Hannah Rozear – Page 2 – Library 101 Toolkit

Defining a Scholarly Source

Title	Defining a Scholarly Source
Description	Students will compare 3 different articles to determine which one is scholarly and will then list out the reasons why they think it is scholarly. This activity allows students to think critically about publications in order to deduce the features that give scholarly sources their scholarly nature.
Steps	Provide students with 3 articles to review related to the course content: A peer-reviewed, scholarly research article A popular source One should be somewhere in-between, such as an article written by a scholar, but not published in a journal These articles can be provided as print copies or online links to the articles Working in pairs or small groups, have the students compare the three articles for 10 minutes They should: Identify areas where the articles are different, Discuss what is scholarly, what is not? After each group has had time to review the articles ask students to tell you which article they thought was scholarly and why Note their criteria on the whiteboard If anything is missing, add it, and explain; Based on the criteria, ask them to define what a scholarly article is
Tags	Evaluating-sources; Beyond-Google; In-class
Time	20 minutes total (1o minutes examining sources; 10 minutes discussing)
Attachments	Scholarly Worksheet

Developing an Interdisciplinary Search Strategy

Title	Developing an Interdisciplinary Search Strategy
Description	This is an activity that helps students develop an interdisciplinary search strategy in stages. Students define their topic, brainstorm questions related to their topic area, and connect these questions to the disciplines and experts where they might find more research and information. Students learn how to identify search tools & information sources based on their questions using the library’s website.
Steps	Demonstrate the entire process on the whiteboard (see an example of a Interdisciplinary Strategy below). Choose a topic relevant to the course content and write it in the center of the board Ask students to think about what kinds of questions they would ask about this topic. Then invite them to brainstorm Write the questions down around the central topic in a different color When sufficient questions have been created, show the students how one can link the question to a specific discipline Provide students with a sheet of paper. Invite them to write their topic in the center which will encourage them to think more creatively than to make lists on the page. Tell them to brainstorm question about their topic After 5 minutes, ask students to think about what kinds of experts would do research on the questions they generated Explain how different kinds of disciplinary experts publishing their research in different publications and explain how you can use disciplinary-focused research databases to find sources in those disciplines. Show students how to browse databases by subject and/or format Demonstrate a search
Tags	beyond-google; refining-topic; in-class
Time	20 minutes
Attachments	Interdisciplinary Strategy (Example); Interdisciplinary Strategy (Blank Template)

Evaluating Sources: the Matrix

Title	Evaluating Sources: the Matrix
Description	This activity presents students with several categories of sources (ex. background, social media, news, scholarly/academic) and asks them to select a source and rate it using critieria about the relevance, timeliness, and authority. The source genres can be adapted to fit the kinds of sources students will be utilizing for their assignment.
Steps	Introduce the evaluation matrix to students and touch on the key criteria that they will be looking for in their sources (relevance, currency, and authority) Break students into small groups (2-3) and distribute worksheet (either online or in print) Ask students to follow the instructions and find a source related to their course topic for each source genre/category Ask students to rank the “scholarliness” of the source they select using the evaluation matrix At the end of the exercise, have students report out on one of the sources that they found and the evaluation criteria they applied to determine the quality of the source
Variation	Give students a blank matrix and ask them to evaluate sources as they conduct their own independent research on their own topic.
Tags	Evaluating-sources; In-class
Time	20 minutes total (1o minutes examining sources; 10 minutes discussing)
Attachments	Evaluation Matrix Worksheet

Identifying Stakeholders: Who Cares?

Title	Identifying Stakeholders: Who Cares?
Description	This is an exercise to get student to think and discuss different kinds of stakeholders surrounding a topic and what genres of sources those stakeholders might publish in (both formal & informal).
Steps	Beforehand, create a stakeholder chart on a topic relevant to the course content (see stakeholders example below) During class, show students an example stakeholder chart. Talk through some of the different types of stakeholders and the sources of information that the stakeholders produce (publications, etc.) Ask students to respond to: what’s listed there, who they might add as a stakeholder?what types of sources they might add? where would they find these sources (web, library)? Transition from the discussion to strategies for finding this wide variety of sources in search engines and library databases Give students a blank version of the stakeholders chart and/or ask them to tag each source that they find with a stakeholder & source type tag
Tags	Evaluating sources; In-class
Time	10 minute discussion; 10-minute reflection on student’s stakeholder / source tags
Attachments	Stakeholders Worksheet; Stakeholders Example

