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Teaching Research and Information Literacy (TRAIL) - Think Like a Researcher: Instruction Resources

This guide is a copy of the Think Like a Researcher/TRAIL guide used 2014-2017.

Outcomes

Course Learning Outcome:  Demonstrate information literacy and be able to work with evidence

Goal:  Set students on a path to effectively find suitable sources

Specifically, students will be able to

  • Translate a research question into a successful search
  • Understand how to use database structure to their advantage
  • Locate relevant information

Lesson: Library In-Person Instruction Session

Lesson

Revisiting Your Research Question; Search Strategies

  • Examine & Refine Research Question
  • Review & Develop Search Strategies
  • Expose Database Similarities & Structure
  • Provide Time to Search

Student Preparedness

Expectations of Students Arriving for the Library Session

  • Completed tutorials, used some of the databases
  • Awareness of the type of resources they might need
  • Awareness of bias in sources
  • Come with a research question & potential keywords
  • Ready to search and ask questions!

Reading

none designated

Research Journal

  • What was the most useful thing you learned in this week's visit to the Library?
  • Assuming that articles found in library databases are credible, what other strategies will you use to evaluate those sources before using them in your research?