CREATING EFFECTIVE
RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS
Megan Lowe, Reference Librarian
Session Overview
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Gripe Session
Assumptions & Misconceptions
Teaching Students to Assess
Elements of Ineffective Assignments
Elements of Effective Assignments
Benefits of Effective Assignments
Q & A Time
Gripe Session - Prompts
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What excuses do your students give you for late or subpar work?
How often do you deal with plagiarism?
How often do your students tell you “The Library didn’t
have anything on my topic”?
Do you find yourself extending deadlines frequently?
Are you shocked by how much of the students’ research
comes from the Internet?
Does it bewilder you that they would use the Internet so
much for serious/professional research, versus the Library?
Gripe Session – Get It All Out!
Assumptions & Misconceptions…
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…about students
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…about assignments
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…about library resources
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…about librarians
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Students
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Students know how to research
If they don’t, they’ll learn independently
They understand the importance of research
They know how to use the library
They wrote research papers in high school
They learn about writing research papers in the
English comps classes
Students are technology-savvy
Students plagiarize on purpose
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Students
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They’ll ask questions if they don’t understand
something
The students have the syllabus; they know when
assignments are due
They will ask the librarians for help if they have
problems doing research
They’ll use the library’s resources if I forbid them to
use the Internet
Students will go to the Write Place for help
Students possess critical thinking skills
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Students
Unfortunately, research debunks many of these assumptions
 Numerous
and continuing studies on library anxiety in
undergraduates indicate that they haven’t overcome it
 Undergraduates are afraid to ask for help, either from
librarians or teaching faculty
 Standardized testing in K-12 has reduced the amount of
college preparation students are receiving
 Students are tech-savvy about certain things, namely social
media, but not necessarily about tech in general
 Plagiarism is rampant because students truly don’t
understand what it is and how to avoid it
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Students
Debunking assumptions, continued
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Students in general do not time-manage well
They’re not so good about reading and reviewing
syllabi, or adhering to deadlines
Writing is NOT the same as researching – English comps
teach students to write, NOT to research
Students will still go to the Internet for research, even if
they’re forbidden
Students do not necessarily make contact with the
Library and its resources, and usually won’t unless they
HAVE to – they don’t seek them out independently
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Students
Debunking assumptions, continued
Ultimately, students DO NOT understand
 What
research is and how important it is
 The concept of authority
 What scholarly communication is
 What the process of research accomplishes
 Information-seeking strategies
 Differences between resources
 How to articulate ideas
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Assignments
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The requirements of the assignment are clear
The assignment is appropriate for the class
The resource requirements for the assignment are
clear
The resource requirements for the assignment are
reasonable
Students won’t use the Internet for this assignment if
they are forbidden to in the requirements
The students have enough time to complete the
assignment
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Assignments
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The students are prepared for the assignment
All the students’ questions about the assignment
have been asked and answered
The students have access to a copy of the
assignment and examples of completed/acceptable
versions of the assignment
The assignment is up-to-date and has been tested
recently for appropriateness (i.e., I’ve completed
the assignment myself recently)
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Assignments
Debunking assumptions
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It never hurts to check an assignment carefully and
make sure it doesn’t fall into any of these
assumptions/misconceptions
Students often do not understand assignments but are
afraid to ask for clarification
Students complain that professors won’t answer emails
about assignments
Students don’t understand “what the professor wants!”
in an assignment
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Assignments
Debunking assumptions, continued
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Students want to provide the “right” answer and simply
complete the assignment; the process doesn’t interest
them – they want to fulfill the requirements of the
assignment and get it done
Sometimes an assignment seems clear to us, but we are,
of course, more sophisticated and prepared
Sometimes an assignment is more advanced than the
class is – make sure the assignment is reasonable for
your students’ level
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Resources
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The Library has the resources students need
The Library has the journals students need
The Library has the books students need
Students are familiar with the Library’s resources
Students know how to navigate libraries
Resources change very little, and, when they do,
notifications are sent out
Resources don’t go away
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Resources
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Students always have access to resources when they
need them
Students will ask for help with resources they find
difficult to navigate
Students understand the differences between
different kinds of resources
Students understand how to use resources to
complete assignments
Students understand the roles resources play in their
assignments, research and otherwise
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Resources
Again, research suggests that all of these are not the
case in the least.
