Tips for Improving Student Research

PIL’s content analysis of research assignment handouts found that only 13% recommended consulting with a librarian. (Inquiry, 3)  In a PIL survey, 80% of students reported rarely, if ever, seeking help from a librarian with course-related research (Lessons, 23).  Yet 63% of students report frustration due to their inability to find resources (Context, 3).  Librarians are experts in planning a research strategy, searching for and locating information, and easing frustration with research.  Be sure to recommend that students consult a librarian for assistance with their research.  Even better, provide them with contact information for reference services and/or a subject specialist.

60% of handouts recommended students access materials on the library shelves (Inquiry, 11).  However, today’s college students are more Web-focused and an increasing percentage of library materials are available digitally.  Direct students towards library resources in a variety of formats and suggest using Summon to discover them.

Of the handouts that recommended using online library resources, only a minimal number (14%) mentioned specific databases by vendor or name (Inquiry, 3).  The PSC Library offers access to numerous databases covering a broad range of disciplines that can help direct student research, so suggest a few by name to your students.

Only 18% of handouts mentioned plagiarism, focusing primarily on disciplinary actions (Inquiry, 21). Based on faculty interviews, undergraduate students have trouble understanding what plagiarism is. Take time to define plagiarism for your students, show them how to correctly paraphrase and attribute words and ideas, and refer them to a librarian or PSC Library’s research guide on Citing Sources for specific information.

Only 25% of handouts discussed how to evaluate the authority of sources (Inquiry, 19) and 49% of students sought their instructor’s help in evaluating sources for research assignments (Truth, 13).  Review criteria for evaluating sources (e.g. reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias) in the context of your discipline or assignment, so that students learn how and why to select quality sources.

While a majority of the handouts discussed the mechanics of the assignment (e.g. page length, margins etc.), only “16% of the handouts discussed, clarified, defined, or framed what research meant as it applied to the assignments” (Inquiry, 26). Interviewed faculty members stated that undergraduates have little knowledge about the research process.  Defining research as it applies to the assignment or discipline gives students the situational context that they lack and that they need (Context, 9). Additionally, 63% of students found in-class discussions about how to conduct research helpful (Lessons, 30).

Interviewed faculty stated that online guides “the potential to engage students in the research process and in the on-site foraging in the stacks that research often requires” (Inquiry, 12).  Check out our research guides and embed one in Canvas or request a custom guide from your librarian.

College students find many steps of the research process difficult.  Getting started is problematic for 84%, defining a topic is troublesome for 66%, and narrowing down a topic is challenging for 62% of students surveyed (Truth, 3.)  So break your research assignment into manageable parts for students (also known as “scaffolding”.)  Require that students turn in a topic proposal, an annotated bibliography, or a draft along the way to the final product.  Students reported that separate deadlines for parts of a paper are helpful (61%), as are instructors’ review of paper drafts (71%) (Lessons, 30.)

In an earlier PIL study, 12 of 13 students reported frustration determining their professors’ expectations for a research assignment (Beyond Google). Be specific and open about how your research assignments will be evaluated.  Provide students with grading rubrics and weight the assignment(s) according to importance of the desired outcome.

About 50% of faculty interviewed discussed their reliance on librarians. “Faculty turned to librarians for teaching students about finding information and planning a research strategy, especially choosing and using appropriate databases, and for creating custom resources, such as pathfinders [online guides], for their course” (Inquiry, 13). Librarians can also help you design an assignment that will develop your students’ critical thinking and research skills.