Making Connections: Primary Texts to Themes

Title	Making Connections: Primary Texts to Themes
Description	This is a brainstorming activity to allow students to make scholarly connections between a primary text and related themes, historical or social connections, and relevant disciplines. This activity works well for research assignments that take a literary, or primary text, analysis approach.
Steps	Prior to the library session, ask students to select a theme and a text that they’re interested in In the library session, show students an example of a completed connections map on a topic/text that relates to a topic or text that they’ve studied in class. Talk through the sections on the map Pass out worksheet and ask students to take 10 minutes brainstorming connections between their selected primary text and sub-themes, historical, social, theoretical, and disciplinary connections As a class, work through one example from a student’s topic. Ask other students to give feedback Ask students to keep the worksheet, so they can add to it during the class. Remind students that research is a complex, iterative, and messy process, so their topics may evolve as they begin reading sources
Tags	pre-assignment; in-class; refining-topic
Variations	This activity could be adapted for works of art, images, ads, artifact, music, etc.
Time	20 minutes
Attachments	Connections Worksheet; Connections (Example)

Mapping a Topic

Title	Mapping a Topic
Description	This is a brainstorming activity to allow students to think about aspects of their topic that they may need to explore in their research. The map prompts students to think about the who, what, where, when components of their topic, as well as asking them to think broadly and narrowly on aspects of their topic that they might want to research.
Steps	Show students an example of a completed topic map (see example below) on something related to class Pass out worksheet and ask students to take 10 minutes brainstorming connections between their core topic area and the related sub-topics & and specific details they may need to explore in their research As a class, work through one example from a student’s topic. Ask other students to give feedback Ask students to keep the worksheet, so they can add to it during the class
Tags	Refining-topic; In-class
Time	20 minutes
Attachments	Mapping a Topic Worksheet; Mapping a Topic (example)

Pre-search: Preliminary Research

Title	Pre-search: Preliminary Research
Description	This is an activity that asks students to do some preliminary “pre-search” on their topics before their library session. Students can use the web, Wikipedia, or any source of their choosing to identify 3-4 relevant sources on their topic. Students are asked to document the sources they find, their search process, and a rating for the quality/reputability of these sources.
Steps	Assign students the worksheet leading up to an in–person library session and ask them to share or bring the completed assignment to their library session Ask students to share examples of sources they found, how they found these sources, and what they thought of the quality of the sources Variation: have students pair up and swap their papers with another student to discuss their findings first Discuss with class what their go–to sources are for presearch & what evaluation criteria they apply when finding sources online
Tags	Refining-topic; In-class
Time	20 minutes (homework); 10-15 minute class discussion
Attachments	Pre-search Worksheet; Pre-search Example

Researching a Controversy Using Wikipedia Talk Pages

Title	Researching a Controversy Using Wikipedia Talk Pages
Description	This is an activity to get students to think critically about the sources and information presented in a Wikipedia article. Students are asked to look up an article on their own topic, or a topic related to the course, and examine the content and the “Talk” page to see what issues the article has related to Wikipedia’s 3 guiding principles for content: point of view (objectivity/bias), verifiability (quality of sources cited), and evidence of original research. NOTE: This activity works best for topics (people, events) that are current public debates and/or controversial.
Steps	Ask students what role they see Wikipedia playing as a source for information in their lives (personal, academic) Introduce students to Wikipedia’s 3 core content policies: 1. Neutral Point of View; 2). Verifiability; & 3). No Original Research Pass out worksheet (or present discussion questions via a PPT slide) and ask students to take 10 minutes looking at an article on their topic (or if they don’t have topics, on a topic discussed in class). Ask them to look at both the article and the “Talk Page” in order to comment on what they discover about issues in the article related to the 3 core content policies As a class, discuss: what they find intriguing, or interesting about the controversies surrounding their article’s content; any interesting examples of controversy around unreliable sources of information cited in the Talk page
Tags	Evaluating-sources; Beyond-Google; In-class
Time	25 minutes (5 min. intro; 10 min. review of Wikipedia article; 5-10 min. discussion)
Attachments	Evaluating Wikipedia

Speed-dating Search Engines

Title	Speed-dating Search Engines
Description	This activity presents students with a variety of different search engines (web and library) on a worksheet and prompts them to do rapid research on a topic in order to compare features and scope of search engines relevant to the course topic.
Steps	Give students a worksheet, on which you direct them to several different databases which you’ve selected. Select relevant databases. Leave room for students’ notes. Explain the worksheet, let students know when the exercise will end. Tell them to start. At the end of the time, discuss results: Invite students to talk about their discoveries As they describe the usefulness (or not) of a database, write criteria on the board If there are any criteria missing, add them to your list and explain them to students.
Tags	In-class
Time	20 minutes
Attachments	Speed-dating Worksheet

Beyond Google: Recommended Activities from Other Sites

Title	Recommended Beyond Google Activities from Other Sites
Database Teach-in (CORA)	This activity is designed to flip traditional database “demos” to have students explore and demonstrate using library databases for their classmates.
Composing Tutorials for Navigating Databases (DWRL)	This activity is designed to have students create their own instructional manual for using assigned databases.