Monday, January 25, 2010

Doing Research: Tutorials


Doing Research: Tutorials

For Spring 2010 the TWU Libraries have added two
new sessions
Finding Books and Journal Articles and
The Internet for College Students to our set of Doing Research: Tutorials.


Plagiarism Tutorial Avoiding Plagiarism



What information does this tutorial cover? Plagiarism is a huge concern on all college campuses, and because of this, many of our faculty are making it mandatory for their students to view this tutorial. This tutorial defines plagiarism, goes into further detail about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, and also covers citation methods and RefWorks. Consequences of plagiarism are depicted humorously in one section using graphics, and then discussed more seriously in another section that features members of the TWU faculty and the Vice President of Student Life. There are questions throughout the tutorial, as well as a final test. The final test is automatically scored as soon as you submit your answers. A copy of your final test results will be emailed to you, and you have the option to automatically email a copy to your professor.

How long will it take to complete this tutorial? About 20 minutes.



Understanding Information Sources Tutorial Understanding Information Sources



What information does this tutorial cover? This tutorial was designed to improve research skills by helping our students gain a better understanding of information sources. There are questions throughout the tutorial, as well as a final test. The final test is automatically scored as soon as you submit your answers. A copy of your final test results will be emailed to you, and you have the option to automatically email a copy to your professor.

The tutorial follows a day in the life of three students as they learn:

1. the value of using a variety of information sources in their research

2. the differences between scholarly and popular journals

3. the importance of both current and historical sources

4. how to determine if a source is primary or secondary

5. the features of qualitative and quantitative research

How long will it take to complete this tutorial? About 40 minutes.



Finding Books and Journal Articles Finding Books and Journal Articles New


What information does this tutorial cover? Locating materials for your research can be an overwhelming process. This tutorial will show you how to locate books and journals in the TWU Libraries catalog. You will also learn how to locate articles using the TWU Libraries databases. There is a test at the end that is automatically scored as soon as you submit your answers. A copy of your test results will be emailed to you, and you have the option to automatically email a copy to your professor.

How long will it take to complete this tutorial? About 20 minutes.



The Internet for College Students The Internet for College Students New



What information does this tutorial cover? The key to finding the information you need on the internet is to become a good searcher. We all use the internet for research because it is quick and easy, but there is a lot of unreliable information available on the web. This tutorial will show you how to search the web to get the best results, and how to determine what sources are reliable. There is a test at the end that is automatically scored as soon as you submit your answers. A copy of your test results will be emailed to you, and you have the option to automatically email a copy to your professor.

How long will it take to complete this tutorial? About 20 minutes.



Avoiding Plagiarism and Understanding Information Sources have been accepted into the American Library Association / Association of College and Research Libraries Instruction Section's Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online (PRIMO) Project.


-Connie Maxwell