Rebecca Greer

LIS 590
Kennedy Library: Class Observations
Spring 2015
The library instruction sessions I observed at Kennedy Library are
oriented towards undergraduate students in introductory English
classes. In these session instructors often utilize the same
presentation. This presentation integrates components of the research
process while offering brief overviews of library resource tools and
search techniques. Each presenter varied his or her approach with
utilizing this presentation. Some used it more judiciously, while others
deviated from it to offer additional experiences with locating a book in
the library or incorporating more user experiences with specific
research tools. Even with these deviations, the following are common
content elements that would be suitable for development of online
learning objects.
Suggestion 1:
Research Cycle
One of the difficulties with trying to demonstrate the research cycle in
a live classroom environment is the constraint of time as well as the
necessity for students to adopt a singular research topic to
demonstrate the process. Due to time constraints, a presenter has to
go through the Research Cycle linearly, when in truth, this process is
recursive. For example, the first few stages in this process are: Reflect
and Refine, Ask Questions? and Explore and read for background.
It is not an easy task to demo this process live as it is usually staged
and students know the presenter has prepared specific sources for
them to discover. The online environment also imposes these same
limitations. To demonstrate this task, an instructor will have already
gone through this process and selectively edited his or her own
discovery for ease of demonstration.
Due to these limitations, I would consider embedding components of
the Research Cycle into the Cal Poly LMS for instructors to integrate in
a series of steps with course assignments. For example, when students
are asked to come up with a research topic, a module could offer an
overview of the Research Cycle. Using this overview, a series of
modules could appropriately chunk the Research Cycle into stages for
integration into the course along the way.
When students need to formulate a well-defined research topic, focus
on these first three stages, Reflect and Refine, Ask Questions, and

Explore and Read for Background. You can have them document their
experience by asking them to share in a discussion board their initial
ideas for a research topic. Use the discussion board as an opportunity
to engage in the process of asking more refined questions about their
topic and seeking to answer these questions with some background
sources.
Within the module, specific sources can be referenced that are
currently presented in the class such as CQ Researcher, Opposing
Viewpoints, and Wikipedia for background research. Accompanying
these sources can be disclaimers about why these sources are good to
use for background information, but lack the attributes necessary for
them to be incorporated more fully into a scholarly research paper
(depending on the specifics of their assignment).
If students already have done some preliminary background research
and have a well-formed research question, then they can delve into the
next step of deciding what information they need. Much of this will
depend on the specifications of their assignment. However, developing
a simple graphical representation of available sources and suitable
uses for those sources could be a quick and easy reference tool for
students to consult at this stage. For example, where should they be
going if theyre in need of primary sources? Peer reviewed articles?
Statistical information? Historical information? Having a quick go-to
source like this in an online space can also afford you the opportunity
link tutorials demonstrating how to use these various subscription
resources and catalogs.
The stages of Search and Examine as well as Evaluate sources is
better suited in an online environment where students can engage in
discussions with a librarian as they find and evaluate their sources. For
example, students can post to a discussion board their topic once more
with a links to the sources they think are optimal. Here, students can
engage in the process of peer review with each others sources as well.
In the module, evaluation methods such as the CRAAP test and the
BEAM model should be introduced and available for student to consult
readily. Tutorials can accompany these sources so that student can see
how these methods are applied and how one uses the findings from
this analysis to determine if a source should be utilized for a research
paper. In these discussions, there is a perfect opportunity to address
that it is possible that students will struggle to find relevant sources on
their topic, or maybe they discover a new tangent of their topic they
would rather pursue. In these instances, a librarian involved in a
discussion board exchange can interject that this is where a student
will be revisiting earlier stages of the Research Cycle to reformulate
their topic or questions and learn more background information. For

