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Instruction

Request a librarian to teach your class how to use library resources, develop research topics, ethically use information, and more.

Student Learning Outcomes

After participating in library instruction, students will gain the following competencies and be able to apply the associated learning objectives.

Competency 1. Understand that research is a process.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify research topics and develop research questions. 
  • Critically examine primary concepts of the research question and articulate its scope.
  • Craft a research plan to organize, store, and manage information sources as appropriate to discipline and information needs.

Competency 2. Understand that information can be complex and nuanced.

Learning Objectives:

  • Analyze information to back up a claim or articulate an argument. 
  • Evaluate information to determine if it is relevant to the research question.
  • Apply research in order to contextualize it within a broader framework (historical, socioeconomic, or disciplinary).
  • Synthesize information in order to articulate practical applications of research.

Competency 3. Formulate and evaluate a search strategy.

Learning Objectives:

  • Construct a search strategy that is appropriate to the research topic. 
  • Generate and discover keywords that connect the research topic to appropriate sources.
  • Recognize when to retool or reframe the search query as part of an iterative process.
  • Employ a variety of information seeking techniques (boolean logic, subject terms, limiters, etc.) to increase the effectiveness of the search strategy.

Competency 4. Evaluate and understand different types of sources.

Learning Objectives:

  • Differentiate between sources by format (book, article, multimedia, data, etc.) and by category (primary, secondary, tertiary, etc.). 
  • Contextualize the relationship between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. 
  • Critically evaluate and understand the relevance of sources by determining their purpose, audience, perspective, context, scope, and authority.

Competency 5. Examine authority and neutrality in information systems.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand and articulate how the dominant systems of our culture have impacted and determined who has and who does not have authority and expertise in scholarship. 
  • Understand that information resources, search engines, and modes of knowledge production include their own characteristics and biases, and therefore should be approached critically.
  • Examine how information has value and resides in systems of value (monetary, social, cultural, etc.).
  • Identify strategies and resources to recognize, find, and elevate traditionally marginalized voices.

Competency 6. Use information effectively and ethically.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand scholarship as conversation that exists in the community, and the role of peer review and citation. 
  • Incorporate information and resources with integrity (attribution, copyright, privacy, context, privilege, etc.). 
  • Avoid making logical fallacies while using information and evidence to support arguments.
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