Presented by: Jim Alderman (UNF), Alyse Ergood (FAU),
Carol Maksian (FGCU), Kristy Padron (FAU)
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Considerations in Library Instruction for
Graduate Students
◦ Who else is in graduate school?
◦ What factors influence library instruction to
graduate students?
◦ Which skills do librarians need to have?
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Teaching the Literature Review
◦ The Purpose
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Sample Literature Reviews
Resources for the Literature Review
^
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Recent Graduates
with Bachelor
Degrees
an
Women
(this also
d
depends on the
program)
Returning Adult
Students
International
Students
What are the effects
of these
characteristics?

Class Environment
Instructor-Student
interactions
o Motivation
Teaching: Androgyny & Adult
learning practices
o Prior knowledge & life
experience
Communication & Cultural
Exchange
o
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Statistics from Florida Board of Governors)
http://www.flbog.edu/resources/iud/enrollment_search.php
Top program areas:
•Health Professions to
Clinical Sciences
•Education
•Business Management/
Marketing
•Engineering
•Biological/Medical Sciences
•Physical Sciences
Level/Scope of Degree
• Ph.D / Ed.D
• Masters Level
• Certificate / Credentials
Type of
Enrollment/Attendance
• Full-Time
• Part-Time
• Accelerated
Use of Library
Subject Area/ Discipline
•
•
•
•
Faculty Influence
Limited Contact w/ Librarians
Students Ignore print
Students discover library late in program
• Content
• Assignments
• Research needs (lab/field-based,
literature reviews, type of information
resources)
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Lack knowledge of library’s resources and services.
Varied experience levels and ability with doing
research.
◦ Library or research anxiety.
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Search the internet for articles (Google Scholar) vs.
library resources.
◦ Despite instruction on scholarly research, avoid searching
scholarly resources due to discomfort with library tools
and level of difficulty of material.
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Increase in learning platforms for learning
(face to face, online, blended)
Different learning styles and comfort levels
with technology lends to technophobia.
◦ With that in mind, these same students may also
be uncomfortable with online tutorials.
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Search for -most of which can be done
remotely and access resources:
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Research materials (including books,
theses/dissertations and special collection
materials)
Scholarly research articles via
indexes/databases, electronic journals and
larger catalogs (especially full text)
Interlibrary loan materials
Why: To do research for research and critical
inquiry papers.
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Check out books and interlibrary loan materials,
access reserves and look at microfilm.
Reference assistance.
◦ Inability to locate articles online via library or Internet, and
inability to access full text due to the learning curve for
using electronic resources, link resolvers, database issues,
etc.
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Discipline specific Library workshops, scheduled
library classes and other classes (RefWorks tool and
computer courses).
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Skill and confidence in subject area resources
◦ Seek additional training
◦ Mentoring
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Develop active relationships with liaisons
Pedagogy
◦ Adult learning concepts (Androgyny)
 More interaction; established set of values; have
competing interests (family, job, relationships, school)
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Consider instruction in light of the changing
role of librarians (increasingly the “tech”
expert)
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Tech skills might also include facility with
using word processing and presentation
software.
Bibliographic management software facility is
a must.
Questioning and listening skills are a must.
Patience, patience, patience, patience….
The Purpose of the Literature Review:
 Set the background on what has been
researched on a topic.
 Show why a topic is significant to a subject
area.
 Discover relationships between ideas.
 Identify major themes & concepts.
 Identify critical gaps & points of disagreement.
 Help the researcher turn a network of articles
into a coherent view of the literature.
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Not an annotated bibliography
or a laundry list of articles.
Integrates and synthesizes
what is found into something
new.
What is taught will depend on the level of
student.
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A lit. review for undergraduates may not require the
depth or scope as graduates.
Basic resources such as Proquest Central or Academic
Search Premier are not sufficient for doing a
comprehensive literature review at the graduate level.
Graduate students should know about subject-area
databases and Web of Science (or other citation
databases).
Additional information sources: WorldCat, SUL Union
Catalog, Dissertation databases (Proquest &
WorldCat).
