A strong learner does not simply collect links, copy paragraphs, or download files. The learner finds relevant sources, accesses them properly, records source details, and prepares to evaluate and use the information responsibly.

Definition

A simple classroom definition is:

Gather means finding and accessing useful information from suitable sources.

This pillar focuses on the actual process of locating information. Students may gather information from printed books, digital articles, websites, videos, official reports, statistics, images, interviews, maps, datasets, or teacher-provided resources.

Gathering should be purposeful. Students should use the search plan developed in the Plan pillar. They should search in suitable places, use relevant keywords, and collect sources that match the information need.

For example, if a student is researching online privacy, useful sources may include a textbook section, a digital safety guide, an official education website, a short video from a trusted organization, and a classroom handout. The student should not rely only on the first blog post that appears in a search result.

What Gathering Involves

Gathering information includes several actions.

These actions help students gather information in an organized way. Without organization, students may lose useful sources, forget where information came from, or accidentally plagiarize.

Finding Sources

Students can gather information from many places. The best place depends on the task.

Students should learn that different sources serve different purposes. A video may explain an idea clearly, but it may not provide enough evidence for a formal essay. A website may give background information, but an official report may provide stronger data.

Accessing Information

Accessing information means being able to open, obtain, read, view, or use a source. Sometimes information is easy to access. A website may open freely. A book may be available in the library. A teacher may provide a PDF or video link.

At other times, access may be limited. A journal article may require a subscription. A website may be blocked. A video may not have captions. A file may be too large. A source may be in a language students cannot understand.

Students should learn practical access strategies:

• use the school or university library
• ask a librarian or teacher for help
• look for open-access versions
• use official websites
• use teacher-approved repositories
• choose accessible formats
• check whether videos have captions
• download or save materials only when permitted
• avoid illegal copies or unsafe download sites

Access is not only a technical issue. It is also an ethical issue. Students should use information legally and responsibly.

Recording Source Details

A very important part of gathering is recording source details. Students often copy information but forget where it came from. This creates problems later when they need to cite sources, check accuracy, or avoid plagiarism.

Students should record:

• author or organization
• title of page, article, book, video, or report
• date of publication or update
• website name, publisher, or platform
• URL or location
• date accessed, if required by the teacher
• page number, timestamp, or section, where useful

A simple source record can look like this:

This habit helps students manage information before they write or present.

Selecting What to Keep

Gathering does not mean keeping everything. Students should make early decisions about whether a source is useful. A source may be rejected because it is too simple, too difficult, outdated, biased, unrelated, or unsupported.

At this stage, students do not need to complete full evaluation yet. That happens more deeply in the next pillar, Evaluate. However, they should do a quick relevance check before saving too many weak sources.

Students can ask:

• Does this source answer my question?
• Is it close to my topic?
• Is it understandable?
• Is it likely to be reliable?
• Is it current enough?
• Should I keep it for closer evaluation?

This prevents information overload.

ICT Connection

ICT tools are central to the Gather pillar. Students may use search engines, online catalogues, digital libraries, databases, learning platforms, cloud folders, note-taking apps, bookmarking tools, and citation tools.

ICT makes gathering faster, but it also creates challenges. Students may open too many tabs, save files without names, copy text without understanding, or lose track of sources. Teachers should therefore teach students how to gather digitally in an organized way.

Useful digital habits include:

• creating a folder for the task
• saving files with clear names
• bookmarking useful pages
• copying links into a source table
• downloading only permitted materials
• using notes instead of copying full paragraphs
• marking direct quotations clearly
• keeping screenshots only when allowed and necessary
• checking file formats before submission

AI tools may help students identify possible source types or keywords, but students should still gather real sources and verify information through reliable materials.

Flashcard

What does Gather mean in the SCONUL model?

Tap to reveal

Answer

Gather means finding and accessing useful information or data from suitable sources, then saving and recording source details responsibly.

Classroom Meaning

Teachers can support the Gather pillar by giving students clear source-gathering expectations.

Instead of saying only “Find information online,” the teacher can say:

“Find three sources: one textbook or teacher-provided source, one reliable website, and one report, article, or video. Record the author or organization, title, date, link, and one note about how the source may help your answer.”

This makes gathering more structured.

Teachers can also provide a source collection table before students begin research. This helps students gather information in a way that prepares them for evaluation, citation, and writing.

Common Mistakes

A common mistake is to treat gathering as copying. Students may think research is complete when they have copied text from several websites. This is not information literacy. Gathering means locating and accessing sources, not presenting copied material as one’s own work.

Another mistake is to gather too many sources without checking relevance. This can confuse students and waste time.

A third mistake is to forget source details. Students may later know the information but not know where it came from. This weakens academic honesty and makes citation difficult.

A fourth mistake is to stop after one source. A single source may be incomplete, biased, or unsuitable. Students should gather enough information to answer the task properly.

The Gather pillar helps students move from planning to action. It teaches them to find, access, save, and record information in an organized and responsible way.