U RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLOs)
Online at http://mc.libguides.com/UResearchFacultyToolkit/slos
Objective 1: Determine the nature and extent of the information needed
SLO 1a – Identify and develop a topic into a
____ Very
___Somewhat
_____ Not
manageable focus
Important
Important
Important
What does it mean?
For your course assignment(s), is it important that students develop a research topic (or thesis,
proposal, or hypothesis) that is well focused and manageable according to the parameters of the
assignment?
What research says:
Project Information Literacy surveyed 8353 students on 25 campuses regarding research practices. “For
over three-fourths (84%) of the students surveyed, the most difficult step of the course-related research
process was getting started. Defining a topic (66%), narrowing it down (62%), and filtering through
irrelevant results (61%) frequently hampered students in the sample, too. Follow-up interviews suggest
students lacked the research acumen for framing an inquiry in the digital age where information
abounds and intellectual discovery was paradoxically overwhelming for them” (Head & Eisenberg,
2010).
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

Topics that are general and vague can frustrate students because of the abundance of results when
they search for information.
Undergraduates may not possess the experience or knowledge to frame a topic within the larger
context of the discipline.
From the Citation Project, researchers found that students begin writing their paper before they
have a focused topic, and then go looking for just enough resources to satisfy their assignment –
“satisficing” (Jamieson & Howard, 2011).
Students “lack the ability to take a specific topic and generalize it … to broaden out a lit search” (MC
Faculty Survey, 2010).
Defining and focusing the topic can be the most difficult part of research, and it is often an ignored part
of the research process. A well-focused topic or research question serves as a GPS for the rest of the
research process; without it, students often end up submitting a paper that is an unrelated compilation
of paraphrased information from various sources - an exercise in “patchwriting”, with no critical thinking
on the part of the student. Students just report what others say about the topic without adding their
voice (reminiscent of the high school “report” assignment).
Undergraduates often think all research questions have a definitive answer – if they can just find it.
They look at knowledge as something revealed, rather than something constructed.
Suggestions:
Require students to select an appropriately focused topic at an early stage in the assignment. This step
will prevent students from tackling the assignment at the last minute with an overly broad topic (such as
global warming, domestic violence, Medieval England, World War II, nutrition, etc.). It will also help
avoid topics that are so narrowly focused that the student cannot find sources.
As they select their topics, suggest that they do “presearch” - preliminary research in databases, their
textbook, Google searches, Wikipedia, or subject encyclopedias. Preliminary exploration of a broad
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topic before the research topic is decided allows the student to understand the broader context of the
research topic and formulate a question they want answered.
As a low-stakes assignment, students can submit an informal topic report, an informal report outlining
the group’s research strategy, or a research topic worksheet. Or have them do a “pair and share”
activity in class where the students can critique the topics together.
SLO 1b – Identify a variety of types and formats of
potential sources for information
____ Very
Important
___Somewhat
Important
_____ Not
Important
What does it mean?
For your course assignment(s), where will students go to find information? Do they need certain types
of information, such as primary sources or actual reports of research? When you say “peer-reviewed”
or “scholarly sources” do they know what you mean?
This SLO is important if your assignment specifies certain formats or types of information (for example, if
students are required to use a primary source; or, if students are required to examine original reports of
research). SLO 1B is often assessed along with SLOs 2a/2b. The evidence is the inclusion in the
bibliography of a variety of sources that are appropriate to the information need.
What research says:
“Research assignments, in general, should have students learn how to derive information from multiple
and diverse formats. Students need to learn how to use and evaluate specific online and print sources –
from blogs to collaborative wiki entries to traditional top-flight scholarly journals to data directly
collected from the field – independently and when the sources are used in combination. The use of
multiple formats causes students to go beyond thinking of research as a competency learned by rote
where students use the same predictable set of resources – an approach a large majority of students
reported using in our prior student survey” (Head& Eisenberg, 2010).
Suggestions: Encourage students to use a variety of types of sources, and to use the best sources for
their information need. An assignment might include a minimum number or types of sources, but should
avoid being overly prescriptive. Internet web sites are not always inferior, and students should learn to
use them responsibly and with a caveat: they are responsible for applying evaluative criteria to the
website and justifying the inclusion of the web site as a resource.
