Essential Questions

What are the elements of ethical research?  What are the range of materials available on a topic?  What are the differences between academic databases and search engines?  What are the conventions of literary research?

Content

Students learn the basics of research on a defined topic.  The librarian works closely with the content of the course providing the research need.

Ex:

• Junior English students encounter literary research using secondary sources in the Huckleberry Finn NARP project.
• Science Research class

Skills and Processes

Student learns how to:

• define a research question
• work with a set of selected secondary sources to obtain
• develop an effective search strategy
• choose appropriate academic databases, books, and websites
• locate and examine literary criticism on a defined topic
• broaden or narrow search results
• evaluate search results
• credential sources
• cite sources

Assessment

Resources

• Library collections, including books placed on reserve
• Research databases
• Librarian’s handouts

Multicultural Dimension

Students encounter a broad range of material addressing gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation in their research questions.   The Huckleberry Finn assignment in particular places students in the middle of the political, cultural and literary controversies surrounding the text.  The Librarian teaches students to closely evaluate bias, language, author's credentials and agenda of materials.