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Student Research Assignments
Consult with a reference librarian before the assignment. Librarians will work with you to design an appropriate assignment that will achieve your course goals and objectives. Sending a copy of the assignment to the Reference Librarian will insure that the staff is ready to help your students and that the library holds the materials needed to support the assignment.
Set out clear objectives or outcomes. Having clear objectives before you even begin writing the assignment will help you focus on the outcomes. Explaining those objectives to students will help them complete the assignment successfully.
For example, after completing an assignment, students should be able to:
- Search the Merritt College Library's periodical database for articles on a particular topic.
- Distinguish between scholarly and popular periodicals.
- Print out the complete text of journal articles in the periodical database.
- Locate hard copies of journals related to the assignment in the Merritt College Library.
| Do's |
Don'ts |
| Provide a clearly written copy of the assignment explaining what is involved, suggesting the types of sources to be used, and citations for specific works. |
Oral directions: the chances of important facts, names, etc. being misunderstood is high. |
| Consult with a librarian at any point; we can give advice on designing or revising an assignment and show what is available to your students. |
Avoid: scavenger hunts as they don't teach students how to do research |
| Bring your class to the library for hands-on training. Many students have little or no library research experience and would benefit from one or more guided trips to the library. |
Avoid:mob scenes with dozens of students using just one book or article; give students a variety of topics and use the Reserve service as needed. |
| Make the assignment relevant. The best research assignments give students useful information on the subject being taught. One of the reasons the scavenger hunt or "trivial pusuit" approach is so ineffective is that once the information is found, it is usually not very useful. |
Don't overestimate student research experience and skills. |
Adapted from the Guidelines for Library Assignments California Clearing House for Library Instruction, 1988.
Some Internet-Specific Tips
- »Consider directing student to specific sites you have chosen. This is a good technique for building confidence in less computer-savvy students. If you ask students to find particular piece of information on the Internet, you may be sending them on a very time-consuming troll. Instead, you could direct students to sites where they can successfully find information that can be put to use in the course. You may find the Merritt Library Subject Guides collection useful for locating appropriate resources in your discipline.
- »Evaluating sources is particularly important on the Internet. The Merritt College Library Internet Searching Guidelines provides criteria for evaluating information found on the Internet.
- »Surfing the Internet is not research. Even very "computer literate" students often lack basic research skills. Consider bringing your class into the Library for instruction on search techniques.
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- »Students are often amazed that information they can't find anywhere on the Internet, is readily at our fingertips on the shelves in the Library. If you have questions about appropriate sources, don't hesitate to consult a librarian.
Sources consulted: Creating Effective Library Assignments, Carpenter Library, University of North Florida.Designing Effective Library Assignments, University Libraries, University of Washington. Guidelines for Effective Library Assignments, California Clearinghouse on Library Instruction
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