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Our millennials are called “digital natives,” meaning
they’ve grown up with technology…but this does not
guarantee skill with technology, only that it’s
familiar and somewhat omnipresent
Access to technology does not guarantee improved
academic performance, nor necessarily increased
access to quality information
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Resources
With regard to the resources themselves…
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Resources *do* change, and sometimes without
warning – the Library doesn’t always get a warning
Resources *do* unfortunately go away
The Board of Regents withdrew its support of the LOUIS
consortium – consequently, we lost a few resources; however,
they have restored some funding, so some resources have
likewise been restored, but not all
 In the current economic climate, publishers are struggling, too,
and periodicals and databases are sometimes discontinued
for cost-saving reasons
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Assumptions/Misconceptions: Resources
Debunking resource assumptions, continued
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Resources – both electronic and print – are not as
intuitive as most librarians and scholars would
prefer; consequently, students struggle to
understand what resources can do and how to use
them, as well as when to use them
And despite the decreasing prices of basic
computers and laptops, a lot of students must still
rely on the University for access
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Librarians
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All librarians do is shelve books
Alternately: what do librarians *do* anyway?
Librarians can’t help me with my research
The librarians look mean/bored/busy
The librarians don’t understand what I’m looking for
The librarians aren’t helpful
They’re always busy when I go to the desk
I asked for help before, but the librarian didn’t find
me good information
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Librarians
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Librarians know everything (or, at least, think they do)
Librarians can read minds
Librarians don’t want to collaborate
Librarians don’t want to teach
They usurp teaching faculty as subject specialists
Librarians aren’t really faculty
They don’t appreciate the needs of my discipline
They don’t appreciate the needs of my students
They don’t appreciate my research needs
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Librarians
Again, research comes to the fore, with regards to these
perceptions.
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In order to be an academic librarian, one must obtain
an ALA-accredited Master’s degree
Most reference librarians spend a great deal of time
helping others do research as well as conducting their
own research, and engaging in activities just like
teaching faculty (teaching, publishing, committee work,
etc.)
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Librarians
Debunking assumptions, continued
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Sometimes, librarians are busy when we’re at the desk
– helping other patrons. It’s the nature of the job. But
the bored/busy thing is not a valid excuse
And it’s true – sometimes librarians don’t know what a
patron is looking for, and sometimes librarians do give
patrons bad information. But patrons must be willing to
communicate with the librarians. The assistance one
receives from a librarian is greatly dependent on how
well one communicates one’s needs
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Librarians
Debunking misconceptions, continued
 Librarians don’t know everything, and we don’t read
minds, unfortunately (it certainly would make helping
tongue-tied freshmen a whole lot easier)
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That’s not to say there aren’t know-it-all librarians. There’s
always a few bad apples in every bunch.
Librarians and faculty have historically had bad
relations (like, going WAAAAY back), but there is a
genuine desire on the part of librarians to
collaborate with and assist faculty – collaboration
makes EVERYTHING better (like a scholarly stew)
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Librarians
Debunking misconceptions, continued
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Librarians have no desire to usurp faculty as subject
specialists, though that is the root of the historical
enmity between the two groups. Librarians are often
called subject specialists, it’s true – but the librarian’s
role in subject specialty is to guide students toward
resources in that subject, not to function as true
specialists in the subject
 Though
a significant number of librarians often have
other degrees in other fields and can be considered
true subject specialists in those fields
Assumptions/Misconceptions: Librarians
Debunking assumptions, continued
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Librarians – at least, in academic libraries – *are* real
faculty. Most are tenure-track or tenured and adhere to
the same – or at least similar – requirements that apply
to teaching faculty
And librarians may not intimately and specifically
understand a field – after all, they are information
science specialists, not true subject specialists – but they
can and want to help students and faculty alike
And only by working with faculty can librarians address
the needs of students and faculty
Any Questions Thus Far?
