creating effective research assignments

CREATING EFFECTIVE RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS

Megan Lowe, Reference Librarian

Session Overview

Gripe Session Assumptions & Misconceptions Teaching Students to Assess Elements of Ineffective Assignments Elements of Effective Assignments Benefits of Effective Assignments Q & A Time

Gripe Session - Prompts

What excuses do your students give you for late or sub-par work?

How often do you deal with plagiarism? How often do your students tell you “The Library

didn’t have anything on my topic”? Do you find yourself extending deadlines frequently? Are you shocked by how much of the students’

research comes from the Internet? Does it bewilder you that they would use the

Internet so much for serious/professional research, versus the Library?

Gripe Session – Get It All Out!

Assumptions & Misconceptions…

…about students

…about assignments

…about library resources

…about librarians

Assumptions/Misconceptions: Students

Students know how to research If they don’t, they’ll learn independently They understand the importance of research They know how to use the library They wrote research papers in high school They learn about writing research papers in

the English comps classes Students are technology-savvy Students plagiarize on purpose


They’ll ask questions if they don’t understand something

The students have the syllabus; they know when assignments are due

They will ask the librarians for help if they have problems doing research

They’ll use the library’s resources if I forbid them to use the Internet

Students will go to the Write Place for help Students possess critical thinking skills


Unfortunately, research debunks many of these assumptions Numerous and continuing studies on library anxiety in

undergraduates indicate that they haven’t overcome it Undergraduates are afraid to ask for help, either from

librarians or teaching faculty Standardized testing in K-12 has reduced the amount

of college preparation students are receiving Students are tech-savvy about certain things, namely

social media, but not necessarily about tech in general Plagiarism is rampant because students truly don’t

understand what it is and how to avoid it


Debunking assumptions, continued Students in general do not time-manage well They’re not so good about reading and reviewing

syllabi, or adhering to deadlines Writing is NOT the same as researching – English

comps teach students to write, NOT to research Students will still go to the Internet for research,

even if they’re forbidden Students do not necessarily make contact with the

Library and its resources, and usually won’t unless they HAVE to – they don’t seek them out independently


Debunking assumptions, continued Ultimately, students DO NOT understand

What research is and how important it is The concept of authority What scholarly communication is What the process of research accomplishes Information-seeking strategies Differences between resources How to articulate ideas

Assumptions/Misconceptions: Assignments

The requirements of the assignment are clear The assignment is appropriate for the class The resource requirements for the assignment

are clear The resource requirements for the assignment

are reasonable Students won’t use the Internet for this

assignment if they are forbidden to in the requirements

The students have enough time to complete the assignment


The students are prepared for the assignment

All the students’ questions about the assignment have been asked and answered

The students have access to a copy of the assignment and examples of completed/acceptable versions of the assignment

The assignment is up-to-date and has been tested recently for appropriateness (i.e., I’ve completed the assignment myself recently)


Debunking assumptions It never hurts to check an assignment carefully

and make sure it doesn’t fall into any of these assumptions/misconceptions

Students often do not understand assignments but are afraid to ask for clarification

Students complain that professors won’t answer emails about assignments

Students don’t understand “what the professor wants!” in an assignment


Debunking assumptions, continued Students want to provide the “right” answer and

simply complete the assignment; the process doesn’t interest them – they want to fulfill the requirements of the assignment and get it done

Sometimes an assignment seems clear to us, but we are, of course, more sophisticated and prepared

Sometimes an assignment is more advanced than the class is – make sure the assignment is reasonable for your students’ level

Assumptions/Misconceptions: Resources

The Library has the resources students need

The Library has the journals students need

The Library has the books students need Students are familiar with the Library’s

resources Students know how to navigate libraries Resources change very little, and, when

they do, notifications are sent out Resources don’t go away


Students always have access to resources when they need them

Students will ask for help with resources they find difficult to navigate

Students understand the differences between different kinds of resources

Students understand how to use resources to complete assignments

Students understand the roles resources play in their assignments, research and otherwise


Again, research suggests that all of these are not the case in the least.

