College of Education and Philosophy Librarian
School of Geosciences and Patel College of Sustainability Librarian
What Makes a Good Research Assignment?
Well-designed course-related library assignments are an effective way to introduce students to library research and provide an excellent active learning opportunity. This guide hopes to offer tips and guidelines for creating effective library-related research assignments.
Student Research Needs
Assume Minimal Research Skills
Students at all levels need support identifying:
- Terminology within their disciplines. USF Library's discipline-specific online encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other sources for background information offer contexts for new concepts and ideas.
- Types of resources appropriate to research tasks the assignment requires whether they be books, government documents, scholarly articles, statistics, primary sources, etc. What type of resources will best address the research questions or problems students tackle?
- Library tools specific to the discipline. Many students rely on QuickSearch for their information needs, but students should also be aware of any specialized databases that are focused on the subject they are studying.
- Research journal articles (vs. popular or trade journal articles). Many students cannot identify scholarly articles until they have seen and discussed examples of them and can compare them to popular information sources.
- Citation and documentation styles. Students often need assistance with various style guides that are appropriate to their area of study.
- Always feel free to contact your subject liaison for advice on databases, journals, or other resources using our "Find My Librarian" page