Teaching Students to Assess
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If research was simply the process of finding
information, we wouldn’t have any problems allowing
students to use Wikipedia
However, legitimate research utilizes legitimate
resources – and legitimate resources are considered
quality resources
So part of the challenge of teaching students to
research is teaching them to evaluate resources for
legitimacy and quality
Teaching Students to Assess
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As students become more familiar with research in
their chosen fields, they will more easily recognize
legitimate publications and information sources
As experts, you automatically recognize those
sources – but students lack that familiarity, and it’s a
familiarity that grows only with experience
Considering the width and breadth of most
disciplines, learning *ALL* the relevant and
appropriate publications – periodical, monograph,
organization, professional, trade, etc. – in a field is
a feat indeed
Teaching Students to Assess
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But before you start feeling overwhelmed by the
prospect of teaching students ALL of the
appropriate publications in a discipline – whether
it’s for an introductory class or a graduate class –
there are faster and more universally-applicable
ways of evaluating resources
There are two frameworks that can be used to
evaluate resources – these frameworks can be
applied to any resource, regardless of discipline
Framework #1: Scholarly vs. Popular
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This framework is most often applied to periodicals,
but it can be used for monographs and websites, too
In this framework, resources are divided into two
categories, scholarly and popular
Scholarly resources are deemed acceptable for
research using a list of characteristics
Popular resources are NOT deemed acceptable for
research and use a similar list of characteristics
Scholarly Resources: Characteristics
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Students can use the characteristics as a checklist when
assessing a resource for appropriateness
It’s not necessary for all characteristics to be met, and no
doubt not all characteristics will be met
A good analogy for scholarly resources is vegetables –
you don’t always want to eat them, but you know you
should
I often say: “Rule of thumb: if it sounds like something
your professor would approve of (that is, maybe kind of
boring), it’s probably scholarly”
Scholarly Resources: Characteristics
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written by experts
do not contain ads
covers one
subject/discipline very
thoroughly
intended for people in that
discipline or field of study
(including practitioners)
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uses jargon related to the
discipline
peer-review process
may contain graphics,
illustrations, etc.
publishes real research
(case studies,
experiments, etc.)
Scholarly Examples
Journal of the American Medical Association
 Shakespeare Quarterly
 Journal of Nutrition
 Journal of ER Nursing
 Library Quarterly
 The Renaissance Quarterly
 Textbooks, books written by experts
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Popular Resources: Characteristics
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Students can use the characteristics as a checklist
when assessing a resource for appropriateness
It’s not necessary for all characteristics to be met, and
no doubt not all characteristics will be met
A good analogy for scholarly resources is candy – it’s
not good for you, but it tastes good, and it’s easy to
get
I often say: “Rule of thumb: if it sounds like something
you’d read while on vacation or standing in line at the
grocery store or Wal-Mart, it’s probably popular.”
Evaluating Resources: Popular
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mostly written by
journalists
usually have lots of ads
intended for anybody to
read
usually covers a variety
of topics
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Regular language/slang
No peer-review process
has lots of "purty" pictures
publishes articles of interest,
news, opinion pieces
Popular Examples
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Sports Illustrated
Real Simple
People
Cosmopolitan
Martha Stewart Living
GQ
Romance novels, pop fiction
Framework #2: Web Evaluation
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This framework is usually used to efficiently and
quickly determine whether a website could be used
in research, but it can also be used to assess other
materials as well
There are no categories in this framework – simply
a list of concepts to bear in mind when viewing a
resource that one is not sure of
Again, these concepts can be used as a checklist
when assessing a resource for use in research
Framework #2: Concepts
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Accuracy – is the information verifiable in other,
independent resources?
Authority – what are the credentials of the author(s)
or organization(s)?
Coverage – how in-depth is the resource? What is
its scope?
Currency – how old is the information itself? How
old is the resource?
Objectivity – is there an obvious bias involved?
Any Questions Thus Far?
Elements of Ineffective Assignments
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Sometimes, on the surface, an assignment seems
good and reasonable and totally doable…
…but there may be lurking problems
And sometimes there’s operator (that is, student)
error, as we’ve discussed
But it is important to understand the pitfalls that can
happen in assignments, in order to avoid them, or to
anticipate problems students may have
Ineffective Assignments: Pitfalls
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Bear in mind the assumptions and misconceptions –
that’s a good place to start. Remember the saying
about what happens when you assume something…
Using the same assignment year-to-year means
students can get answers from older friends
and classmates, instead of doing the work
 Resources change, even when they remain –
interfaces, platforms, search functions, these
things are not carved in stone, so giving
students particular instructions can be tricky
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Ineffective Assignments: Pitfalls
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Sending a whole class to consult a single resource –
like a particular issue of a particular journal – will
only end in tears and confusion and despair
Will the nature and/or structure of the assignment
encourage plagiarism and/or cheating?
If you want your students to know about a library
resource or service – like Interlibrary Loan – are
you only making the assignment to force them into
contact with it?
Ineffective Assignments: Pitfalls
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Is the research assignment made at the beginning of
the semester – or listed in the syllabus – with little
reference to it throughout the rest of the semester?
