Information heuristics of information literate people Katarzyna Materska Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw Warsaw, Poland katarzyna.materska@gmail.com Abstract. It is confirmed through information users’ daily activities that they apply many shortcuts, ignore some information and use heuristics – particularly in electronic social networking environments. The critical analysis of the literature and research findings are used as a base to identify and create a short (preliminary) inventory of information heuristics that people use at various stages of seeking and conducting source evaluation (credibility assessment) to solve their everyday information problems. The use of heuristics (understood as sense-making activities that help information users to make a satisfying choice of the sources and distinguish the content of various quality and sufficiency) is discussed in the context of information literacy (IL) concept. The analysis of heuristics offers some additional explanation of online information behavior and personal information management strategies. The result of the research is a proposal to treat heuristics as intuitive but not accidental search tactics based on experience that should be included into IL training. Keywords: cognitive heuristics, information literacy, digital literacy, information credibility, information evaluation, bandwagon effect, information seeking behavior 1 Introduction While turning towards the electronic environment, people increasingly face a multitude and variety of information and sources to be found, evaluated, extracted, synthesized, interpreted, approved and used. Time deficit and insufficient skills make information users apply many shortcuts, ignore some information and use heuristics. The use of heuristics - understood as sense-making activities that help information users to make a satisfying choice of the sources and distinguish the content of various quality and sufficiency to reach appropriate decisions - seems to be very sensible in complicated information environment. It can be deliberate or intuitive at many stages of people’s information activities - when they seek something on the Internet, use search engines, conduct source evaluation (credibility assessment) and critical reading. What does it mean to be information literate in the contemporary world? Finding an answer to this question may be as difficult as defining the IL concept. There are diverse scholarly traditions and approaches to the components of information (and, in a broader sense, multimedia) literacy. In her understanding of IL area the author is far