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Course Title: Research Strategies

Course Number: INF 315E

Unique Number: [redacted]

Course Meeting Times: [redacted]

Course Location: [redacted]

Instructor: Luehrsen, Virginia

Office Hours: [redacted] Otherwise, by appointment (can meet on campus!)

Teaching Assistant: [redacted] Course Description: This course will provide undergraduate students with a

thorough understanding of scholarly resources available to support research work in a contemporary academic environment. These resources will range from conventional academic literature databases, to specialized digital resources, to print archives and special primary-source collections. Critical evaluation of resources will be encouraged at all stages. Additionally, students will become familiar with current versions of citation management software, and their use in online applications.

Prerequisites: None

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Objectives: By the end of this course, students will be able to: 1. Identify and analyze key sources of scholarly literature

presenting peer-reviewed research given a particular topic

2. Know the difference between general-interest reference resources and specialized scholarly literature

3. Feel comfortable in the use of special collections that may relate to their areas of interest

4. Critically evaluate an author’s credentials for writing about the subject matter

5. Confidently use research support tools, such as citation management software, and appropriate style guides, to facilitate research and writing endeavors

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INSTRUCTIONAL METHOD: This class is based on face-to-face instruction, including group discussion, in-class exercises, and some lecture time. Students are encouraged to participate and bring in questions related to their own research interests. TEXTBOOKS AND MATERIALS Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2008). The craft of research. (3rd ed.). (Available at the Co-op, and on a 3-day reserve at PCL) Other readings will be available via Canvas TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS This class will consist of six instructional units over the course of the semester to explore how to do research with primary and secondary resources:

Unit 1: Introduction Unit 2: Becoming oriented to the world of information Unit 3: Gathering information and references Unit 4: Being critical of information sources Unit 5: Summarizing articles and structure arguments Unit 6: Introduction to Special Collections and other research opportunities

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CLASS SCHEDULE

The following is a listing of what topics will be covered in this course, class by class. While every effort will be made by the instructor to stay on schedule with this syllabus, if students feel more attention is needed in an area, the schedule may shift slightly. Any changes will be announced in class and through Canvas.

Week 1 Thursday, August 29: Introductions and Review of Syllabus Readings and Videos: None

Assignment Due: None

Week 2 Tuesday, September 3: The Overwhelming World of Information

Readings and Videos: • “What Students Don’t Know” http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/08/22/erial_study_of_student_research_habits_at_illinois_university_libraries_reveals_alarmingly_poor_information_literacy_and_skills

Assignment Due: “Exercise Will Kill You…or maybe not.” Please read articles and exercise on Blackboard and come to class prepared to discuss.

Thursday, September 5: NO CLASS Assignment Due: None Week 3 Tuesday, September 10: Why references matter

Readings and Videos: • Craft of Research --Prologue and Chapter 1 (pp. 3-15)

• “Why Undergraduate Research Can Be Fulfilling” http://www.nextgenjournal.com/2012/07/why-research-undergraduate-rare-books-conferences/

Assignment Due: None

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Thursday, September 12: Defining a research topic and question

Readings and Videos: • Turabian “What is Research”

• Craft of Research, Chapter 3, pp. 35-50

Assignment Due: None

Week 4 Tuesday, September 17: What’s in a bibliography? Readings and Videos: • MLA “Forward” • APA

•Purdue Online Writing Lab – Chicago Manual of Style 16th Edition https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/

Assignment Due: Final Paper: Research Topic (5%)

Thursday, September 19: Keeping Track of Information Readings and Videos: • TBA Assignment Due: None Week 5 Tuesday, September 24: Google Smarter and Wikipedia Better

Readings and Videos: • Giles, J. (2005). Internet encyclopaedias go head to head. Nature, 438(7070), 900-901.

• “Get More Out of Google” http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/11/23/infographic-get-more-out-of-google.html • “25 Awesome Google Search Tips” http://www.mybloggertricks.com/2012/07/25-awesome-google-search-tips-to-become.html

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• “Operators and More Search Help” https://support.google.com/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=136861 • “Professors should embrace Wikipedia” http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2008/04/01/wilson • “A Stand Against Wikipedia” http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/01/26/wiki

Assignment Due: None

Thursday, September 26: Google Scholar and Google Books

Readings and Videos: • “Imperfect Tools: Google Scholar vs. Traditional Commercial Library Databases” http://www.against-the-grain.com/TOCFiles/v20-2_Julie_Arendt.pdf

• History of Google Books.

http://books.google.com/intl/en/googlebooks/history.html

• Howland, et al. “How Scholarly Is Google Scholar?” crl.acrl.org/content/70/3/227.full.pdf • “Google-trained minds can’t deal with

terrible Research Database UI”

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/ar

chive/2012/02/google-trained-minds-

cant-deal-with-terrible-research-

database-ui/253641/

• Google vs. Library Databases http://holyspiritlibrary.pbworks.com/w/page/18886109/google%20vs%20Library%20Databases