Reference / Teaching Tips:
•
•
•
•
Advise researcher to sift through what has already been
done with an eye toward finding something new.
It is not necessary to suggest topic refinements to the
student. Ask questions that could help the student
discover his or her own refinements. Suggest
previewing what others have undertaken.
Remember that a topic in education might also have
sociological and psychological underpinnings as well.
Suggest related areas as needed.
Suggest to researcher that consultation with the faculty
adviser might be the next step in the process.
Potentially, these are advanced researchers.
The librarian should make an effort to assess
skill levels before proceeding with instruction.
Go
beyond “Google” search strategies.
Emphasize that professional terminology might not be
standard across fields. For example, terminology used in
PsycInfo might differ from that used in ERIC or
Sociological Abstracts.
Reinforce the notion of the literature review as a
discovery process. The researcher is moving from what is
known into (possibly) uncharted waters.
Advise them to read other people’s literature reviews or
related reviews in your subject area.
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Business
◦ Casson, M., & Lee, J. (2011). The Origin and Development of Markets: A
Business History Perspective. Business History Review, 85(1), 9-37. doi:
10.1017/S000768050000018
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Education
◦ Watts, J. J., & Robertson, N. N. (2011). Burnout in university teaching staff: a
systematic literature review. Educational Research, 53(1), 33-50.
doi:10.1080/00131881.2011.552235
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Psychology Literature Review Paper
http://faculty.mwsu.edu/psychology/Laura.Spiller/Experimental/sample_apa_style_litrev
iew.pdf (Undergraduate paper)
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Health Care
◦ Walker, W. (2008, February 15). Accident and emergency staff opinion on the effects
of family presence during adult resuscitation: critical literature review. Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 61(4), 348-362. Retrieved July 7, 2009, from CINAHL with Full
Text database.
◦ Paul, F., & Rattray, J. (2008, May). Short- and long-term impact of critical illness on
relatives: literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(3), 276-292. Retrieved
July 6, 2009, from CINAHL with Full Text database.
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Science
◦ Jonkman, S., Vrijling, J., & Vrouwenvelder, A.. (2008). Methods for the estimation of
loss of life due to floods: a literature review and a proposal for a new method. Natural
Hazards, 46(3), 353-389. Retrieved June 9, 2011, from ProQuest Science Journals.
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Fink, A. (2005). Conducting research
literature reviews: From the Internet to paper.
Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
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Machi, L. A., & McEvoy, B. T. (2009). The
literature review: Six steps to success.
Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press.
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Adelphi University Libraries. Conducting a Literature Review in the Education and
Behavioral Sciences http://libraries.adelphi.edu/research/tutorials/EdLitReview/content/
(Web Interactive Tutorial)
**North Carolina State Libraries. Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students.
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/lit-review/ Video tutorial -- 10 minutes
University of Wisconsin @ Madison Writing Center’s Writing Handbook. Learn How to
Write a Literature http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/ReviewofLiterature.html
University of Santa Cruz Library. How to Write a Literature Review.
http://library.ucsc.edu/help/howto/write-a-literature-review
University of Arizona Libraries. Research and Writing Literature Reviews.
http://www.library.arizona.edu/help/tutorials/litreviews/whatis.html
University of North Carolina @ Chapel Hill’s Writing Center. Literature Reviews.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html
University of Toronto The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting It.
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review
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The College of New Jersey Library. How to Conduct a Literature Review.
http://www.tcnj.edu/~library/research/guides/HowtoConductaLiteratureReview.htm
U Penn Libraries. Preparing Literature Reviews in the Social Sciences - Research Guide.
http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/guides/general/socscilitrevs.html
Deakin University Library. The Literature Review.
http://www.deakin.edu.au/library/findout/research/litrev.php
CQ University (Australia) Library. Literature Review Tutorial.
http://libguides.library.cqu.edu.au/litreview
(A multimedia tutorial. See “Resources” tab for links to other relevant websites.)
