Choosing a topic, creating an argument:
Students struggle to choose their own research topic and browse for ideas. They take a stance before researching and get frustrated when sources don't fit their argument. They often choose a different topic or rely on less credible sources.
Awareness of information sources.
Students are reluctant to go beyond Google and are overwhelmed by information choices and quantities.
Turning a topic into a search.
Students find it difficult to find the right words when searching for information online. They don't understand that searching a database is not like searching Google.
- Take time to brainstorm search terms, synonyms, and different ways of describing or saying the same thing.
- Practice searching for articles using databases. Explore search features and limiters.
- Search a topic multiple times using different words on the Web and using multiple databases. Discover which words and which sources retrieve the best results. Use successful search results to find more more search terms (what words does the article use to describe the topic?).
- Hands-on activities: Synonym Scattergories or Furry Crab or Database Searching Research Activity
Understanding research as a process.
Students aren't aware of the need to search again and again, refining their searches as they discover new questions and synthesize new information.
- Demonstrate the phases of the research process. Emphasize that research takes time and energy.
- Use concept mapping to show how research can take you in different directions.
- Hands-on activities: Summarizing Controversial Perspectives
Ability to evaluate and understand information.
Students are over-confident in their ability to evaluate information and determine whether or not a source is credible.
Knowing where to go for help.
Students believe that they are expected to "know" already, or that they have to figure everything out on their own.
- Provide students with information on where they can go to get research help at school, by visiting WCC's Bailey Library, or from their local public library. Let them know that librarians will help them at any stage of the research process.
Sources:
Head, A.J. (2013, December). Learning the Ropes: How freshmen conduct course research once they enter college. Project Information Literacy, Passage Studies Research Report.
Donham, J. (2014, January). College Ready - What can we learn from first-year college assignments? An examination of assignments in Iowa Colleges and Universities. School Library Research, 17.