Assignment Consultations

Do your students struggle with their research?  Are you not seeing the results and deeper understanding of discipline specific research concepts in your assignments?  Schedule a consultation with your liaison librarian to discuss assignment design for your research based projects.  Some benefits of these consultations include:

• Identifying resources that support your assignment
• Streamlining your students’ research
• Greater student understanding in regards to clarity of assignment expectations, research terminology, and learning outcomes
• Help with assessment
• Better one-on-one library assistance for your students
• Stronger, scaffolded and discipline appropriate student learning outcomes that develop the knowledge practices and dispositions of information literacy
• Creative redesign of your assignments that engage your students and better meet your learning outcomes related to research and information literacy concepts

Alternatives to the Research Paper

Assignment	Description	Purpose
Annotated bibliography	Students compile a list of sources on a topic and perform a critical analysis of each source.	Forces students to slow down and think critically about the sources they are choosing to utilize in their research and the purpose they will serve in their argument.
Problem-based scenarios	Students are presented with scenarios (often real world professional contexts) and find resources that they can use to develop and offer solutions to the problems.	Encourages students to make connections between scholarship and practice.  Gives them experience using research to help them improve their practice and knowledge rather than the disconnect that can occur with a typical research paper.
Connecting theory to practice	Interns write papers that compare and contrast theories in the professional literature to their field experiences.	Helps students make connections and ground their practical experience in the research of their discipline.  Gives them a deeper understanding and appreciation for scholarship and practice.
Creating databases & virtual exhibits	Students write papers, primary source analysis, images, or observations and place those materials on an open access website.	Opportunity for students to work together to co-create a tangible deliverable.
Source comparisons	Students get experience working with and reading different types of sources such as scholarly articles, magazines, newspapers, trade journals, books, blogs, and more.	Shows students the utility and purpose that different sources can serve in their information diet, both professionally, academically, and personally.  Shows the connections between all these source types in the information cycle and how scholarship grow and develops over time.
Poster sessions	Students assemble statistics, images, and literature reviews to display in poster format for the campus community.	Gives students the experience of professional poster sessions and practice presenting their research.
Infographics, videos, podcasts, & other media	Students develop a multimedia resource to report their research in a visual/creative format.	Liven up a dull research paper by challenging students to present their research in a succinct and visual manner.  This is great experience for teaching students to present research to non-professionals.
Simulations	Students do the types of research often done in the real world.  Students prepare a grant, business proposal, investment portfolio, lesson plan, scientific protocol, etc.	Gives students experience producing deliverables they will encounter throughout their professional careers.  Can serve as excellent work to showcase when applying for jobs.
Research guides	Students explore professional information tools and sources (trade journals, association websites, databases) for their field and categorize and annotate the value and utility of these resources.	Allows students to explore and reflect upon resources that will serve them throughout their career.  This guide will be a tool they can utilize post-graduation.
Meet a scholar	Students trace the scholarship of a professor in their field.  They locate primary sources, presentations, reviews of the scholar’s work, and their web presence.	Gives students a clear picture of what scholarship and the scholarly conversation looks like.  Allows them to see the various outlets scholars use to communicate their research, whether formal or informal.