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• Students may not know the basics of research. Class time is a limited resource, but it may be more effective to dedicate a portion of one class to highly targeted library research instruction and discussion of the research assignment rather than address the same questions multiple times. With advance notice, detailed research guides for your assignment can also be prepared that advice students where to look for materials.
• Will students see how the assignment supports the broader objectives of the course? They will be less resistant to an assignment when the assignment’s purpose is clear.

The Library

• We are a community college library. For a community college, we have a rather large collection, and especially good access to electronic resources, but we are not going to have the same resources students would have at a university library. Access to resources is crucial to success, so students need to understand if they will need to get materials from the University of Illinois or other locations. The library staff can help you ascertain the availability of materials.
  Our resources are constantly changing. What worked in the past may not be available now. Or we may have something even better!
  Do we have what you want your students to use? We do our best to make available the kinds and quantity of materials your students will need, but if you have a specific resource in mind, it’s best to give us a call. Even if we own it, our copy may be checked out, on reserve for another class, or being repaired.

• Provide clear written directions and make a copy available to the library, either on a course web site or by sending over a paper copy. Too often students arrive to work on a project with no clear sense of what they are supposed to do. If we have a point of reference, we can often clear up points of confusion.

• Define your terms. Instructors, students and librarians need to be speaking a common language for research assignments to go smoothly. Some terms that can present problems:
  • Internet – if you prohibit or limit the amount of research students may do on the “internet” you need to clarify whether or not you are including simply those things available freely over the world wide web or those items delivered by means of the internet, which includes most of the library’s periodical literature (newspapers, magazines, journals, etc.)?
  • Journal – if you specify that you want students to use “journal articles” do you mean only peer-reviewed, scholarly research, or is any content from an academic journal acceptable? Are trade journals or commentary publications acceptable? Are you certain your students understand the distinction? (If you haven’t gone over this in class the chances are that at least some do not.) Do you use the words “magazine” and “journal” interchangeably?
  • Books – do you mean only print books, or are e-books acceptable? You should be aware that increasing numbers of key reference sources are available as e-texts. Similarly, essays are increasingly available in e-text format.
  • Reference vs. Reserve – these two words are frequently confused by non-librarians. The former are those materials that constitute the non-circulating collection. The latter are those set aside by instructors for use by their classes.
  • Primary vs. Secondary Sources – If you expect your students to use primary sources, make certain that you have explained clearly what you mean by that term. Some disciplines use the term differently. Generally speaking, any source material produced at the time of the event by those individuals speaking directly to the subject will be considered primary sources. Primary sources are frequently reproduced in various other formats: web pages, online databases, books, etc.
  • Search engine – a tool used to search the internet generally, not used to refer to the search function of an article or other database.
• Emphasize that items are on RESERVE. Not all items on an instructor’s reserve shelf appear in the online catalog, depending upon the nature of the material. A lot of frustration can be relieved if students know where they should ask for material.
• Let’s talk! If the first we hear about an assignment is when several students come in asking for the same material, students, instructor and library staff are all in for a frustrating experience. We want to help you meet your particular educational goals for your students, so if you let us know in advance what those are, we can help you determine what material will best meet those needs.
• Surprise parties shouldn’t be a surprise for the host. We love company! Please bring your class or even groups of students from your class, to the library. But everybody will get better service if we know in advance that you’re coming.

• Try it yourself. Before passing out the assignment, try it yourself. Make sure we have the necessary resources. If possible have a colleague give you an assessment of the time to allow for students to complete the work. Others can often tell if an assignment is setting unrealistic time constraints. If research experience is a goal of the assignment, allow sufficient time for students to get materials that may not be locally available.
• Encourage students to ask for help. For many reasons, students are often afraid to ask for help. And yet they may never have learned basic library skills, or have learned them so long ago that their skills are outdated. Encourage them to seek assistance.
• Be cautious about restricting resources. Rather than limiting sources, emphasize the importance of evaluating resources and stress the importance of a range of resources. Require students to submit web evaluation sheets http://www.dacc.edu/library/evaluationform.htm for any web site used, insisting that the forms be filled out in detail and submitted in advance. Once again, consider carefully the goal of each assignment.

Alternatives to Traditional Research Papers

Links for Further Research

If you have questions about this or any other library web page, contact a librarian at 443-8739 or by means of the convenient web form.

Created January 10, 2006
Revised January 23, 2006