Our millennials are called “digital natives,” meaning they’ve grown up with technology…but this does not guarantee skill with technology, only that it’s familiar and somewhat omnipresent

Access to technology does not guarantee improved academic performance, nor necessarily increased access to quality information


With regard to the resources themselves… Resources *do* change, and sometimes without

warning – the Library doesn’t always get a warning

Resources *do* unfortunately go away The Board of Regents withdrew its support of the LOUIS

consortium – consequently, we lost a few resources; however, they have restored some funding, so some resources have likewise been restored, but not all

In the current economic climate, publishers are struggling, too, and periodicals and databases are sometimes discontinued for cost-saving reasons


Debunking resource assumptions, continued

Resources – both electronic and print – are not as intuitive as most librarians and scholars would prefer; consequently, students struggle to understand what resources can do and how to use them, as well as when to use them

And despite the decreasing prices of basic computers and laptops, a lot of students must still rely on the University for access

Assumptions/Misconceptions: Librarians

All librarians do is shelve books Alternately: what do librarians *do* anyway? Librarians can’t help me with my research The librarians look mean/bored/busy The librarians don’t understand what I’m

looking for The librarians aren’t helpful They’re always busy when I go to the desk I asked for help before, but the librarian

didn’t find me good information


Librarians know everything (or, at least, think they do)

Librarians can read minds Librarians don’t want to collaborate Librarians don’t want to teach They usurp teaching faculty as subject specialists Librarians aren’t really faculty They don’t appreciate the needs of my discipline They don’t appreciate the needs of my students They don’t appreciate my research needs


Again, research comes to the fore, with regards to these perceptions.

In order to be an academic librarian, one must obtain an ALA-accredited Master’s degree

Most reference librarians spend a great deal of time helping others do research as well as conducting their own research, and engaging in activities just like teaching faculty (teaching, publishing, committee work, etc.)


Debunking assumptions, continued Sometimes, librarians are busy when we’re at the

desk – helping other patrons. It’s the nature of the job. But the bored/busy thing is not a valid excuse

And it’s true – sometimes librarians don’t know what a patron is looking for, and sometimes librarians do give patrons bad information. But patrons must be willing to communicate with the librarians. The assistance one receives from a librarian is greatly dependent on how well one communicates one’s needs


Debunking misconceptions, continued Librarians don’t know everything, and we don’t

read minds, unfortunately (it certainly would make helping tongue-tied freshmen a whole lot easier) That’s not to say there aren’t know-it-all librarians.

There’s always a few bad apples in every bunch. Librarians and faculty have historically had bad

relations (like, going WAAAAY back), but there is a genuine desire on the part of librarians to collaborate with and assist faculty – collaboration makes EVERYTHING better (like a scholarly stew)


Debunking misconceptions, continued Librarians have no desire to usurp faculty as

subject specialists, though that is the root of the historical enmity between the two groups. Librarians are often called subject specialists, it’s true – but the librarian’s role in subject specialty is to guide students toward resources in that subject, not to function as true specialists in the subject Though a significant number of librarians often have

other degrees in other fields and can be considered true subject specialists in those fields


Debunking assumptions, continued Librarians – at least, in academic libraries – *are*

real faculty. Most are tenure-track or tenured and adhere to the same – or at least similar – requirements that apply to teaching faculty

And librarians may not intimately and specifically understand a field – after all, they are information science specialists, not true subject specialists – but they can and want to help students and faculty alike

And only by working with faculty can librarians address the needs of students and faculty

Any Questions Thus Far?

Teaching Students to Assess If research was simply the process of

finding information, we wouldn’t have any problems allowing students to use Wikipedia

However, legitimate research utilizes legitimate resources – and legitimate resources are considered quality resources

So part of the challenge of teaching students to research is teaching them to evaluate resources for legitimacy and quality

Teaching Students to Assess As students become more familiar with research

in their chosen fields, they will more easily recognize legitimate publications and information sources

As experts, you automatically recognize those sources – but students lack that familiarity, and it’s a familiarity that grows only with experience

Considering the width and breadth of most disciplines, learning *ALL* the relevant and appropriate publications – periodical, monograph, organization, professional, trade, etc. – in a field is a feat indeed

