Tips for Creating Effective Research Assignments

• Define your objectives
  And share with students WHY they should do the assignment.
  • Defining and sharing objectives helps your students understand your expectations, what they will learn as a result, and how this will help them long term.
  • Do you want students to know and use major resources in a subject, gather resources for a research paper, solve a problem, evaluate different types of sources? What do you want students to do with the information once they have found it?
  
  
• Design the assignment
  • Make it relevant to the topics or subjects being covered in class.
  • Require students to not just retrieve information but to evaluate it and use it in a meaningful way. Incorporate critical thinking into the assignment.
  • Ask your library liaison for input! We see a lot of good research assignments, but we also know the assignments that unnecessarily frustrate students.
  
  
• Test your assignment
  • Do the assignment yourself before giving it to students in order to make sure your objectives are met, resources are correctly listed, deadlines are adequate, and that appropriate library resources are available. This mandate holds true every time you assign it. Things change quickly in the Information Age, so be sure to check any specific instructions or sources you give to students.
  • Show the assignment to your library liaison and a colleague. They may see problems that you have overlooked or contribute creative improvements.
  • Ask students for feedback on the assignment, and be open to their comments and suggestions.
  
  
• Specify requirements/sources
  • Indicate required number of sources.
    Recommended: minimum with no set maximum.
  • Require a variety of sources, but be FLEXIBLE.
    Why? Not all topics, particularly those chosen by students themselves, are covered in every type of resource. For example, it may be difficult to find government documents in print on the topic of faith healing.
  • Clearly define your terms. Make sure requirements are clear in your mind and understood by students. For example:
    • Scholarly or popular journals -- if you are going to require them, be sure you've worked out the distinction for yourself. There is a helpful guide on our Evaluating Information page. We can also cover this in a library instruction session.
    • Online or web sources -- Many times when instructors say that online or web sources are not allowed, students get the impression that they are not allowed to use our book or journal article databases, which index and make available full-text online sources that were originally published in print. For more on this distinction, see "Is it information on the web or a journal/magazine article?"


• Describe/Demonstrate the types of sources you are requiring
  • Any kind of periodical article? Or limited to:
    • scholarly/refereed journal articles?
    • magazine articles?
    • newspaper articles?
    • at least 2/3 of the articles from scholarly journals
  • Books or book chapter?
  • Web pages? See "Is it information on the web or a journal/magazine article?"
  • Government Documents?
  • Interviews or transcripts?


• Help your students
  • Provide students with resource lists to give them somewhere to start. Ask you liaison librarian for suggestions or research guides.
  • Schedule a library instruction session to introduce your students to the process of research.
  • Be sure to tell your students to allow for enough time to do their research. Remind them that good research takes time. Schedule in-class time to do research, with assistance from you and a librarian.
  • Be sure to notify us if you plan to visit with your class in order to avoid conflicts when more than one class visits at a time.
  • Put materials on reserve if students have to use the same resource.
  • Send a copy of your assignment to your Library Liaison. We keep a folder of current assignments at the Reference Desk so that we are well prepared to assist students.
  • Make library research an ongoing process:
    • create assignments with components due throughout the semester
    • repeat skills learned in earlier assignments to reinforce learning
  
  
• "Scavenger Hunts" --use wisely!

  Why? An entire class of students all attempting to use the same resources to find the same information leads to frustration for students. Scavenger Hunts can provide students with the opportunity to be in the library and also to begin exploring all that the library has to offer. What is important when crafting a scavenger hunt is the incorporation of problem solving, analysis, and critical thinking skills. This is not an easy task. Scavenger hunts typically don't require learners to evaluate the source or information or use the information for any purpose. Thus, students sometimes see this as a purposeless exercise and lose interest. If you are interested in designing a scavenger hunt, please contact your library liaison for assistance.

• Consider alternatives to the traditional research paper
  • Develop annotated bibliographies.
  • Keep a research log.
  • Compare and contrast discussions of the same topic in a popular magazine and a scholarly journal on the criteria of content, style, bias, audience, etc. (example)
  • Read an editorial or opinion piece and find facts to support it.
  • Evaluate a web site based on specific criteria.
  • Learn more about or solve a problem in your professional or personal life.
  • Conduct research on a company for a hypothetical interview.
  • Do market research for a new business, service, or product of choice.
  • Pick a topic and research it in the literature from the 1960's Then research the topic throughout the 1980's to the present. Compare and contrast the coverage.
  • Research a medical problem: investigate a diagnosis and prescribed treatments. Describe the condition, prognosis, treatment, side effects, alternative treatments. Make a recommendation to the patient.
  • Follow a piece of legislation through Congress. What are the politics of the issue? What groups support or oppose the issue?
  • Write a chapter from a historical novel. First research the daily life, eating habits, rituals, dress, social customs, etc. of the time to write a truly accurate, engaging story.
  • Write a well-researched, knowledgeable music review of a popular music group.
  • Make a difference! Learn about a local issue, research how other communities have dealt with similar issues, and make your pitch through a letter to the editor, newspaper essay, presentation to the city council, etc.!
  • Ask your library liaison for suggestions!