Developing Students’ Capacity for Informed Research by Craig Gibson, Libraries, Associate University Librarian for Research, Instructional, and Outreach Services How can teachers assist students in their research projects in a time when an acquaintance with the workings of a search engine or two and a few favorite web sites often passes for “good enough” research competence with many students? Today’s students conduct a kind of “cost-benefit analysis” in their research processes and often choose what is most convenient rather than what is most appropriate for college-level academic research and writing. The temptation to be satisfied with a few results from a search engine is a seductive one, given that a few appropriate or high-quality sources may be found in this fashion. Given the complexity of the information resources available to them, in multiple formats and locations, we should not be surprised by the uninformed research behaviors of many students—the constant drive toward facile (as opposed to legitimate) simplification and satisfaction with less than quality resources. Changing this dynamic requires a different approach from teachers, librarians, technologists, and others (and the approach advocated here truly requires collaboration). Teaching to the specific resource—database, encyclopedia, journal—will not enable students to become more independent in their thinking, writing, and research if such teaching is not tied to a larger repertoire of strategies that students gradually learn during their college years. Essentially, students must “unlearn” some unfortunate habits—settling for the first few results from a database search, and moving quickly through the research process. These habits prevent students from adjusting the scope of their topic and placing the necessary boundaries around it to help them position it in a more informed way in the information landscape. Students must develop a behavioral repertoire for research, and that repertoire must be based on an understanding of a complex information environment (see the link below), and by using a method known as “question analysis” (see the link below) that can be applied to any research topic, regardless of discipline. Components of a Behavioral Repertoire for ResearchFor more information about teaching research skills to students in writing courses, please contact Craig Gibson, Libraries, at jgibson1@gmu.edu or at 3-3716. Further Reading |