- Have clear objectives
The purpose of each library research
assignment should be clear and well-thought-out. If students
view library research assignments as "pointless" busy work,
they will resent the assignments –
and the library research process.
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Give clear directions
A
library research assignment that gives specific directions is
best, and librarians are glad to help at the Reference desk with the specific steps to take in the process and what resources they should use.
The more information you include in the syllabus or on the assignment page, the better.
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Require the use of resources other than the Internet
Students will always take the easiest route
– in this case, the Internet. If you require the use of a
specific print or electronic library resource, they will use
it and learn something new.
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Suggest a variety of topics, or
help students to brainstorm about narrowing topics in class.
Many students don't have a clear
idea of the topic they are asked to research and spend large
amounts of time on deciding on a topic rather than on the
research itself. Assigning one broad topic to the entire class makes plagiarism easier -– either from your former students or
from online term paper mills.
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Place items that every student
must look at on Reserve
If you assign every student in a
class of 30 to read the same article, you want to ensure that
every student really has an equal opportunity to access the
item. The best way to ensure that access is to put
materials on Reserve in the library. If you don't, the odds
are that the material will disappear.
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Avoid scavenger hunts
Asking students to find little
bits of data on various topics doesn't promote library research skills. Students lack the familiarity
with information sources to find pieces of information from
almanacs, handbooks, and statistical sources, and Librarians end
up finding these bits of data for students. Student
learning is negligible.
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Pre-test the assignment
Before giving any research
assignment to your students, complete it yourself. Expect your
students to encounter twice as many difficulties as you do –
and to take at least twice as long to complete the assignment.
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Make use of appropriate, current
resources- and make sure we have access to it.
The sources available for doing
research change rapidly in the Internet Age. Sources that were previously
in print may now be available electronically. Sources often change their search options or resource coverage several times within a year, and our
resource access seems to change constantly.
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Be flexible in terms of resource
format
If we have the New York Times in
electronic format and you insist that students use it on
microfilm, students will resent you, the assignment, and
experience frustration with the library. If you have a sound
pedagogical reason for the use of a certain format over
others, explain it to the students and the librarians.
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Consult a librarian
Librarians are experts on
information sources and information research processes, as
well as on students' information research skills and
attitudes. We can help you identify potential strengths and
problem areas in proposed research assignments.
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Ask for a Library Instruction
session
Do not assume that your students
have had prior training in doing college-level research, or
that searching the Web will give them the skills that they
need. Students need training and practice in library- and
information-research skills. They are also most receptive to
training delivered at the point of need. In student time,
that's shortly before the project is due, but we prefer 2-3
weeks ahead of time.We expect that Q110, Introduction to Information Literacy, will
have a long-term effect on student's research skills, but we may not see the results of that effort for a time.
