Assignments for Classroom Use
These 12 great exercises will teach students the basics of research. They range from 10-40 minutes each and most include an answer key. Created by Sarah Kaip, December 2007.
Thinking about information Gets students over the "panic" and "procrastinate" mode and into the "get organized" and "create a plan" mode.
Creating a Research Question Teaches students how to narrow a topic and come up with a research question.
Search Terms Worksheet/ Gets students thinking about synonyms and related words.
Using Encylcopedias Students learn how to use the reference collection. Using encyclopedias enhances understanding of topc for better us of databases.
The Library Catalog Students learn what is in a catalog and how to use it.
Popular, Trade, and Scholarly Publications Great hands-on ecercise to learn the differences among the three types of publications.
Writing a Citation Students learn how a database is organized by creating their own database record.
Database Discovery Students learn what databases are, what they contain, ow to search them, and how to use all the different features.
Quality of Information Students find a book, journal or magazine article, newspaper article, and web site all on the same topic. The then evaluate each source for authority, accuracy, currency, reliability, usefulness, and scholarly merit.
Web Wonders Students choose 1 of 3 given web sites and evaluate it based on criteria listed in the previous exercise.
Fix this Bibliography Students are given a badly messed up bibliography and must make all corrections.
Authorship, Rights of Authors, Responsibilities of Researchers Unique assignment with non-threatening, yet thought-provoking quesitons to get students thinking about intellectural property and citing sources.