those who struggle to find sources, this will also be an excellent

opportunity for them to revisit earlier stages of the Research Cycle.
These students may need to reevaluate where to search or change the
parameters for what kind of information they may need to truly
address their topic succinctly. Because this process is iterative, a static
online presentation of this process does a poor job of reflecting these
interests. Therefore, using discussion boards and inputting learning
objects in a timely fashion to these needs will offer the best support to
the students.
Suggestion 2:
Background Sources
In accordance with the Research Cycle, a static learning object could
be created to identify which library tools and resources are best for
compiling background information. Each observed instruction session
discussed CQ Researcher and Opposing Viewpoints as subscription
databases that are useful for learning more information about a topic.
However, they were also considered inappropriate for integration into a
research paper. Some presenters also discussed the utility of free
online reference sources like Wikipedia. A static online learning object
can assist users to quickly identify what resources they should consult
for this piece of the Research Cycle with extended learning
opportunities to understand why these sources are not suitable for
academic research.
During these instruction sessions, newspapers were often discussed in
tandem with background sources, like CQ Researcher. Its not always
clear if these sources are appropriate for usage in a research paper. So
I would also consider incorporating elements of the threshold concept,
Information Creation as a Process to understand how newspapers
can actually serve as background resources as well as how this
delivery method differs from other sources found in CQ Researcher and
entries in Wikipedia.
Demonstrations of newspaper databases (as well as other subject and
multidisciplinary databases) are well suited as online tutorials. Features
of each database, such as the use of limiters and full-text access can
be fully demonstrated. However, a static page with selected
screenshots could also be effective, but may be more challenging for
users to navigate.
Suggestion 3:

Subscription Databases
Each presenter discussed the difference between multidisciplinary
databases and subject specific databases. However, it was emphasized
when searching in these databases to limit to peer review to obtain
the best results. To offer a more thorough understanding of database
source types, an online learning object can discuss what different
source types are present in these databases. In Kailas presentation,
she specifically directs students to look at source characteristics such
as length, language, organization, and presence of citations. An online
tutorial can offer an overview of different source types within subject
and multidisciplinary databases and offer visual comparisons of thee
sources. This particular learning object can also incorporate
components of the threshold concept, Information Creation as a
Process. By examining different source types and looking at their
unique characteristics, a larger conversation of how information is
created and the processes used to disperse information, will enlighten
the user to the value of the peer review process in academia.
Additionally, three of the four presenters introduced students to
available subject guides and referenced the Research Survival guide as
the starting place for any research topic. As such, I would consider
linking subject guides within the Research Survival Guide to encourage
students to explore these relevant guides to their research. Currently,
the Research Survival Guide identifies subject specific databases in
Most Useful Databases but this information may be redundant.
Instead, this could be a focused interest on multidisciplinary databases
and an overview of useful background research databases and
research tools.
Suggest 4:
Evaluation
Two of the presenters introduced the CRAAP method for evaluation of
sources. An online tutorial would be optimal to demonstrate the
process of applying this evaluation strategy. A tutorial would allow the
user to see how to locate the source elements necessary for
evaluation. This often involves looking into multiple pages in a website,
or looking through multiple pages of a print source. During this demo,
an explanation can be given as to why locating this information is
necessary. Using think-a-loud strategies during the tutorial will model
this process clearly to the user for them to apply in their own
evaluative practices. To accompany this tutorial, a series of annotated
sources could be put into a static page. These additional sources would
indicate to the user how to apply this method to various information

