| Timing and Notes | Description |
Connection to Syllabus Templates |
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Supplemental Lesson 1 Timing: Within first 2 to 4 class meetings. |
News If your course’s topic lends itself to current events, students should learn to search for, retrieve, and analyze news articles on their own. Tutorial: Finding and Evaluating Newspaper Articles Required Reading: Newspaper and journal Special Access Instructions. Activity Suggestions:
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Link to Syllabus Templates Writing Analytically (8th ed) Weeks 2 or 3 Writing Spaces Weeks 2 or 3. Additional reading: "Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources" (Rosenberg). A Writer's Reference (8th ed) Weeks 2 or 3.
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Supplemental Lesson 2 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IF NOT WORKING WITH A LIBRARIAN Timing: Weeks 9 |
Compare Library Database Results with Google In order to reinforce the idea that Google is not sufficient as a stand-alone resource for academic research, students should compare the results of a search in Google to those from a library-provided database. Tutorials: If students haven't already, they should complete the tutorials: What is JumpStart and Choosing a Database and Choosing the Best Terms for Your Search. Assignment: Comparing Google to Library Databases |
Link to Syllabus Templates Writing Analytically (8th ed) Week 9. Additional reading: "Finding Quality on the Web," 246-250. Writing Spaces Week 9. Additional reading: "Effectively and Efficiently Reading the Credibility of Online Sources" (Carillo and Horning). A Writer's Reference (8th ed) Week 9. |
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Supplemental Lesson 3 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IF NOT WORKING WITH A LIBRARIAN Timing: This should be assigned in conjunction with Supplemental Lesson 4 when a research project is introduced. These can be combined into one assignment or completed separately. Both should be completed shortly after a final project is assigned as an exploratory step on the way to a final research project that is completed in stages. This could be combined with a lesson on Zotero, our bibliographic management program. However, we recommend that students learn the mechanics of citing by hand before using a citing tool. See Supplemental Lesson 6 below for information about Zotero. |
Building a Bibliography/Works Cited List Students begin a research project by selecting and citing relevant research material. Required Reading: Citing Sources Guide (use tabs appropriate to your course requirements) Assignment: Finding and Citing Sources |
Link to Syllabus Templates Writing Analytically (8th ed) Week 10 with revision in Week 11. Additional reading: "The Four Documentation Styles: Similarities and Differences," 255-7 plus the pages that pertain to your course: APA, 257-258; Chicago (covers footnote version only), 258-260; MLA, 262-263. Writing Spaces Week 10 with revision in Week 11. Additional reading: Walker, "Everything Changes, Or Why MLA Isn't (Always) Right:" A Writer's Reference (8th ed) Week 10 with revision in Week 11. Additional reading: "Managing Information," 369-372. Review as applicable one of the following "MLA-4 Documenting Sources", 412-464 OR "APA - Documenting Sources," 489-525 OR "CMS Documenting Sources," 548-570. |
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Supplemental Lesson 4 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IF NOT WORKING WITH A LIBRARIAN Timing: Around Week 12. This assignment should be assigned in conjunction Supplemental Lesson 3 when a research project is introduced. These can be combined into one assignment or completed separately. Both should be completed shortly after a final project is assigned as an exploratory step on the way to a final research project that is completed in stages. |
Analyzing Secondary Sources Students should learn to critically analyze sources, and avoid descriptions that simply restate an academic title or draw too heavily from an abstract. Students should revise their work from Supplemental Lesson 3 then continue with this assignment, which requires them to annotate/analyze the sources they selected. This assignment should be used for secondary source material only. See Supplemental Lesson 5 for instruction in primary sources. Assignment: Analyzing Secondary Research Material This assignment should be subject to revision. |
Link to Syllabus Templates Writing Analytically (8th ed) Week 12 with revision in Week 13. Additional reading: from "Source Anxiety and What To Do about It," through "Preparing an Abstract," 215-235. Writing Spaces Week 12. Additional reading: "Creating, Using and Sharing Information in Research Communities" (Hemstrom and Anders). A Writer's Reference (8th ed) Week 12. Additional reading: "Evaluating Sources," 375-389. |
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Supplemental Lesson 5 Timing: Flexible. This module can be used when you introduce students to finding and/or analyzing primary sources or material from Dickinson's Archives.
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Primary Sources This module familiarizes students with primary sources and teaches them how to to find primary sources. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: If you would like to use material from the Archives, consult with the staff at least two weeks prior to assigning this work. Required Tutorial: Introduction to Primary Sources Required Reading:
Assignment Options:
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Link to Syllabus Templates Writing Analytically (8th ed) Week 13 Writing Spaces Week 13. Additional reading: "At Work in the Archives: Place-Based Research and Writing" (Gaillet and Rose). A Writer's Reference (8th ed) Week 13. Additional Reading: "Evidence Typically Used in Various Disciplines," 122. |
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Supplemental Lesson 6 Timing: When students start to collect more than 10 sources for a research project. |
Zotero (Bibliographic Management Tool) Zotero is an online bibliographic management tool that allows researchers to easily collect, organize, share, and cite research material. More information, instructions for getting started, and tutorials can found on our Zotero Guide. |
Link to Syllabus Templates N/A |