Preparing Secondary Students for Academic Research

Kathy FesterAdjunct Reference & Instruction Librarian

Adelphi UniversityOctober 16, 2013

Incoming Freshmen Challenges??

• Organization– Time• academics• social life• sports,• organizations

• Academics → more freedom than ever before• Freedom to study when & how• Freedom not to study• Freedom to ask for help

Incoming Freshmen First Month?

• FOrE First Year Orientation Experience • Health, Activities, Organizations, Finances, Learning

Center, Ethics, Library +• 50 minute sessions

• Library Orientation with no assignment• There will be assignments similar to HS at first• UPS Delivery Pedagogy Analogy

You can prepare them a bit!

Today: To understand what will help incoming freshmen be prepared for a college level research assignment.

Freshmen Information Literacy Tutorialhttp://libraries.adelphi.edu/infolit/

What is Research for the College Freshman?

• It is NOT finding an “answer”• It is NOT an opinion paper (no “I”)• It IS understanding the process of gathering

scholarly peer-reviewed articles on a topic, synthesizing the information, and presenting findings in a cohesive academic paper, and positing future research needs or directions

• Higher level thinking Common Core Curriculum

And also,

• Writing in an academic format with References (APA) Works Cited (MLA & Chicago)

• In-text citations• Following directions

“8” Essential Skills Program*

1. Time Management2. Studying3. Note-taking

* Matthew Lavery, Adelphi Learning Center

“8” Continued…

4. Critical Reading – To access meaning amidst a large volume of required

reading most don’t do it all– CCC demands reading in depth and breadth

• Use databases for non-fiction reading– Based on interest first?– GVRL, Opposing Viewpoints, JSTOR, Scirus

• Increase lexile level over time on the same subject• Vocabulary builds better testing, increases prior knowledge

– High School reading breadth/depth has decreased– College reading breadth/depth has increased

“8” Continued…

5. Studying6. Test Taking7. IPCPS Interpersonal Communication & Public

Speaking

“8” Continued…

8. Research!• Understand assignment• Organize time• Searching skills!

• Narrow/broaden topic• Synonyms• Key words—Not “sentence” searching• Boolean/Venn diagram (AND, OR, NOT)

Background Research → Keywords

• Searching using specialized encyclopedias• Searching using Wikipedia• Find key words, “phrases,” names, events• Synonyms!• In-text citations & References lead to more

sources how research evolves• Narrow/broaden topic– Topic –> Subtopics (in chapters, headings in reference,

books, journals)

Research Sources

• Books & eBooks• Databases– Journal articles

– Differences among periodicals– Differences in academic journals!

» Scholarly articles, Empirical research articles, and Literature review articles

– Abstracts– Google Scholar

– Databases in VSCHSD & Public Library

Other Research Issues

• Difference primary, secondary, tertiary sources• Critical reading– Note-taking– Drafts ←→

• Works Cited—References—Bibliography– Research & Documentation Online– KnightCite– RefWorks

You Can Use These…Freshmen Information Literacy Tutorial

– http://libraries.adelphi.edu/infolit/

Research Overview LibGuide– http://libguides.adelphi.edu/research-overview

You Can Use These…

• Any Adelphi University Guides/Tutorials

• Search LibGuides for a high school topic guide

Other Resources• AU Website

– AU Student Resources– eCampus, “Moodle” electronic relationship with professor– IT/Usernames/passwords– AU Library Website– Kathy Fester AU LibGuides– Kathy Fester Middle & High School LibGuide Ex:“Good & Evil”– Kathy Fester Middle & High School LibGuide Ex: “Holocaust”– Learning Center– Writing Center– Office of Disability Support Services

AND• Academic Honesty

In Summary…You can give your students an advantage

1. Work on organizational skills and time management2. Use Research Overview for skills to incorporate into lessons3. Try the Freshman Tutorial4. Be a stickler about format & in-text citations5. Work on note-taking, synonyms, & recognizing key words6. Use library databases7. Address plagiarism8. Collaborate with your librarian

Thanks for the invite!