Assignment Due: Topic Assignment 1: Citation Styles(5%)

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Week 6 Tuesday, October 1: Visit to the PCL

Readings and Videos: • Craft of Research, Chapter 5, pp. 68-84 • Turabian “Sources”

Assignment Due: None Thursday, October 3: Who’s Citing Whom – Exploiting a Good Bibliography

Readings and Videos: • Craft of Research, Chapter 6, pp. 84-102 • Why Use Library Databases? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwdhHM9C9Pk

Assignment Due: Topic Assignment 2: Library Visit (5%)

Week 7 Tuesday, October 8: Evaluating Web Pages

Readings and Videos: • “Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask” http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

Assignment Due: Topic Assignment 3: Search Terms(5%)

Thursday, October 10: Fact Checking Readings and Videos: • “The Undue Weight of Truth on

Wikipedia” https://chronicle.com/article/The-Undue-Weight-of-Truth-on/130704/

Assignment Due: None

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Week 8 Tuesday, October 15: How to Read (and summarize) a Source

Readings and Videos: • Turabian “Taking Notes” • Craft of Research (TBA – Chapters on

ethics) Assignment Due: Final Project: 5 sources (5%)

Thursday, October 17: Who’s IP is that? Guest speaker TBA

Readings and Videos: • “Is Google Good for History?” http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/01/08/google

• “For the Love of Culture”

http://www.tnr.com/article/the-love-culture/

Assignment Due: None

Week 9 Tuesday, October 22: Contemporary Digital Publishing

Readings and Videos: • Marc Garcelon, An information commons? Creative Commons and public access to cultural creations, New Media & Society December 2009 11: 1307-1326.

• “Elsevier’s Publishing Model Might Be About to Go Up in Smoke” http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/01/28/elseviers-publishing-model-might-be-about-to-go-up-in-smoke/ • “The Real @FakeElsevier” https://fakeelsevier.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/dear-elsevier-employees-with-love-from-fakeelsevier/ • Badke “Pay vs. Open Access”, 53-68, 78-84

Assignment Due: Topic Assignment 4: How-to Guide (5%)

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Thursday, October 24: Why Publishing Matters In Research

Readings and Videos: TBA

Assignment Due: None Week 10 Tuesday, October 29: Quotes, Citations, and Structuring Arguments Readings and Videos: TBA

Assignment Due: Final Project: Summaries (5%)

Thursday, October 31: This Day In History – Why Historical Research? Reading and Videos: • What is a Primary Source (Princeton)

http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html • Primary Sources (Yale) http://www.yale.edu/collections_collaborative/primarysources/primarysources.html

Assignment Due: None

Week 11 Tuesday, November 5: Visit to Harry Ransom Center

Readings and Videos: • Allen, Susan M. “Staying in the Game”, 113-120.

• Milanich “The Devil’s in the Details”, pp. 26-31. • (Skim) “Guidelines for the Security of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Other Special Collections” http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/securityrarebooks

Assignment Due: Topic Assignment 5: Definitions

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Thursday, November 7: Using Special Collections in Research Readings and Videos: • Joel Silver. "Bibliographies, Checklists,

and Catalogs: The Core of a Collector's Reference Shelf." Beyond the Basics. Fine Books & Collections (January/February 2008). http://www.rarebookschool.org/reading/libraries/l25/FBC31-JanFeb2008-Beyond%20the%20Basics.pdf

• Jones, Barbara M. “Special collections

for the Twenty-first Century”, Library Trends, 52(1).

• Meredith E. Torre, (2008) "Why should not they benefit from rare books?: Special collections and shaping the learning experience in higher education", Library Review, Vol. 57 Iss: 1, pp.36 - 41

Assignment Due: None

Week 12 Tuesday, November 12: Visit to Dolph Briscoe Center for American History

Readings and Videos: None

Assignment Due: None Thursday, November 14: The Future of Special Collections

Readings and Videos: • Billings, H. (2000). "Still special after all these years." RBM, 1(1): 48-51.

• Gundersheimer, W. (2000). "AGAINST THE GRAIN." RBM, 1(1): 14-26. • Special Collections Surge to the Fore. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/portal_libraries_and_the_academy/v009/9.2.pritchard.html

Assignment Due: None

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Week 13 Tuesday, November 19: Hide and Seek - Locating the Hidden Web

Readings and Videos: • http://www.weblens.org/invisible.html

Assignment Due: Topic Assignment 6: Special collections (5%)

Thursday, November 21: Government Documents Readings and Videos: • TBA

Assignment Due: None Week 14 Tuesday, November 26: Making Sense of it All

Readings and Videos: Partner Summaries (Instructor and TA will coordinate with students)

Assignment Due: Topic Assignment 7: Government

Documents (5%) Thursday, November 28: NO CLASS Readings and Videos: None

Assignment Due: None

Week 15 Tuesday, December 3: Additional Sources in Your Research

Readings and Videos: TBA

Assignment Due: Final Project: Summary Reviews (5%)

Thursday, December 5: Wrap up and Sharing Research Readings and Videos: None

Assignment Due: Topic Assignment 8: Scavenger Hunt (5%)

*****DECEMBER 10, 5pm – FINAL PAPER DUE****

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ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING

All written assignments may be either submitted in person at the beginning of class, or

emailed to the instructor and the TA. For each day that an assignment is late, the

instructor will dock 10% of the points from the final grade for that assignment. No

assignments will be accepted more than 5 days after the due date without an officially

documented excuse. Emailed assignments that have a time stamp later than 30

minutes after the start of class in which the assignment is due, will be considered one

day late and docked 10% of the available points for that assignment.

