CREATING EFFECTIVE LIBRARY ASSIGNMENTS

A well-designed course-related library assignment is an excellent teaching tool. Effective assignments develop student's research skills, critical thinking skills, and subject knowledge. By working together, librarians and instructors can develop assignments that enhance pedagogical objectives while minimizing frustration.

We Can Help!

• Consult with a Librarian - - A librarian will work with you to design an effective assignment by identifying appropriate research strategies for our collection.
  
  
• Instruction - The Library provides a variety of instruction options to meet the needs of your students and class

Tips for Developing Assignments

• Currency -- Information sources are constantly changing. New resources are available on our web site and through OhioLINK on a continuous basis. New sources appear and methods of accessing information are evolving. A librarian can point you to the most current and relevant sources for your class.
  
  
• Feasibility - It is important to ensure that the library has adequate information in a particular area. Even with the Internet, OhioLINK and our existing collection, it is possible that your specific class assignment needs may require additional materials. By meeting with a librarian in advance, we can assure the materials are available for your students.
  
  
• Variety -- It is important to incorporate choice into assignments so that large numbers of students are not looking for the same book, article, or index.
  Circulating items that will be needed by many students should be placed on RESERVE.
  
  
• Consult -- Refer students to the DAAP Library for assistance. An important aspect of library research is recognizing the expertise of librarians and asking for research help when necessary. More in-depth help is available in the library during office hours.
  
  
• Time frames -- Students who are new to library research often find library assignments very time-consuming. Providing deadlines for different stages of the assignment are useful for larger research projects. On the subject of time frames, it is important for students to be aware that information about current topics may be limited to newspaper sources, as journal articles and books take time to appear.
  
  
• Correct Terminology -- Students are easily confused by new terms that they cannot interpret. For example, an indexing/abstracting tool should be referred to by its correct name. Again, librarians can provide assistance in recommending the most appropriate resources for the class.
  
  
• Web Reality -- For most assignments students should neither be directed to find their information exclusively on the web nor be told to avoid the web. Much high quality, expensive electronic research tools are made available by the library on the web. These resources are not to be confused with what is freely retrieved by searching the web. In many cases, electronic discovery tools lead students to useful information but the information itself is not provided on the web.
  
  
• Citing Sources -- If there is a documentation style you prefer, it is useful to specify the style when the assignment is introduced. Students, particularly undergraduates, often have a difficult time managing and keeping track of information. Again, we can point you to some useful tools within the OhioLINK system as well as provide information on REFWORKS (link to REFWORKS) which is a tool that compiles bibliographies and footnotes and is available free to all UC students and faculty.
  
  
• A Copy for Us -- Please provide a copy of your assignment to the DAAP Library staff. We can provide better services if we know what students are working on and what resources you wish them to use.
  

Some Ideas for Library Assignments:
These are generic suggestions, requiring modification to suit the needs of a particular course or discipline.

• Ask a group of students to prepare a guide to the information sources on a particular subject. Not only does these expose students to the variety of resources available to them; it also provides the opportunity to compare and contrast information resources and to develop critical thinking skills.
  
  
• Prepare a literature review on a particular topic for a specific time frame. This is particularly useful when covering historical topics and can introduce students to primary resources and our vast collection of online newspapers and historical books.
  
  
• Compare the results of searching the same precise topic on one or more Internet search engines and a bibliographic database(s). An effective handout, Libraries vs. Internet can assist students in completing this type of assignment.
  
  
• Compare how two different disciplines discuss the same topic by finding articles from the journal literature of each discipline. (Art and philosophy as an example)
  
  
• Compare the discussion of a particular research study in the popular and scholarly press. Students compare the relationship between the popular article and original study on which it was based.
  
  
• Compare a popular and a scholarly article on the same topic in terms of content, bias, style, and audience.
  
  
• Compare two journal articles that discuss the same topic from different points of view.
  
  
• Research a topic using primary and secondary sources. Compare the results retrieved from the two types of sources. Remember our Archives and Rare Book Department is more than happy to assist with class research projects.
  
  
• Research a particular topic in the literature of the 70s and 80s. Research the same topic in the literature of the 90s and 00s. Discuss the evolution of the field based on this exercise.
  
  
• Read an editorial or book review and find facts to support or contradict.
  
  
• Prepare a nomination of a person or group for a particular prize or honor in art/architecture. In addition to defending their nomination, students would be required to learn about the prize, criteria for the award, etc.
  
  
• Research the publications and career of a prominent scholar/artist/designer/architect. The assignment might require biographical information, a bibliography of publications, and analysis of the individual in their field of research. There is a wealth of biographical resources available on line, which helps students formulate ideas.
  
• Research a classical work through reviews, citation indexes, biographical information, etc and discuss the effect of the work on the discipline.
  
  
• Research a particular company, organization, as preparation for a (hypothetical) interview.
  
  
• Evaluate a relevant web site based on specific criteria, including accuracy, comprehensiveness, authority, bias, and ease of use, visual style. Students may be asked to compare a number of web sites representing government, personal, commercial, and scholarly sites. See our library web pages on evaluating web resources.
  
• Submit a research log with the assignment for which the research was undertaken. Evaluate students on their strategy, what sources they used and why, as well as what did not work.
  
  
• Encourage students to think beyond the printed word and utilize many of our outstanding sound and image resources to develop presentation. Such as ARTstor, Naxos Music Online and AP Images.