Teaching Students to Assess But before you start feeling

overwhelmed by the prospect of teaching students ALL of the appropriate publications in a discipline – whether it’s for an introductory class or a graduate class – there are faster and more universally-applicable ways of evaluating resources

There are two frameworks that can be used to evaluate resources – these frameworks can be applied to any resource, regardless of discipline

Framework #1: Scholarly vs. Popular

This framework is most often applied to periodicals, but it can be used for monographs and websites, too

In this framework, resources are divided into two categories, scholarly and popular

Scholarly resources are deemed acceptable for research using a list of characteristics

Popular resources are NOT deemed acceptable for research and use a similar list of characteristics

Scholarly Resources: Characteristics

Students can use the characteristics as a checklist when assessing a resource for appropriateness

It’s not necessary for all characteristics to be met, and no doubt not all characteristics will be met

A good analogy for scholarly resources is vegetables – you don’t always want to eat them, but you know you should

I often say: “Rule of thumb: if it sounds like something your professor would approve of (that is, maybe kind of boring), it’s probably scholarly”

written by experts do not contain ads covers one

subject/discipline very thoroughly

intended for people in that discipline or field of study (including practitioners)

uses jargon related to the discipline

peer-review process may contain

graphics, illustrations, etc.

publishes real research (case studies, experiments, etc.)

Scholarly Resources: Characteristics

Journal of the American Medical Association Shakespeare Quarterly Journal of Nutrition Journal of ER Nursing Library Quarterly The Renaissance Quarterly Textbooks, books written by experts

Scholarly Examples

Popular Resources: Characteristics Students can use the characteristics as a checklist

when assessing a resource for appropriateness It’s not necessary for all characteristics to be met,

and no doubt not all characteristics will be met A good analogy for scholarly resources is candy –

it’s not good for you, but it tastes good, and it’s easy to get

I often say: “Rule of thumb: if it sounds like something you’d read while on vacation or standing in line at the grocery store or Wal-Mart, it’s probably popular.”

mostly written by journalists

usually have lots of ads

intended for anybody to read

usually covers a variety of topics

Regular language/slang

No peer-review process

has lots of "purty" pictures

publishes articles of interest, news, opinion pieces

Evaluating Resources: Popular

Sports Illustrated Real Simple People Cosmopolitan Martha Stewart Living GQ Romance novels, pop fiction

Popular Examples

Framework #2: Web Evaluation This framework is usually used to

efficiently and quickly determine whether a website could be used in research, but it can also be used to assess other materials as well

There are no categories in this framework – simply a list of concepts to bear in mind when viewing a resource that one is not sure of

Again, these concepts can be used as a checklist when assessing a resource for use in research

Framework #2: Concepts Accuracy – is the information verifiable in

other, independent resources? Authority – what are the credentials of

the author(s) or organization(s)? Coverage – how in-depth is the resource?

What is its scope? Currency – how old is the information

itself? How old is the resource? Objectivity – is there an obvious bias

involved?

Any Questions Thus Far?

Elements of Ineffective Assignments Sometimes, on the surface, an

assignment seems good and reasonable and totally doable…

…but there may be lurking problems And sometimes there’s operator (that is,

student) error, as we’ve discussed But it is important to understand the

pitfalls that can happen in assignments, in order to avoid them, or to anticipate problems students may have

Ineffective Assignments: Pitfalls Bear in mind the assumptions and misconceptions –

that’s a good place to start. Remember the saying about what happens when you assume something…

Using the same assignment year-to-year means students can get answers from older friends and classmates, instead of doing the work

Resources change, even when they remain – interfaces, platforms, search functions, these things are not carved in stone, so giving students particular instructions can be tricky

Ineffective Assignments: Pitfalls Sending a whole class to consult a single

resource – like a particular issue of a particular journal – will only end in tears and confusion and despair

Will the nature and/or structure of the assignment encourage plagiarism and/or cheating?

If you want your students to know about a library resource or service – like Interlibrary Loan – are you only making the assignment to force them into contact with it?