If your assignment requires specific types of sources (peer-reviewed or primary sources), define your
terminology. Students are still confused about terminology and need reminders. Your assignment
handout can provide links to Research 101 or the Research Tutorial. Example of terminology for
assignment handout: For a reminder of what is meant by peer-reviewed, review the materials at
http://mc.libguides.com/research/ScholarPopular
Objective 2: Access needed information efficiently and effectively
SLO 2a – Construct and implement effectively designed
research strategies using appropriate methods or
information retrieval systems
SLO 2b - Retrieve information using a variety of
methods and systematically manage the information
and its sources
____ Very
Important
___Somewhat
Important
_____ Not
Important
____ Very
Important
___Somewhat
Important
_____ Not
Important
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What does it mean?
For your course assignment(s), is it important that students find information from a variety of sources?
SLO 2a and 2b are usually assessed together, and evidence is provided by the inclusion of a variety and
sufficient number of sources in the bibliography or reference list. Another way to assess this SLO is, if
students are completing an annotated bibliography, have them articulate how they found the source.
You may also ask them to keep a research log or journal.
Another component of this SLO involves managing the information that has been found. If this
competency is important for your assignment, you might consider introducing your students to Google
Docs, free bibliographic management software (such as Zotero), or the “Shared Folders” function of the
Ebscohost databases (for group projects).
Suggestions:
After students have some idea of their topic, schedule a research work day in the library to be sure they
know how to use the available resources for their discipline. The instructor can provide help with the
disciplinary content while the librarian can help with the nuances of the disciplinary databases and offer
suggestions for finding other information.
Ask your library liaison to create a customized research guide for your class, with information available
24/7.
Additionally, you can provide links as starting points to direct students toward good sources. Example of
terminology for a business assignment handout: As a general rule, our library databases provide quality
information from books, scholarly journals, general interest publications, and newspapers. The
databases suggested on the Business Research Guide at http://mc.libguides.com/business/databases
may help. A good place to start might be the Business Source Complete database.
Objective 3: Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into
his or her knowledge base
SLO 3a - Evaluate information and its sources using
appropriate criteria
____ Very
Important
___Somewhat
Important
_____ Not
Important
What does it mean?
For your course assignment(s), is it important that students know how to evaluate print and online
sources for credibility? Regardless of whether you chose to formally assess this SLO, you will want your
students to know that you expect them to use credible sources.
What research says:
“Half of the students PIL surveyed in 2010 reported nagging uncertainties with concluding and assessing
the quality of their research efforts” (Head& Eisenberg, 2011).
What about those who do not ever doubt the credibility of their sources?
Students are unable to distinguish between self-published information such as blogs, Twitter feeds,
Facebook posts and credible information. Distinctions become blurred, and authority is hard to
determine.
“Internet search tools such as Google have become the new definition of scholarly research.”
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“They utilize internet sources that lack credibility.”“…don't know there is a difference between peer
review and Wikipedia” (MC Faculty Survey, 2010).
Suggestion:
This SLO is usually assessed by an annotated bibliography assignment where, in addition to summarizing
the source, students must evaluate a source objectively and subjectively. Example of annotated
bibliography assignment with explicit information literacy components
Rather than require an annotated bibliography of all sources used, have the students annotate the three
(or five?) most useful sources found. Have them justify why these sources are credible and useful for
their research.
Example of wording in an assignment handout: Your sources must be credible and relevant to your
research topic, and you should recognize bias and prejudice when present. You should evaluate all
sources, but must be especially skeptical of sources from the Internet. The Research 101 guide at
http://mc.libguides.com/research/eval lists TRAAP criteria (timeliness, relevance, authority, accuracy,
and purpose) and suggests helpful questions to evaluate the credibility of your sources, both Internet and
those available through the library.
SLO 3b – Identify main ideas and their potential
relevance, summarizing and synthesizing key ideas
____ Very
Important
___Somewhat
Important
_____ Not
Important
What does it mean?
For your course assignment(s), is it important that students know how to identify the main points in
information and their importance and relevance to the research question? Is it important that students
synthesize this information from sources into their own new product (paper, presentation, etc.)?
What research says:
“Most students still believe research is simply gathering some sources almost at random, taking a quote
from this source, one from another, and so on, and then stringing them together with some loose
transitions. In my twenty years as a librarian I cannot count the number of times a student has told me,
‘I just need three (or four or five) sources on topic x,’ and they take the first three or four or five they
find. They are not at all concerned about a theme or a thesis” (Isbell, 2008).