sources and should help them identify what sources are appropriate for
their research. This particular learning object can also incorporate
elements of the threshold concept, Authority is Constructed and
Contextual. This tutorial can focus the user on remaining skeptical as
they approach new information sources and emphasize the importance
of triangulating information to ensure its validity. Additionally, the
threshold concept, Information Has Value can be incorporated, as the
evaluative process will likely indicate the intended purpose of the
source as well as its value.
Currently the Research Survival guide uses a different evaluation tool
under Find Valid Websites. For continuity purposes for your users, I
would consider choosing one of these methods so students can refer
back to it in the Research Survival Guide after the one-shot session.
Suggest 5:
Books
Two of the presenters offered brief demos of how to find print books in
the library and had the students participate in an activity to locate a
print book in the library. Since weve already developed online learning
objects for finding print books, I would suggest developing content for
how to find eBooks as well. One of the presenters specifically went
through the process of searching the ebrary database. Tutorials could
be developed to demo this process as well as how to access eBooks
through other search mechanisms such as Search Everything and
PolyCat. As we already identified with print books, the threshold
concept, Information Creation as a Process is appropriate to apply to
this learning objective. In the review of finding eBooks, an opportune
moment arises to talk about delivery methods and why (or if) an eBook
is different from its print version and how that impacts the information
ecosystem for the purposes of dissemination and use. This also nicely
ties into the threshold concept of Scholarship as Conversation as the
ways in which eBooks are used can be different from their print
counterparts.
Additions to the print books piece (already discussed) would be
developing a static page with the use of selective screenshots and
images to walk the user step by step through how to find a print book.
A video demonstrating a student going through this process would also
be valuable (already discussed). One more consideration would be to
develop a standalone conceptual tutorial about the library of congress
classification system and how it is used in Kennedy Library. This
particular tutorial focus nicely incorporates the threshold concept
Searching as Strategic Exploration as understanding the Library of

Congress classification system and how it is employed in Kennedy

Library illuminates the organization of information with the use of
subjects and subclasses for these subjects.
Suggestion 6:
One particular piece I found lacking in the presentations was a
discussion of how to develop keywords for a research topic. This could
be approached either in the preliminary stages of the research cycle
with Explore and Read for Background and/or in Search and
Examine Results. Ideally one would discuss the refinement of
keywords as they learn more about a topic. A learning object that could
facilitate this is a concept map that draws from a research question
significant words and then explodes these key terms into broader,
narrower, synonyms, and related terms. Mapping these keywords is
beneficial to the user as they have immediate terms to input into a
search if a search is unsuccessful and it gives them a larger sense of
how they are approaching their research question and what level of
specificity they need to target relevant sources. This nicely couples
with the threshold concept, Research as Inquiry as students are
having to revise these terms as they find new information, or change
their terms in their search, which equates to the iterative piece of the
research process. It also causes them to ask questions about how
many search variants will need to be conducted to find quality sources.
Accompanying the development of keywords would be the construction
of search statements. An online tutorial can nicely demonstrate how to
extract keyword terminology from a concept map at various levels and
combine these terms with Boolean Operators. Other search strategies
can be employed as well with truncations, wildcards, and phrase
searching. Once again, this is an iterative process whereby the user
will likely find other terms from controlled vocabulary or subject terms
that can improve their keyword map an subsequently their search
statements and results. If including controlled vocabulary as a search
strategy, this is once again an opportunity to discuss the threshold
concept of, Searching as Strategic Exploration as well as Information
Creation as a Process. The assignment of subject terms to a source
and delivery through databases offers the user an indication of how a
delivery method, such as subscription databases, can impact the utility
of finding and using a source.
Other Suggestions:

Subject Librarians Consider having a static page devoted to

learning more about subject librarians, what their job is and how

they can help students. Also include how students can be in

contact with one and when are they available. This could also
encompass other help features such as chat and the reference
desk.
Citations there are many different research tools that generate
citations for students. It may be worthwhile to have a list of
research tools that embed these citation features as well as a list
of citation generators and resources for them to check these
citations against, such as what you already have within the
Research Survival Guide. If you were interested, you could
develop a conceptual-based tutorial on why we cite, which would
incorporate the threshold concept, Information Has Value. This
would also be an opportunity to demonstrate how some citation
generators can actually be inaccurate and why it is important to
verify that a citation is correct.
Requesting materials this is especially valuable for when
students dont have access to full-text of an article, but of course
is applicable to the need for a print book as well. The process of
making a request might best be demonstrated through a tutorial,
especially when working with a database platform like EBSCO, or
through Summon. This would also be a great opportunity to
discuss the timeframe with these requests, depending on the
request and where the item is coming from.