Below is a description of the different types of assignments and activities which will

count towards your grade in the class. If you have any questions about these

assignments at any time during the semester, please feel free to contact the instructor.

The instructor will return assignments to students within one week, and all grades will

be posted to BlackBoard.

This course uses a 1000-point grading scale. Please note that students must complete

all written assignments in order to earn a passing grade in this course. The following

scale will be used to determine letter grades:

Points Letter Grade

≥ 930 A

900-929 A-

880-899 B+

820-879 B

800-819 B-

780-799 C+

720-779 C

700-719 C-

610-699 D

<610 F

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I. Topic Assignments (40% of grade)

Throughout the semester, various weekly or bi-weekly homeworks are assigned to

engage students with skills and tools covered in the class. These assignments will

include searching for resources, generating bibliographies, and critically analyzing

sources and authors. All assignment worksheets or information sheets will be posted to

blackboard and discussed in class a minimum of 1 week before the due date.

II. Final Project (25% of grade)

The final project of the semester will allow students to research and collect resources

related to a topic of their choosing. For this final paper, students will document their

search strategies (1-2 pages), provide a list of relevant research articles and resources

in a bibliography using a proper citation style (1-2 pages), and write a brief summary of

each article (1 paragraph for each article or resource; select 8-10 articles or sources).

Students are encouraged to select a topic early in the semester so they may begin work

on this final assignment as they learn skills and tools in class.

III. Database Presentation and Evaluation (10% of grade)

The database presentation is an opportunity for us to “crowd-source” our exploration of

digital library research databases. Every student will select one or two databases that

they feel are interesting or useful in their own research. Students will prepare a 5-6

minute presentation where they evaluate the database, perhaps provide a

demonstration of tools, and present any research they were able to find about the

database, publisher, or range of journals included. Presentations will begin in week 5,

with one or two students presenting each day at the beginning of class. In addition to

the presentation, each student needs to submit a short written report of their evaluation

for the database (800-1000 words). This summary will be added to the class website to

share amongst your classmates.

IV. In Class Exercises and Participation (25%)

Throughout the semester, we will be visiting various libraries and archives to learn

about available resources, relevant databases, and proper search strategies. Students

are expected to attend all these visits as scheduled; if a student must miss class for an

officially documented reason (i.e. illness with doctor’s note, confirmed family

emergency), they must work with the instructor to organize a make-up visit to the

institution and a meeting with the librarian or archivist. In addition to library visits,

students will be assigned in-class exercises including the reviewing of primary and

secondary sources, resource searches, and sharing of research strategies.

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POLICIES

Absences: Occasionally, things do come up where someone will have to miss class. If you know in advance that you will not be able to attend for any reason, please email the instructor as soon as possible. You may also contact your fellow students to ask for notes regarding what we discussed in class. Class participation is mandatory, however, and the instructor will drop dock 5% of the overall grade for any student who misses more than three classes. Special Needs The University of Texas at Austin provides, upon request, appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. To determine if you qualify, please contact the Dean of Students at 471-6259; 471-4641 TTY. Religious or Holy Day Observance "A student who misses classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day should inform the instructor as far in advance of the absence as possible, so that arrangements can be made to complete an assignment within a reasonable time after the absence.” From http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs/gi04-05/ch4/ch4g.html. Email “Electronic mail (e-mail), like postal mail, is a mechanism for official University communication to students. The University will exercise the right to send e-mail communications to all students, and the University will expect that e-mail communications will be received and read in a timely manner.” (From http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs/gi04-05/app/appn.html). Academic integrity: A fundamental principle for any educational institution, academic integrity is highly valued and seriously regarded at The University of Texas at Austin. More specifically, you and other students are expected to maintain absolute integrity and a high standard of individual honor in scholastic work undertaken at the University. This is a very basic expectation that is further reinforced by the University's Honor Code. At a minimum, you

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should complete any assignments, exams, and other scholastic endeavors with the utmost honesty, which requires you to:

- acknowledge the contributions of other sources to your scholastic efforts; - complete your assignments independently unless expressly authorized to seek or

obtain assistance in preparing them; - follow instructions for assignments and exams, and observe the standards of

your academic discipline; and - avoid engaging in any form of academic dishonesty on behalf of yourself or

another student. For the official policies on academic integrity and scholastic dishonesty, please refer to Chapter 11 of the Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities.