Planning and Designing a Course Research Guide & Workshop
for Humanities 119: The Human Adventure
Dr. Josephine Sche
ILS 504 Reference and Information Sources and Services
Southern Connecticut State University
December 1, 2010
Introduction:
In this paper I will show the development and planning involved in designing an information literacy instructional workshop and course research guide for a university level literature course. I will provide the students with the necessary tools and resources to write a literary criticism for their end of term project for Humanities 119: The Human Adventure, a freshman elective taught at Western Connecticut State University in the English Department by Julie Stern every spring. The information acquired from these mini-workshops could also be applied to other research projects the students will encounter in future college courses.
The Instructional Project:
A Description of Humanities 119
The course, Humanities 119: The Human Adventure, is an inter-disciplinary course between the Philosophy and English Departments. The following description of the course is taken from the 2009 Spring syllabus written by the instructor Julie Stern.
Beginning with the archetypal stories from Greek mythology and the Old Testament, we will examine a variety of real and fantastic voyages, Utopian dreams, physical encounters with the hardships of nature, and allegorical expeditions that probe the inmost regions of the human psyche. Your final term paper should incorporate some of the major humanistic issues we have been discussing in class: the use and abuse of power; the origin and the nature of evil; the problem of loneliness and identity; the dream of perfection and the inevitability of human limitations. Explore one or more of these themes in one of the following texts. Your work should include literary criticism, as well as, historical, political, philosophical, and social issues of relevance. The paper should be no more than twelve pages and the MLA style format should be used.
Homer: The Odyssey Tirone-Smith: Girls of Tender Age
Lansing: Endurance Salzman: Lost in Place
Suskind: A Hope in the Unseen
User Group and Library Type:
The instructional workshop and research guide is designed for college freshmen at Western Connecticut State University with very limited exposure to research strategies. For many in the target group this will be their first scholarly paper at the college level. I spoke with Mrs. Stern about the needs of the students who take her course. The class is typically taught in the evening and so is comprised of a very diverse student body, a mixture of recent high school graduates, adult students and also a fairly high percentage of international students, though most of the foreign students have a very good command of English. Before starting this project I also spoke with Carol Skalko, Reference Librarian at Buley Library, to gain some insight into the skill level of incoming freshmen. In her experience many of the new students lack even the most basic library skills and what makes it even more of a challenge to teach them is that they don’t think they need any help. Many aren’t interested in listening to a librarian and would never come to Buley Library on their own. This is one of the reasons why teaching basic research skills is so important. Ms. Skalko recommended keeping the instruction time short and relevant to their class assignment. Buley Library, a small to medium sized academic library with a collection of over 543,082 items, will be the featured library for this instructional guide despite the course belonging to WCSU’s catalog. I wanted to gain a better understanding of Buley’s services and resources.
Nature and Scope of Project:
This informational instruction is part pathfinder, part “how-to-guide” on writing a research paper for a college level literature course. The six mini units form a step-by-step guide that will provide the student with all the components necessary for researching and writing a scholarly term paper.
1. Introduction to Buley Library - Why Not Just Google?
2. Choosing a Topic
3. Formulating a Search
4. Using the Catalog and an On-line Database
5. Evaluating Information
6. Citing Sources
Goals and Objectives:
Goal: To acquaint students to the different types of research materials available at Buley Library and online through the Buley Library website and to teach research strategies and skills. To provide guidelines for writing a college level research paper and to learn how to evaluate quality of sources, as well as cite sources.
Objectives:
· Provide students with an easy to follow five step plan on the research process.
· Educate the class on the variety of print and online resources at Buley Library.
· Create a pathfinder on course-related materials to provide relevant background to aid in the research of the paper.
Mode of Instruction:
In-library workshops are the most effective approach for this target group. The classes will be taught in a computer lab at the beginning of the semester with short instruction blocks and time for hands-on learning of print materials and online databases. While the most efficient approach may be an online tutorial, the target students are new to library skills so in-person instruction is more effective. Much of the workshop content utilizes online teaching sources found on the Web and created by academic instructional librarians. Mrs. Stern wants the students to come away from each instructional unit with a tangible result. For example at the end of Unit Two they will have a topic sentence, at the end of Unit Three they will have search terms, and at the end of Unit Four they will have several materials in their possession that relate to their end of term project. Unit six will help the students learn MLA citation format and provide them with the start of a bibliography.
Lesson Plan Outlines:
Unit One: Introduction to Buley Library - Why Not Just Google?
Goal: To acquaint students to the dearth of bad information on the Web and to introduce them to the wealth of free and reliable information available at Buley Library.
Objective:
· Instruct the students on how to recognize bad information.
· Expose the students to the resources available to them as students at SCSU.
Lesson: Visit the website - GenoChoice.
Together as a class evaluate the site for credibility, point out the factors that make this look like a legitimate site (i.e. links to a hospital name, doctor in a lab coat, medical terminology etc.) as well as the clues that show this to be a poor source of information (.com, ridiculous claims, doctor’s lack of credentials scientific site last updated in 2005). It is especially important to watch for conflicting or misleading information. Next visit the Buley Library Information page and discuss the variety of resources available. As a student at SCSU thousands of books, newspapers, magazines, journals, and a variety of audio/visual materials are available to you for free. You also have access to powerful online proprietary databases and subject librarians available to meet with you one-on-one to assist you with your research projects and questions.
Outcome: At the end of this unit students will recognize the numerable differences between credible and non-credible sources of information and discover that an academic library is one of the best information sources available.
Unit Two: Choosing a Topic
Goal: Help students find a research topic that interests them while also satisfying the requirement of HUM-119.
Objective:
· Provide a list of possible topics.
· Create a topic sentence.
Lesson: Have the class brainstorm on different topic ideas choosing one of the course’s texts as a starting point. Below are some strategies in choosing a topic. (Use slide below).
After brainstorming on choosing a topic discuss the idea of a topic question. Create a sample ‘topic sentence’ as a group. Sample – “Ernest Shackleton’s disregard of social class is responsible for the survival of the entire crew”.
Outcome: The students will be able to choose a topic that interests them and also satisfies the course requirement. The students will finish Unit Two with a competed topic question.
Unit Three: Formulating a Search
Goal: Assist students in developing a successful search strategy.
Objectives:
· Create some search terms.
· Use the thesaurus to identify the formal terms.
· Distinguish between topic and keywords.
· Explain how to use a Boolean search AND/OR
· Emphasize the concept of “narrowing” and “broadening” searches.
Lesson: Bring up this slide on the LCD projector after viewing the online tutorial Five Steps to Better Research, produced by Colorado State.
After thinking about their specific topics and defining the major concepts the students will create a list of synonyms to help define their search terms. Introduce the thesaurus as a starting place to develop a list of search terms. Follow up with hands-on practice on the computer working with a compound search (example: “cyber Monday” AND “electronic deals”). Introduce the crucial concept of narrowing your search by refining your search term. From here show the short tutorial from Colorado State on Boolean searches. With the improved search help on most databases, catalogs and search engines Boolean no longer needs as much coverage as it once did. Yet it still is important to expose students to the concept.
Outcome: The students will produce a working list of search terms that help them find the sources they are going to need to locate their print and on-line resources.
Unit Four: Using the Catalog and an On-line Database
Goal: To acquaint students to the different types of research materials available at Buley Library and on-line through the Buley Library website.
Objectives:
· Explain the different types of resources available.
· Provide instruction on CONSULS and Academic Search Premier.
· Direct students on how to search for their information.
Lesson: Bring up CONSULS on the overhead and go through the different search tabs, keyword, title, author, subject, and advanced. CONSULS has an intuitive search. Demonstrate what happens if you enter the title with a typo “Grapes of Rath” or “misremember” an author “John Steinfield”. The catalog will take you to nearby titles and notify you with a “No matches found; nearby TITLES are”.
Lead a short discussion on the Library of Congress Classification System. When reviewing the catalog also point out the drop down menu which allows you to sort by ALL LIBRARIES or SCSU only. Students will need to know about interlibrary loans for materials unavailable at SCSU. The “REQUEST” button has easy to follow cues. After reviewing CONSULS allow time for the class to search the catalog for books by author, title and subject. Point out the subject links which can help expand the search to other related materials. Here’s an opportunity to use the search terms created in Unit Three. Allow class time for the students to go the stacks and check out their books. Demonstrate the importance of viewing the table of contents and index to make sure the materials have relevant information to their topic.
Once the students are familiar with CONSULS, Academic Search Premier (requires login) should be fairly intuitive. Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) is one of the best all-purpose, multi-subject databases, with full text articles from newspapers, magazines, academic journals, encyclopedias, and books, plus references to many other articles. It’s also a good source of images from the news. Have the students input search terms from Unit Three. Point out the ‘Search Options’ and ‘Limit Your Results’ on the first screen. Refining the search from the beginning saves a lot of time. Allow class time for the students to retrieve two to three relevant articles for their term paper.
Outcome: Students will be able to find a variety of print and online sources found at Buley Library. At completion of Unit Four they will have five to six sources to be used in writing their term paper. Appendix A is also a good source of relevant sources.
Unit Five: Evaluating Information
Goal: To instruct students on how to look critically at information sources.
Objective: Explain how to determine currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy and purpose in information sources.
Lesson: As a class go over the various criteria for evaluating information sources as posed in the handout CRAAP test. The CRAAP test is a list of questions that will help you judge whether or not your information is reliable. As a class evaluate online and print source using CRAAP test.
Outcome: Students will have a ready list of questions to evaluate print and online sources.
Unit Six: Citing Sources
Goal: To instruct students on how and when to cite sources using the MLA style.
Objectives:
· Explain when and how to cite.
· Provide students with an online MLA Guide and Easy Bib Maker
Lesson: The MLA (The Modern Language Association) guidelines are used when you’re citing sources for literary papers. You must give credit to the source whenever you quote, paraphrase or summarize the work of another person. Printed materials, on-line sources, film, journals, musical scores, interviews, absolutely everything must be properly credited. Show the class the link on Buley at MLA Citation Style Guide where you can find proper style for the variety of sources you may need to use. Buley recommends Endnote Web as a reliable bib maker which allows you to format your citations easily and correctly. However I had trouble with the link and would recommend Easy Bibmaker.
Outcome: The students have the beginnings of a bibliography for their final paper. They can easily add to it as they find more sources.
Evaluating Criteria: See Appendix B for a quiz covering the major points of the six workshop units as well as a short evaluation on the workshop’s effectiveness.
Conclusion:
This guide as outlined above is far from complete, and only the beginning of a work that will evolve over time based on the needs of the students and the professor. Hopefully the workshops provide a step by step plan to help students plan and develop research strategies that will help them not only with their current course work but are general enough to aid them with future classes.
Writing this paper was a great experience. I especially enjoyed meeting with Reference Librarian Carol Skalko. She provided me with important background information on the library skills of college students and did an excellent job of explaining the needs of college freshmen. Learning how to provide library instruction to library users is an important responsibility of a reference librarian and one that I think will enjoy very much.
Appendix A: Pathfinder for Humanities 119
Books
Homer
Cambridge Companion to Homer PA4037C258 2004
The Limits of Heroism: Homer and the ethics of leading by Mark Buchan PA4167.B64 2004
The Odyssey: structure, narration & meaning by Bruce Louden PA 4167.L68 1999
Rediscovering Homer: inside the origins of the epic by Andrew Dalby PA4037 D335 2006
Taking her seriously: Penelope & the plot of the Homer Odyssey by Richard Heilman PA4167.H45 2005
Understanding the Odyssey: a student casebook to issues, sources and historic documents by Claudia Durst Johnson
Lansing
The Endurance: Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition by Caroline Alexander G850 1914.S53A44 1998
Shipwreck at the bottom of the world: the extraordinary true story of Shackleton and the Endurance by Jennifer Johnson G850 1914 .S53A76 1998
Team effectiveness 7 decision making in organizations by Richard Guzzo HD 66.T423 1995
What the ice gets: Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition PS3563.U35W52 2002
Salzman
From submarines to the suburbs: selling a better America 1939-1959 by Cynthia Henthorn HF5415.1.H463 2006
Protestant establishment: aristocracy and caste in America by E. Digby Baltsell HN90A1K325 2004
Rise and fall of Anglo America by Eric P. Kaufmann E184A1K325 2004
Roughing it in the suburbs by Valerie Korinek PN 4920.C49 K67 2000
Suskind
Constructing the Black masculine: identity and ideality in African American men’s literature and culture by Maurice Wallace E185.625 .W355 2002
Crips and bloods; made in America HQ1236.5 U6 M323 2009
Living to tell about it: young Black men in America speaks their piece by Darell Dawsey E185.86.D395 1997
The new Jim Crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness by Michelle Alexander HV9950 A437 2010
Race, crime, and justice : contexts and complexities HV6439.U7 L717 2009
Tirone-Smith
Assessment of parenting competency in mothers with mental illness by Theresa Hostler RJ507M44088 2008
Changing sentiment: the call for a death penalty moratorium by Gregory Sullivan SCSU Master’s Thesis 3rd floor 2003 4985
Mothers and more: American women in the 1950s by Eugenia Kale din RC451.4.H68W37 1987
Not June Cleaver: women of gender in postwar America 1945-1960 edited by Joanne Meyerowitz HQ1420.N68 1994
Serial murder and the psychology of violent crime edited by Richard Kocsis HV6515.548 2008
On-line Databases
Buley Library subscribes to several valuable online databases and learning how to navigate them will improve the power of your search greatly. Enjoy them while you’re in school because few public libraries purchase subscriptions. They are a wonderful resource. Academic Search Premier, CQ Researcher and Opposing Viewpoints all access information relevant to this assignment.
Other Useful Sites
Mark Salzman Interview http://journalism.berkeley.edu/projects/asiaproject/bess.html
Mary-Ann Tirone Smith Interview http://savvyverseandwit.com/2009/08/interview-with-mary-ann-tirone-smith.html
Ron Suskind Interviews & Articles http://www.ronsuskind.com/news/
Shackleton’s Voyage of Endurance http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/
In October and November 1999, NOVA journeyed into ice-choked Antarctic waters and onto the shores of rugged Elephant and South Georgia Islands as we followed in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton. This website chronicles the trip as well as other interesting background information on the Antarctic, interviews with Alexandra Shackleton, other ice adventure stories plus much more.
World Authors from SCSU’s Literary Subject Guide http://libguides.southernct.edu/content.php?pid=60271&sid=443628
For more help writing your paper visit
The Writing Center – http://www.southernct.edu/writingcenter/
Appendix B - Information Literacy Quiz
Instructions: Please circle the letter for the best answer.
1. For the most current information on a topic look in:
A. Books
B. Periodical articles
C. Encyclopedia articles
D. Bibliographies
2. Where would you look for information on 2010 midterm election results?
A. CONSULS
B. An encyclopedia
C. The Internet
D. An on-line database
3.An Information Literacy Guide . . .
A. Explains the proper format for a research paper
B. Helps you learn to read
C. Shows you how to use the computer
D. Assists you in the research process from choosing a topic to selecting the best databases, to modifying your search and properly citing your sources
4. If you were researching the impact of healthcare reform on illegal immigrants which of the following statements would provide the most relevant results from most online databases?
A. healthcare reform or illegal immigrants
B. illegal immigrants not healthcare
C. illegal immigrants as a factor in healthcare reform
D. illegal immigrants and healthcare reform
5. A pathfinder helps you:
A. Find your way around the library
B. Lists a variety of information sources to help you with a specific subject
C. Write your paper
D. Navigate websites
6. A bibliography is a list of:
A. Books in print
B. Geographical information
C. Information sources
D. Another name for memoir
7. Which of the following periodicals would be the most likely to contain scholarly articles?
A. Rolling Stone
B. Esquire
C. Journal of the American Medical Association
D. National Geographic
8. How can you evaluate whether a book on the library shelf contains information on your topic?
A. The title of the book includes your topic subject.
B. Find the book and see if the table of contents lists a chapter on my topic.
C. Find the book and check the index to see if my subject is included.
D. Any of the above
9. When searching on Academic Search Premier you find 93 articles on your topic. How do you judge which are best for your purposes?
A. Look for articles in journals with name recognition
B. Read the abstracts (if possible) to find the articles most relevant to your topic
C. You must read all 93 articles
D. Pick the five most recently published articles
10. To find a book in the library on the life of Tiger Woods, you would look:
A. In the library catalog
B. In a biographical dictionary
C. In a Sports Encyclopedia
D. In People Magazine
11. What is the best search strategy when researching the topic ‘teenage texting and fatal car accidents’?
A. Teen age drivers
B. Causes of teen traffic fatalities
C. Texting and teen traffic fatalities
D. Texting and teens
12. When searching on Google which search term(s) finds fewer items?
A. Diabetes and obesity
B. Diabetes or obesity
C. A and B will get the same number
D. diabetes and/or obesity
13. When should you ask a librarian for help?
A. You don’t know how to search an information source
B. You need help evaluating the credibility of an information sources
C. You don't know how to find information.
D. A, B, and C
Analyze the following citation for questions 14-18.
Helming, Steven. “A Martyr to Happiness: Why Adorno Matters.” Kenyon Review
ns 28.4 (2006): 156-72. Print.
14. The author of the article is:
A. Helming Steven
B. Steven Helming
C. Kenyon Review
D. Not listed
15. The name of the periodical containing the article is:
A. A Martyr to Happiness
B. Kenyon Review
C. Why Adomo Matters
D. Helming Steven
16. The volume number of the periodical is:
A. 28
B. 4
C. 156
D. 72
17. How many pages is the article?
A. 16
B. 17
C. 6
D. 14
18. What does ‘print” refer to at the end of the citation?
A. You are legally allowed to print this article
B. The article can only be found in print and not online.
C. The full text version is available
D. The format is in print version
19. What is the best strategy in choosing a topic?
A. Pick a topic that interests you or that you have questions about
B. Talk to friends and classmates about topics they find interesting
C. Talk with your teacher and/or a librarian
D. All of the above
Please use the following Library of Congress call numbers to answer question 19.
(1st) (2nd) (3rd) (4th) (5th) (6th)
PA PA PA PN PN PS
4037 4037 4167 4920 4920 3566
.C258 .D335 .B64 .B49 .R59 .U35W52
20. A book with the call number PA 4920.C49 K67 would be placed on the shelf:
A. Between the 3rd and 4th call number
B. Between the 4th and 5th call number
C. After the 6th call number
D. Between the 2nd and 3rd call number
Please visit the Coach Handbags website to answer question 21.
21. What makes you question the authenticity of this site?
A. The price of the products
B. The logo
C. The ‘About Us’ page
D. All of the above
22. Which parts of a Web page are protected by copyright?
A. Text only
B. Photographs only
C. Graphics only
D. Text, graphics, and design
23. The CRAAP test helps you evaluate information for
A. Objectivity
B. Accuracy
C. Currency
D. All of the above
24. The best citation style for an English paper is
A. MLA style
B. APA style
C. Chicago
D. All are equally good
25. An article which has been peer reviewed
A. Indicates scholarliness
B. Is more credible
C. Has been critically evaluated
D. All of the above
Course Evaluation:
1. How confident do you feel about your ability to choose a topic?
1. Very confident
2. Confident
3. Somewhat confident
4. Not very confident
5. Have no confidence
2. How confident do you feel about searching on CONSULS?
1. Very confident
2. Confident
3. Somewhat confident
4. Not very confident
5. Have no confidence
3. How confident are you searching on the online database Academic Search Premier?
1. Very confident
2. Confident
3. Somewhat confident
4. Not very confident
5. Have no confidence
4. How confident do you feel about recognizing credible accurate, authoritative, and current information from a Web search?
1. Very confident
2. Confident
3. Somewhat confident
4. Not very confident
5. Have no confidence
5. How confident do you feel about using the MLA style to cite sources?
1. Very confident
2. Confident
3. Somewhat confident
4. Not very confident
5. Have no confidence
Adapted from a quiz written by Ann Viles, [email protected], Appalachian State University, Aug. 30, 1999.
Works Cited
Association of College and Research Libraries. Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. American Library Association. 2010. Web. 12 November 2010.
Cranston, Cathy. Advanced Boolean Search Colorado State University Libraries. Creative Commons Attribute and Share Alike. 27 July 2010. Web. 18 November 2010.
Cranston, Cathy. Five Steps to Better Research Colorado State University Libraries. Creative Commons Attribute and Share Alike. 14 November 2010. Web. 18 November 2010.
“Evaluating Information – “Applying the CRAAPS Test” Meriam Library. California State University, Chico. 29 September 2009. Web. 21 November 2010.
“Intro to the Library” Hilton C. Buley Library. Southern Connecticut State University. 22 March 2010. Web. 15 November 2010.
“Library of Congress Classification System (LC).” Online Library Learning Center. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Web. 15 November 2010.
Shyam, Winnie. MLA Citation Study Guide Hilton C. Buley Library. Southern Connecticut State University. 19 October 2010. Web. 27 November 2010.
Smith, S. Web-Based Instruction: A Guide for Libraries. American Library Association. 2001. Web. 13 November 2010.
Viles, Ann. “Infotest” Appalachian State University. 30 August 1999. Web. 27 November 2010.
Wong, Virgil. “Genochoice” Genochoice. 2005. Web. 15 November 2010