Tutorial: Why Information Literacy Matters
Use this tutorial to show students how information literacy is relevant to their day-to-day lives. Students will become familiar with their own information seeking habits, privilege, and skills used in their personal, academic, and professional lives.
Video: Life in the Information Age
Technology is changing the way we locate, analyze, and share information. Use this video to introduce students to the evolving information landscape and their roles as responsible information consumers and creators.
Tutorial: Developing a Research Focus
In this tutorial, students will be introduced to pre-research techniques to determine the scope and depth of their research focus.
Tutorial: Choosing a Topic
Background research is an essential component of the research process. In this tutorial, students will learn how to differentiate between background and in-depth research, and locate and use background research to refine their research focus.
Video: How to Narrow Your Topic
Do your students have trouble selecting a topic for a research assignment? This video will outline the process to help students hone in on a compelling research topic with appropriate scope using strategies like strategic searching. Students will also understand the importance of open mindedness and flexibility in the research process.
Tutorial: Background Research Tips
Determining a manageable research question can be challenging for students. Use this tutorial to introduce strategies for aligning a research focus with assignment guidelines and research tools such as concept maps.
Video: Thesis Statements
Use this video to help students identify the purpose of their research efforts and construct evidence-based statements. Students will learn how to narrow in on a topic, conduct background research, and synthesize the existing body of evidence in order to craft a compelling argument.
Tutorial: Scholarship as Conversation
Use this tutorial to encourage students to develop a scholarly mindset. In this tutorial, students will learn how their projects help build the body of work in a given field. Additionally, students will become familiar with the process of attribution and critical evaluation.
Video: What is Authority?
Use this video to introduce students to the concept of authority, how it relates to research, source selection, evaluation, and attribution.
Video: Introduction to Bias
This video introduces the idea of bias and prejudice and the importance of awareness of one’s own bias and the bias of others when evaluating sources and situations, and responding to arguments.
Video: Types of Bias
This video builds on the introduction to bias video by discussing specific types of bias such as social bias, confirmation bias, and communal reinforcement.
Quiz: Bias
This quiz corresponds with the video on bias.
Video: Evaluating Sources
Use this video to encourage students to think critically about the information they encounter in print and online. Students will become familiar with strategies for evaluating sources based on these criteria: authority, accuracy, currency, relevance, and objectivity.
Tutorial: Evaluating Information
Students will learn how to evaluate a range of resources in order to select the most authoritative sources on their research topic.
Video Tutorial: Identifying Misinformation
This video will help students identify the characteristics and purpose of misinformation as well as its effect on their personal and academic lives.
Quiz: Fake News
This quiz corresponds with the multimedia on fake news and misinformation.
Tutorial: Information has value
Use this tutorial to introduce students to the ACRL Frame Information Has Value. Students will become aware of their roles as information creators and consumers and learn how issues like copyright and the digital divide affect their academic and personal lives.
Video: Data, Information, and Knowledge
This video defines and explains the differences and relationships between data, information, and knowledge, and how each might be used or encountered in research.
Tutorial: Source Types
Students will be introduced to a variety of source types that they may encounter during their research. Use this tutorial to help students locate and evaluate relevant sources to meet their research needs.
Video: Primary and Secondary Research
This video illustrates the differences between primary (original) research (with a focus on methods used in sciences and social sciences) and secondary research, and the ethical considerations associated with each.
Video: Peer Review
This video will provide students with an understanding of what peer review means, how the process works, why it is an indicator of quality, and how to locate peer-reviewed sources during their research process.
Video: Types of Sources
This video provides students with a helpful overview of the wide variety of source types they may encounter during research. In addition to defining and describing different source types, it also addresses how to select the appropriate source for their information need, analyzing the capabilities and constraints of different source types, and how to determine source quality.
Video: Primary Sources
This video will introduce students to the purpose and characteristics of primary sources in order to help them identify the most appropriate type of source for their research needs.
Video: Secondary Sources
This video will introduce students to the purpose and characteristics of secondary sources in order to help them identify the most appropriate type of source for their research needs.
