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Designing Library Research Assignments

The Purpose of a Course Related Research Assignment:

• Has a specific understood purpose
• Relates to some aspect of the course subject matter or learning objectives
• Leads to an increased understanding of a subject or the process of locating information related to the subject
• Makes students aware of the variety of information sources and formats

        (e.g. print, video, DVD, electronic, web, internet)

• Teaches students to select and evaluate quality information sources appropriate for their topics
• Reinforces habits of ethical scholarship

Suggestions for Effective Library Assignments

• Divide complex assignments into a sequence of smaller, more managable parts and provide feedback to students on each part of the research process separately
• Tell students why they are doing the assignment and what purpose it serves
• Browse the library's collection in advance for coverage of holdings
• Urge students to go to the reference desk for assistance
• If using a website, check a few days, before giving the assignment to make sure the

        site is still working

• Provide librarians with a copy of  your assignment
• Don't assume students know how to use the library, even if they tell you they do
• Test the assignment yourself to make sure it can be completed realistically
• Schedule library instruction sessions
• Give clear instructions for assignments in writing, rather than orally to reduce confusion
• Give a copy of the assignments to the reference librarians
• Give enough time for students to complete assignments successfully (research takes time)
• Consult a reference librarian before, during and after an assignment
• The Potter Library collections and services are continually changing. New sources and ways of accessing information replace old ones every day. Check your assignments regularly so that you are not asking your students to use outdated or withdrawn sources.
• Schedule an Information Literacy session preferably close to the time students will actually be doing the research
• Use E-reserves when many students have to use the same resource
• If the assignment requires the use of specific sources, give students a list of them
• Check availability and access in the Potter Library

Pitfalls to Avoid

• Do not assume students have had prior experience using the library or that their general orientation is relevant to your assignment
• Materials the library owns changes from semester to semester. Retest an assignment before an assignment is given
• Giving a scavenger hunt. It lacks a clear purpose and does not teach students to do meaningful library research.
• Assigning the entire class the same exact assignment causes vandalism and makes it difficult for students to find needed resources.

Sample Traditional and Alternative Assignments by Subject

Critical Thinking

• Ask students to compare and contrast primary and secondary sources on the same topic; ask them to contrast the sources, their content and treatment of the topic
• Provide students with an article from the internet, or have them locate one through a search engine, then ask students to determine if the author is affiliated with a credible source such as a college, university or online journal.
• Prepare a list of citations to articles on a particular topic- example: "hurricanes"-from a variety of sources such as scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, government documents and/or websites. Ask the students to identify which items would be appropriate for a research project in a college course called "Natural Disasters: Or How to Avoid Being Killed by Planet Earth."

Problem Solving

• Compare the treatment of the same topic in two different disciplines

Literature

• Create a profile of a species, or chemical compound found in a household product. Familiarizes students with the common scientific reference tool and introduces them to a scientific liteature
• Have students write a family history story. Students will use various sources of information

Communication & Presentation Skills

• Have students research a topic and present it as a poster session that other students will use to learn about a topic. This gives them experience with research as well as with expressing important points succintly.
• Ask students to create a web page or Powerpoint presentation incorporating digital images found by searching the web; in preparation for the assignment faciliated a discussion of the issue of copyrighted images.

Plagiarism & Understanding Intellectual Property

• Ask students to prepare an annotated and evaluative bibliography of references to submit with their researach paper or project. Ask students to include items in their bibliography they did not use and explain why.
• Have open discussions about the availability of research papers for purchase on the internet. Use this as a way to open dialogue about the ethical issues of using intellectual property.

Sources Consulted:

                        Prepared by Shirley Knight, Reference Librarian, Library Liaison, First Year Seminar

                                                                             George T.Potter Library

                                                                                 revised March 2007