Title	Choosing a Topic Flowchart READ MORE
Description	This activity helps students pick or refine a topic that is of personal interest and meets the criteria for their assignment. It is based on the idea that students are more engaged with topics that are of personal interest. It can be used as a standalone worksheet for students to use or can be used as a pre-class activity for them to complete before coming to a library session or other class session.
Tags	refining-topic; pre-assignment; in-class

Title	Classifying Sources: the BAAM Method READ MORE
Description	This is an activity that uses the framework of BAAM* as a way of helping the students to understand how they would use different kinds of sources in their research papers. BAAM is a way of classifying sources as: Background; Artifact; Argument; Method. The BAAM method is introduced to students before hands-on searching, and then afterwards, as the students begin classifying their results. *Note: We have modified BAAM from Joseph Bizup’s BEAM Method. Substituting Exhibit for Artifact.
Tags	beyond-google; evaluating-sources; in-class

Title	Defining a Scholarly Source READ MORE
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.
Tags	evaluating-sources; in-class

Title	Developing an Interdisciplinary Search Strategy READ MORE
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.
Tags	refining-topic; in-class

Title	Evaluating Sources: the Matrix READ MORE
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 criteria about the relevance, currency, and authority. The source genres can be adapted to fit whatever kinds of sources students will be utilizing for their assignment.
Tags	evaluating-sources; in-class

Title	Finding a Book READ MORE
Description	In post-session feedback, first-year students frequently express anxiety over how to physically navigate the library to find a book on the shelf. This is a simple, pre-assignment to help students try this out before class, so that students and their librarian can discuss any of the challenges they faced in attempting to complete the task. With the help of the course instructor, students are asked to find a book on their research topic (or course topic) and bring it to class.
Tags	beyond-google; pre-assignment; in-class

Title	Identifying Stakeholders: Who Cares? READ MORE
Description	This is an activity 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).
Tags	evaluating-sources; in-class

Title	Making Connections: Primary Texts to Themes READ MORE
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.
Tags	refining-topic; in-class; pre-assignment

Title	Mapping a Topic READ MORE
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.
Tags	refining-topic; in-class; pre-assignment

Title	Pre-search: Preliminary Research READ MORE
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.
Tags	evaluating sources; pre-assignment; in-class

Title	Researching a Controversy using Wikipedia Talk Pages READ MORE
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: 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.
Tags	evaluating-sources; in-class

Title	Speed-dating Search Engines READ MORE
Description	This activity presents students with a variety of different search engines (web and library databases) 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.
Tags	beyond-google; evaluating-sources; in-class

Title	Student-Generated Evaluation Criteria READ MORE
Description	Librarians and instructors flip an explanation of evaluation criteria by having students in the class generate a list of qualities and characteristics they think are important when selecting sources for their assignments. This will engage students in what they would look for. Librarians and instructors can help facilitate – and add to – the list generated by the students.
Tags	evaluating-sources; in-class