Ineffective Assignments: Pitfalls

Is the research assignment made at the beginning of the semester – or listed in the syllabus – with little reference to it throughout the rest of the semester? That is: are you actively guiding the students through, holding them accountable, or are you trusting them (i.e., tossing them in the pool)?

When students email you with concerns or questions about assignments, do you respond in a timely manner?

Ineffective Assignment: Example The following assignment is from a

second-year geography resource course

It’s a research assignment given at the beginning of the semester, to be turned in by the end of the semester

On the surface, it seems reasonable – but a closer look reveals some problems

Let’s take a look…

Geography Course Research Paper Assignment Choose one of the following topics:

Biodiversity;Ocean pollution;Transportation of hazardous waste;Desertification; orThe tropical rainforest. In your paper, discuss: The nature of the issueIts natural/biophysical aspectsWhat has been done on the issue since 1980?What is being done on the issue currently?

Topics are too general and assume students will be able to narrow the topics into something more manageable.These requirements

are intended to help the student focus and expose them to the literature – but they assume a sophistication with resources and the research process that students don’t possess.

This assignment also involves a great deal of critical thinking, of asking students to evaluate and analyze scholarly resources…students often have problems simply locating scholarly sources; asking them to synthesize multiple sources, at this level, is unrealistic.

It also assumes that the students have functional information-seeking skills.It’s also not explicit with

regard to the professor’s expectations, what kinds of resources will be acceptable, and a myriad other elements that students would not intuitively know to include or consider, like style format.

Making It WorkThe aforementioned assignment is

salvageable, with a little tweaking: Explicit expectations and requirements Employing a series of supervised steps

Deadlines for drafts Peer review Consultation with professor (where feasible)

Narrowing the topics more -OR- allowing students to select their own topics, using the given list as a starting point or as examples

Elements of Effective Assignments Providing a sample paper or assignment (or past

paper that received a good grade) so that students can see what a paper for your class ought to look like (this will help them get a feel for your expectations) This will allow them to see the chosen style format

in action, including quotations and citations, two concepts students often struggle with

Listing resources that are acceptable – journal titles and database titles, for example Setting a limit on the age of resources is a good

idea, too – current usually encompasses the last 3-5 years, for example

Elements of Effective Assignments Explicit requirements/parameters,

including elements such as: Length (word count or pages) Style/format (APA, MLA, etc.) Headers/footers/page numbers Font/spacing Deadlines Types of resources that are acceptable Type of paper (persuasive, report, etc.)

Elements of Effective Assignments Rationale/objectives/goals for the assignment

Like student learning outcomes (SLOs) Supervised steps, such as

Q/A session about assignment Thesis statement Outline Preliminary bibliography – annotated or not Abstract Introductory paragraph Peer review

Elements of Effective Assignments Actively encourage students to use the Library Invite your liaison librarian to teach a session on

research skills and/or library resources Alternately: embedding a librarian in your course

Checklists - OR - scoring rubrics Be clear about your expectations for the

assignment in the context of the class Don’t be afraid to ask one of your colleagues or a

librarian to take a look at the assignment, to make sure it’s clear and will do what you want it to do!

Benefits of Effective Assignments

Less time spent fielding questions about the assignment

Fewer complaints from students regarding the “unfairness” or “hardness” of the assignment

Helps your students better understand authority and the scholarly aspects of research

More meaningful exposure to research and resources

Better integration between content being taught and students’ synthesis of that content

Benefits of Effective Assignments Students get more meaningful hands-on

experience with the discipline and subject area content

Students get more meaningful practice with the research process – research is one of those skills that only develops with practice!

Students learn the role of the Library in the context of research and higher education

Reduces the chances and instances of plagiarism You will have to grade fewer unsatisfactory

assignments!

Effective Assignments Resources Presentation URL http://www.ulm.edu

/~lowe/effectiveassignments.pptx

Subject Librarians / Library Liaisons

http://www.ulm.edu/library/subjectlibrarians.html

My Contact Info [email protected] http://www.ulm.edu/~lowe

http://www.ulm.edu/~lowe/effectiveassignments.pptx

http://www.ulm.edu/~lowe/effectiveassignments.pptx



mailto:[email protected]

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