University of North Carolina, Charlotte, Department of Political Science. A Guide to
Writing Literature Reviews in Political Science and Public Administration.
http://politicalscience.uncc.edu/images/stories/docs/litreviews.pdf
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University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, Communication in the Biological Sciences,
Department of Biology. Literature Review Paper.
http://www.uwlax.edu/biology/communication/ReviewPapers.html
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Boston College University Libraries. Writing a Literature Review.
http://libguides.bc.edu/litreview
Boise State University Library. Social Work Literature Review.
http://guides.boisestate.edu/content.php?pid=58258&sid=426586
University of Southern Maine Department of Environmental Science. Literature Review
Online Tutorial. http://library.usm.maine.edu/tutorials/esp/index.htm
(Interactive Web Tutorial)
American University Library. Literature Review Tutorial.
http://www.library.american.edu/Help/tutorials/lit_review/index.html
Robert Gordon University Library. How to do a Literature Search.
http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/library/howto/page.cfm?pge=25989
Saul Greenberg, University of Calgary. Wiki :How to write a literature review:
http://pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~saul/wiki/pmwiki.php/Chapter1/HowToWriteALiteratureR
eview
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Duke University Writing Center. Literature Review.
http://uwp.duke.edu/uploads/assets/lit_review.pdf
Henry Madden Library, California State University, Fresno. Literature Review Clinic.
http://libguides.csufresno.edu/content.php?pid=24538
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Plattsburgh State University
Toth, M. (2005). Research and writing and theses-oh my! The journey of a collaboratively
taught graduate research and writing course. The Reference Librarian, 43(89), 81-92.
Retrieved June 6, 2011 from Library and Information Science Full Text database.
Shenandoah University
Green, R and Bowser, M.( 2006). Observations from the field. Journal of Library
Administration, 45(1),185-202. Retrieved June 1, 2011, from Library and Information
Science Full Text database.
Green, R.(2006) Fostering a Community of Doctoral Learners, Journal of Library
Administration, 45, (1), 169-183. Retrieved June 8, 2011, from Informaworld database.
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Ohio University
Chang, L and Houdek, R. (2006). Teaching Computer Science Graduate Students
Scholarly Literature Review Techniques.
October 28 – 31, 2006, San Diego, CA
36th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Retrieved June 7, 2011 from IEE
database.
Oregon State University
Rempel, Hannah Gascho and McMillen, Paula S.(2008). Using courseware discussion
boards to engage graduate students in online library workshops. Internet Reference
Services Quarterly, 13(4), 363-380. Retrieved June 6, 2011, from Taylor & Francis Social
Science and Humanities database.
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Providing Library Instruction to Graduate Students: A Review of the Literature, by
Barbara Blummer (2009) in Public Services Quarterly, 5(1): 15-39.
Blummer, B, Kenton, J.M. and Song, L (2010). The Design and Assessment of a Proposed
Library Training Unit for Education Graduate Students. Internet Reference Services
Quarterly, 15, 227–242, Retrieved June 7,2011, from Library Literature & Information
Full Text database.
Boote, D., and Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: on the centrality of the
dissertation literature review in research preparation. Educational Researcher, 34(6), 315. Retrieved June 8, 2011, from Education Full Text database.
Fleming-May, R and Yuro, L. (2009), From student to scholar: the academic library and
social sciences PhD students’ transformation. Libraries and the Academy, 9(2), 199-221.
Retrieved June 7, 2011, from Project MUSE database.
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Harkins, M.J., Rodrigues, D.B., and Orlov, S. (2011). Where to start?: consideration for
faculty and librarians in delivering information literacy instruction for graduate students.
Practical Academic Librarianship: The International Journal of the SLA Academic
Division, 1(1), 28-50.
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Harrington, M. (2009). Information Literacy and Research-Intensive Graduate Students:
Enhancing the Role of Research Librarians. Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, 28,
179–201. Retrieved June 8, 2011, from Library Literature & Information Full Text
database.
User Education for Graduate Students: Never a Given, and Not Always Received, by
Helene C. Williams (2000) in Teaching the new library to today's users: reaching
international, minority, senior citizens, gay/lesbian, first-generation college, at-risk,
graduate and returning students, and distance learners. Trudi E. Jacobson (ed.). New
York: Neal-Schuman, pp 145-172.