Video: Tertiary Sources
This video will introduce students to the purpose and characteristics of tertiary sources in order to help them identify the most appropriate type of source for their research needs.
Tutorial: How to Read Scholarly Materials
Do your students feel intimidated by scholarly materials? This tutorial will walk students through the types and components of scholarly materials as well as strategies for strategic reading.
Video: How to Read Scholarly Materials
Do your students feel intimidated by scholarly materials? Use this video to help students get familiar with these valuable resources and learn tips for approaching, analyzing, and integrating scholarly materials into their projects.
Presenting Research and Data
Video: Synthesis
This video focuses on strategies for writing a strong paper that brings together ideas from multiple sources, including identifying main ideas, and paraphrasing and summarizing techniques.
Tutorial: Synthesizing Information for Academic Writing
This tutorial defines and explores information synthesis, including strategies for bringing together ideas and facts from multiple different sources at various stages in the research process, including background research and note taking, annotated bibliographies, and outlines. It also reviews different examples of final products of synthesis, such as literature reviews, persuasive essays, and research papers.
Tutorial: Annotated Bibliography
Students will become familiar with annotated bibliographies and the role annotations play in research and scholarship. Use this tutorial to help students identify the purpose, structure, and content of annotated bibliographies and create their own annotations.
Video: Writing Help
Use this video to help students craft clear and effective written assignments. Students will review the value of sentence variety and the importance of proofreading their work.
Video: Choosing a Database
Students can use this video to receive guidance on how to select the best database(s) for their information need and assignment requirements.
Tutorial: Choosing and Using Keywords
This tutorial will walk students through the process of selecting, refining, and expanding their collection of search keywords in order to locate the most relevant information to their research topic.
Tutorial: Search Techniques, Part 1
Use this tutorial to familiarize students with strategic searching. Students will learn the purpose and uses of natural language and Boolean operators to broaden and narrow the scope of their search.
Tutorial: Search Techniques, Part 2
Students will learn strategic search approaches to navigate scholarly databases. Use this tutorial to introduce advanced search techniques for broadening and narrowing the scope of a search.
Video: Refining Search Results
Use this video to help students navigate the search process. Students will learn techniques to conduct effective background research using multiple keywords in order to narrow in on a research focus.
Tutorial: Why Citations Matter
This tutorial provides an overview of why it is important to cite sources, and an explanation for why different citation formats and citation styles exist.
Video: APA 6th Edition Citations
Use this video to provide students with an overview of the sixth edition of the APA citation style including information on how to cite common source types such as books, journals, and websites.
Tutorial: APA 6th Edition Citations
Use this tutorial to provide students with an introduction to the 6th edition of the APA citation style format and examples of how to cite popular source types such as books, journals, and websites. The tutorial includes several “check your understanding” questions with drag and drop exercises where students can format citations of different source types properly.
Video: MLA 7th Edition Citation Style
Use this video to provide students with an overview of the MLA 8th edition citation style, including an explanation of the “container” concept and an overview of using the citation style for popular source types such as books, websites, and journal articles.
Video: MLA 8th Edition Citation Style
Use this video to provide students with an overview of the MLA 8th edition citation style, including an explanation of the “container” concept and an overview of using the citation style for popular source types such as books, websites, and journal articles.
Tutorial: MLA 8th Edition Citation Style
Use this tutorial to provide students with an overview of the MLA 8th Edition citation style, including both in-text citation format and works cited format. Tutorial provides an explanation and examples of different sources using the container concept introduced in MLA 8, and also includes several “check your understanding” questions with drag and drop exercises where students can format citations of different source types properly.
Video: Academic Integrity
Use this video to provide students with an introduction to the concept that information has value, and that acting with academic integrity and ethical behavior is essential to success as a student and as a participant in the scholarly conversation.
Video: Plagiarism
This video provides examples and explanations of specific types of plagiarism, such as cloning, aggregation, and self-plagiarism, as well as strategies to prevent plagiarizing and a reminder of the possible consequences of academic dishonesty.
Video: Copyright
Use this video to aid in instruction on intellectual property and copyright, including exceptions to copyright restrictions such as fair use, and guidance on the ethical use of others’ intellectual property.
