Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) students represent a population for whom literature searching is a core practice and a learning outcome for an entry-level course on information searching. How LIS students learn to find information, though, is not completely clear. Many studies have explored undergraduate searching behavior, but…

Courses: Research Methods, Public Speaking, Communication Theory, any other course that requires college students to engage in a formal research process. Can be conducted in traditional, online, or hybrid courses. Objectives: In this original single-class activity, students will be able to evaluate source credibility for resources that extend…

As the international student population continues to grow, librarians must adjust their instruction to meet the needs of students who are adapting to a new country, culture, and language. This study assesses first-year international students as they engage in the research process through the completion of concept maps that precede database…

With the growing volume of obtainable medical information and scientific literature, it is crucial that students in the field of allied health professions develop and refine the research skill set necessary to effectively find, retrieve, analyze, and use this information. This skill set can be effectively developed using student inquiry; an active…

In this column, the author discusses a lesson in the credit-bearing information literacy course for honors undergraduates at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). The lesson comes last in a unit including resource instruction, search practice, and culminating in the reading and evaluation of a scholarly work. The course, Honors 235: Research in…

After briefly tracing the development of modern bibliographic instruction since the 1870s, this report concentrates on the characteristics of bibliographic instruction in the past decade. It points out that the 1980s, dubbed the "second generation" of library instruction, saw an increased emphasis on preparing students to deal critically…

Describes a method for teaching junior high school students doing library research a presearch process that helps them to relate research to prior knowledge of a topic and to develop questions about it. Criteria for judging students' presearches are included. (MES)

Term paper bibliographies were independently examined and rated by a librarian and a writing instructor. Students receiving bibliographic instruction in classes that taught a cognitive strategy for using library resources did a better job of accessing and using library resources than those whose instruction emphasized specific tools and resources.…

Describes a "scavenger hunt" approach to teaching research and critical thinking skills to high school and college students. Students are provided with lists of challenging questions, supporting materials (cartoons, quotations, odd facts and humorous excerpts), and clues for developing a research strategy. Examples of questions, clues…

Describes a course developed by a librarian and an economics teacher using active learning techniques to teach research skills and critical thinking. Topic include the course development, including course objectives and clarification of the librarians role; a search strategy; and revisions to methodology to achieve course objectives. (six…

Discusses how to teach online research techniques and how to design research activities for beginner searchers. Highlights include contextualized learning; task definition; one-stop resource pages; words and search topics; search engines, including metasearch engines; browser techniques; management techniques for organizing sources into folders;…

Library research skills instruction aids the development of critical, evaluative faculties in teacher trainees. This article describes a problem-solving simulation method (guided design simulation method) for teaching library skills, and discusses gains accruing to teachers and pupils from such instruction. (IAH)

This document is one of three in the "Skills for Life: Library Information Literacy" series designed to cover the entire kindergarten through 12 curriculum. The looseleaf notebook format allows the user to add information and pages and personalize the materials. This volume is devoted to high school grades 9 through 12. The 59 lesson plans for…

The interdisciplinary approach to the research process using information technology as implemented for sophomores at Stearns High School in Millinocket (Maine) integrates information skills and technology into biology and English curricula by helping students overcome obstacles encountered in the presearch or planning phase of the research…