That is: are you actively guiding the students through,
holding them accountable, or are you trusting them
(i.e., tossing them in the pool)?
When students email you with concerns or questions
about assignments, do you respond in a timely
manner?
Ineffective Assignment: Example
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The following assignment is from a second-year
geography resource course
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It’s a research assignment given at the beginning of
the semester, to be turned in by the end of the
semester
On the surface, it seems reasonable – but a closer
look reveals some problems
Let’s take a look…
Geography Course Research Paper Assignment
Choose one of the following topics:
This assignment also involves a great
Biodiversity;
deal of critical thinking, ofTopics
asking
are too general and
Ocean pollution;
students to evaluate and assume
analyzestudents will be able
scholarlywaste;
resources…students
often the topics into
Transportation of hazardous
to narrow
Ithave
alsoproblems
assumes that
thelocating
students
simply
something more manageable.
Desertification; or
have
functional
information-seeking
scholarly sources; asking them to
The tropical rainforest.
It’s also
skills.
not explicit
with regard
synthesize
multiple
sources,toat this
the professor’s
expectations, what These requirements are
level, is unrealistic.
intended to help the student
kinds of resources will be
In your paper, discuss:
acceptable, and a myriad other focus and expose them to the
elements that students would not literature – but they assume a
sophistication with resources
The nature of the intuitively
issue
know to include or
and the research process that
Its natural/biophysical
aspects
consider,
like style format.
students don’t possess.
What has been done on the issue since 1980?
What is being done on the issue currently?
Making It Work
The aforementioned assignment is salvageable, with a
little tweaking:
 Explicit
expectations and requirements
 Employing a series of supervised steps
 Deadlines
for drafts
 Peer review
 Consultation with professor (where feasible)
 Narrowing
the topics more -OR- allowing students to
select their own topics, using the given list as a starting
point or as examples
Elements of Effective Assignments
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Providing a sample paper or assignment (or past paper
that received a good grade) so that students can see
what a paper for your class ought to look like (this will
help them get a feel for your expectations)
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This will allow them to see the chosen style format in action,
including quotations and citations, two concepts students
often struggle with
Listing resources that are acceptable – journal titles and
database titles, for example
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Setting a limit on the age of resources is a good idea, too –
current usually encompasses the last 3-5 years, for example
Elements of Effective Assignments
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Explicit requirements/parameters, including
elements such as:
 Length
(word count or pages)
 Style/format (APA, MLA, etc.)
 Headers/footers/page numbers
 Font/spacing
 Deadlines
 Types of resources that are acceptable
 Type of paper (persuasive, report, etc.)
Elements of Effective Assignments
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Rationale/objectives/goals for the assignment
 Like
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student learning outcomes (SLOs)
Supervised steps, such as
 Q/A
session about assignment
 Thesis statement
 Outline
 Preliminary bibliography – annotated or not
 Abstract
 Introductory paragraph
 Peer review
Elements of Effective Assignments
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Actively encourage students to use the Library
Invite your liaison librarian to teach a session on
research skills and/or library resources
 Alternately:
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embedding a librarian in your course
Checklists - OR - scoring rubrics
Be clear about your expectations for the assignment
in the context of the class
Don’t be afraid to ask one of your colleagues or a
librarian to take a look at the assignment, to make
sure it’s clear and will do what you want it to do!
Benefits of Effective Assignments
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Less time spent fielding questions about the assignment
Fewer complaints from students regarding the
“unfairness” or “hardness” of the assignment
Helps your students better understand authority and
the scholarly aspects of research
More meaningful exposure to research and resources
Better integration between content being taught and
students’ synthesis of that content
Benefits of Effective Assignments
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Students get more meaningful hands-on experience
with the discipline and subject area content
Students get more meaningful practice with the
research process – research is one of those skills
that only develops with practice!
Students learn the role of the Library in the context
of research and higher education
Reduces the chances and instances of plagiarism
You will have to grade fewer unsatisfactory
assignments!
Q&A
Effective Assignments Resources
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Presentation URL
http://www.ulm.edu/~lowe/effectiveassignments.pptx
Subject Librarians / Library Liaisons
http://www.ulm.edu/library/subjectlibrarians.html
My Contact Info
lowe@ulm.edu
 http://www.ulm.edu/~lowe
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THANKS FOR COMING!
Remember: the Library is here for YOU, too!