Student writers employ “patchwriting” techniques because they do not take enough time to analyze and
synthesize their source material. They skim the sources and attempt to paraphrase the source’s
meaning (Jamieson & Howard, 2011).
“Need to stop being so lazy, and read the whole source not just parts of it” (ENG 102 student – reflective
essay at end of Spring 2013 semester).
Suggestion:
This outcome is hard to separate from SLO 4a. Students connect, or synthesize, the material from
multiple sources into a new product. Research is more than just reporting information that is found.
Research involves making sense of it all; research is building evidence-based arguments for who is most
to be believed. Students should do more than summarize and paraphrase sources. They should identify
trends and provide an analysis of the information. Example of wording in an assignment handout: Your
presentation should clearly identify the main issues and show evidence of your own analysis, summary,
and synthesis of those key ideas from sources.
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The Writing Center has highly-qualified and trained tutors who can help students from all disciplines.
They can help at any stage of the writing process.
Objective 4: Individually or as a member of a group, use information effectively to accomplish a
specific purpose
SLO 4a: Apply new and prior information to the
____ Very ___Somewhat _____ Not
planning and creation of a product or performance
Important
Important
Important
What does it mean?
This SLO encompasses the traditional criteria that are usually graded in a paper or product – the
content. Example: Did the student include a comprehensive coverage of the topic? Did the student
integrate compelling examples and ideas from sources to fully support the research position/topic? Did
the student effectively handle any questions after the presentation?
SLO 4b: Communicate the product or performance
____ Very ___Somewhat _____ Not
effectively and clearly to others
Important
Important
Important
What does it mean?
This SLO also encompasses the traditional criteria that are usually graded in a paper or product – the
delivery mechanisms and the effectiveness of the communication. If the assignment is a presentation,
did the student engage the audience with body language, eye contact, elocution, and delivery? Was the
technology appropriately used to effectively communicate the message? If the assignment is a paper,
this SLO includes writing mechanics such as style, grammar, punctuation, and spelling; length, and
organization.
Objective 5: Understand many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of
information and access and use information ethically and legally
SLO 5a: Acknowledge sources and use information
____ Very ___Somewhat _____ Not
following the conventions of a particular discipline
Important
Important
Important
SLO 5b: Demonstrate an understanding of university
____ Very ___Somewhat _____ Not
policies regarding plagiarism, academic integrity and
Important
Important
Important
use of campus networks and information resources
What does it mean?
Did the student use the appropriate style in formatting the paper and/or citations? Were in-text
quotations and paraphrases presented correctly? Did the student properly cite all references in the text
of the paper, and were all references in the bibliography used in the paper?
These SLOs are often assessed together, especially when they refer to adherence to a certain writing
and citation style. However, in some courses SLO 5a could be demonstrated by the adherence to ethical
research practices or by following copyright guidelines (ethical use of images or creative performances).
Suggestion: Provide a link for citation help in the assignment handout. Example: Your paper must follow
the format prescribed in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.
The most current edition of this manual is found in the library. Information is also available in your
textbook.An online Citation Guide is available at http://mc.libguides.com/citeAPA. The Writing Center in
the Speed Library is another resource available to provide help.
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Suggested Reading
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). (2000). Information Literacy Standards for Higher
Education. Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/standards/standards.pdf
Hart Associates. (2013). It takes more than a major: Employer priorities for college learning and student
success. Liberal Education, 99(2), 22-29.
Isbell, D. (2008). What happens to your research assignment at the library? College Teaching, 56(1), 3-6.
Mahaffy, M. (2006). Encouraging critical thinking in student library research. College Teaching, 54(4),
321-327.
Parker-Gibson, N. (2001). Library assignments. College Teaching, 49(2), 65.
Project Information Literacy publications. Retrieved from http://projectinfolit.org/publications
*Research 101 – http://mc.libguides.com/research - a guide for students that includes each component of the
research process. Good for reviewing competencies.
*Research tutorial – http://www.mc.edu/research - an interactive tutorial for students that includes
each component of the research process. Good for reviewing competencies.
Schneider, C. (2013). Losing our way on the meanings of student success. Liberal Education, 99(2), 2-3.
*U Research faculty toolkit. (n.d.) http://mc.libguides.com/UResearchFacultyToolkit Includes
submission forms and suggestions for incorporating U Research
U Research web page. (n.d.). http://www.mc.edu/uresearch
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