Kean University Library
Information Literacy Program
Lesson Outline for Library Instruction
Course: Research and Technology (College of Business and Public
Administration)
Course Number: GE 2021
Kean University Undergraduate Catalog Course Description:
While the catalog does not contain a course description, this course will
introduce students to research design and methodology, as well as to
disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives on the research process.
Students will learn how to design and implement a research project
appropriate for the disciplines of business, public administration, and
criminal justice. Students will learn how to use technology for research and
for the communication of research results. Students will also learn how to
evaluate critically the validity, reliability, and limitations of research results.
Emphasis will be placed on adherence to the university’s standards of
academic integrity.
Typical Course Research Assignment:
Students must choose a research topic, then search for and locate 12-15
articles on the topic from scholarly or professional journals. Ultimately,
students will write a 15-page research paper with at least 12 primary
references cited using APA style.
Prerequisites (Assumptions) for Students Attending the Library
Instruction Session:
It is assumed that most students in the class are second-year students who
have completed the First Year Seminar (ID 1001) library orientation and tour. It
is also assumed that these students had the following courses as prerequisites:
College Composition (ENG 1030) and Speech Communication as Critical
Citizenship (COMM 1402).
Equipment and Materials:
Computers with Internet access in a dedicated computer lab; library handout;
examples of print psychology periodicals (scholarly/professional and popular).
Goals and Objectives for Library Instruction Session:
General goalsThe student:
1. Has knowledge of the physical layout, service points, and circulation
procedures of the library, i.e., library barcode and online book renewal
processes.
2. Has the ability to articulate his or her research topic of interest.
3. Has the skills needed to find course-related information in books from the
Reference and Main Collections.
4. Has the skills needed to find course-related information in
scholarly/professional journals.
5. Has developed the basic critical thinking skills needed to select the
information access tools, keywords, and information sources that are
most appropriate for the course-related information need.
Objectives(Cited in parentheses are the ACRL Information Literacy Competency
Standards, Performance Indicators, and Outcomes* that will be met
upon satisfaction of the objective.)
The student:
1. Is aware that individualized research assistance is available by telephone,
e-mail (Ask a Reference Librarian), and in person at the Reference Desk.
(Standard 2.2.c)
2. Knows how to formulate a research focus and refine the research focus if
a more specific and relevant focus is identified. (Standards 1.1.a; 1.1.b;
1.1.d;1.3.c; 1.4.a; 3.6.a)
3. Understands that subject encyclopedias and other Reference books often
provide helpful background information on course-related topics, as well
as ideas for relevant keywords and key concepts. (Standards 1.1.c; 1.1.d;
1.1.e)
4. Knows how to search the Kean Catalog by author, title, and keyword to
determine the call numbers for library books that contain subject matter
addressing the information need. (Standards 1.1.c; 2.2.b).
5. Understands how to find books in the library by locating specific call
numbers within the appropriate library collection. (Standard 2.3.b)
6. Knows how to use the Periodicals list to find journal titles held by the
library in its electronic, print, or microform collections. (Standard 2.3.b)
7. Understands that journal articles on a particular subject or by a particular
author are accessed through periodical indexes in both print and
electronic formats.
a. Knows how to select a periodical index database in electronic
format appropriate to the course-related information need (i.e., ABI
Inform-Business, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Academic Search
Premier, Lexis Nexis Academic, RIA Checkpoint, or WilsonWeb
OmniFile). (Standard 2.1.d)
b. Knows how to access the database, navigate within it, construct a
search strategy, and execute a search using appropriate keywords,
in order to retrieve citations, abstracts, and, in some cases, full text
for relevant articles. (Standards 2.2.b; 2.2.d; 2.2.e; 2.3.a)
c. Understands how to utilize the Periodicals list and Kean Catalog to
check for an article’s availability in print or microform format so
that the article may be retrieved even when it is not available in
full-text format through a database. (Standards 2.3.a; 2.3.b)
d. Recognizes the difference between scholarly journals (such as
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency), professional
magazines (such as Corrections Today and FBI Law Enforcement
Bulletin), and popular magazines (such as Newsweek or People
Weekly). (Standards 1.2.d; 3.2.a)
e. Understands that scholarly and reputable information sources are
more readily accessible by searching in a library’s subscription
databases, than by searching in freely available Internet search
engines and directories (such as Google and Yahoo). (Standard
3.2.a)
f. Recognizes the difference between primary and secondary sources,
and identifies the value of each of these source types when doing
research. (Standard 2.2.e; 2.2.f)
g. Understands criteria to consider (authority, currency, objectivity,
accuracy, and coverage) when evaluating retrieved information
sources, and checks that the retrieved information sources are
relevant to the topic of interest. (Standards 1.2.d; 2.4.a; 3.2.a;
3.4.a; 3.4.g; 3.7.a)
8. Can identify and understands the importance of recording the pertinent
parts of a bibliographic record retrieved in the Kean Catalog and in
periodical index databases. (Standards 2.5.c; 2.5.d)
9. Understands that the concept of academic integrity requires that, when
information is used, the source of information must be cited in order to
avoid committing plagiarism.
a. Knows that sources must be cited whether the information is
quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. (Standards 3.1.c; 5.2.f)
b. Knows that APA citation style requires a brief citation in the text of
the paper as well as a complete bibliographic citation in the paper’s
References list. (Standard 5.3.a)
c. Understands that examples and explanations of APA style may be
found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association, which is shelved in the Reference Collection. (Standard
5.3.a)
* The ACRL standards satisfied by meeting the aforementioned objectives are available
in full at the following Website: American Library Association. Association of College and
Research Libraries (2003). Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher
Education. Retrieved July 20, 2004 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilcomstan.html
Lesson outline prepared by librarians Linda Cifelli and Caroline Geck, July 2004.
[Last revision 08/29/04 LC]