Merritt College Library

LIS 48NA, Research Skills for Student Success

Course Syllabus

Week 1, Introduction - How information is organized

  • Welcome
  • Library Tour
  • Video: e-literate?
  • Exercise - Library of Congress Call Numbers

Please read for next week:

Eland, Thomas W. "The Production of Knowledge: Lesson 1." Information Literacy Tutorial. 29 May

2001. Minneapolis Community and Technical College. 13 Sept. 2001.

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Week 2, Production of information and information formats

  • How information is produced
  • Information formats
  • Discussion

Please read for next week:

"Locating Books: Searching the Online Catalog." Merritt College Library Handbook. Oakland, CA:

Merritt College Library, 2001. 7.

Using Online Library Catalogs. 17 Nov. 1998. Bedford/St. Martin's. 6 Sept. 2001.

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Benham, Hildy and Krystal Powell. Searching Horizon. 17 July 2001. Glovale Library, Westminster

College. 6 Sept. 2001.

Week 3, Using the library catalog

  • What's in the Catalog
  • Searching by Author
  • Searching by Title / Keyword
  • Searching by Subject
  • Exercise - Finding books

Please read for next week:

Brunsvold, Libby. Thesis Statement. 5 Oct. 1999. Write Place, St. Cloud State University. 6 Sept. 2001.

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How To Write a Thesis Statement. 11 Apr. 2001. Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University,

Bloomington. 6 Sept. 2001.

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Brown, Lady Falls. Thesis Statement. 8 May 2000. University Writing Center, Texas Tech. University. 6Sept. 2001.

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Week 4, How to define the research topic (part one)

  • Developing a Thesis Statement
  • Exercise

Please read for next week:

Writing a Research Paper. 3 July 2001. Online Writing Lab at Purdue University. 6 Sept. 2001.

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(Please read all of the sections under "Thesis or Question.")

Week 5, How to define the research topic (part two)

  • Developing a Research Question
  • Exercise

Please read for next week:

"Locating Articles." Merritt College Library Handbook. Oakland, CA: Merritt College Library, 2001.

9-11.

Week 6, Selecting and using electronic databases (part one)

  • Britannica Online
  • Facts.com
  • CQ Researcher
  • Galenet
  • Countrywatch
  • Exercise

Please read for next week:

Please review previous week's reading.

Week 7, Selecting and using electronic databases (part two - magazine articles)

  • Ebsco databases (Masterfile, Ethnic NewsWatch, Health Source, Alt-HealthWatch)
  • Expanded Academic Index
  • Lexis-Nexis
  • Exercise

Please read for next week:

Types of Reference Books. 30 Aug. 2001. Nimitz Library, United States Naval Academy. 13 Sept. 2001.

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Horrigan, John. Reference Book Evaluation. 25 March 2001. Coleytown Middle School, Library

Information Center. 13 Sept. 2001

Week 8, Selecting and using print reference sources (part one)

  • Types of print reference sources
  • Using print reference sources
  • In-class exercise (begin)

For next week:

Please complete the assignment you began in class and prepare an oral presentation for next week.

Week 9, Selecting and using print reference sources (part two)

  • In class oral presentation on your reference book

Please read for next week:

Chamberlain, Ellen. Bare Bones 101: A Basic Tutorial on Searching the Web. 6 June 2001. Beaufort

Library, University of South Carolina. 19 Sept. 2001.

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(You only need to read lessons 1 - 7. We'll do the assignments in class.)

Week 10, Searching the Web

  • In-class exercises based upon reading of "Bare Bones 101."

Please read for next week:

Mandernack, Scott. Evaluating Information. 2 Oct. 2000. Purdue University Libraries. 19 Sept. 2001.

Week 11, Evaluating what you read

  • In-class discussion and exercise

Please read for next week:

Humanities: Documenting Sources. 26 Apr. 2001. Bedford/St. Martin's. 20 Sept. 2001.

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Delaney, Robert. MLA Citation Style. 10 May 2001. B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library, C.W. Post

Campus, Long Island University. 20 Sept. 2001.

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Johnson, Carolyn. MLA Citation Style Examples. Aug. 2001. Owens Library, Northwest Missouri StateUniversity. 20 Sept. 2001.

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Week 12, Documentation (Using MLA format)

  • The importance of documentation
  • In-class exercise

Please read for next week:

"Ethical Issues." CSU Information Competence. 12 Mar. 1999. Cal Poly State University. 20 Sept.

2001.

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Eland, Thomas W. "Intellectual Freedom & Censorship Issues: Lesson 7" Information Literacy Tutorial.2 Aug. 2001. Minneapolis Community and Technical College. 20 Sept. 2001.

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Week 13, Legal and ethical uses of information

  • In-class discussion

Week 14, In-class work on final assignment

Week 15, In-class work on final assignment

Week 16, In-class work on final assignment

Week 17, Final assignment due

Final Assignment:

LIS 48NA

Research Skills For Student Success

Due at the end of the last day of class

For this assignment you will carefully select eight items to read. The readings are to support your

research paper. You will write a bibliography in MLA format plus an annotation of at least 100

words for each item included in the bibliography. Each annotation is to include:

  • What the item is about.
  • Why you selected it.
  • Why it is of value for your research.

The bibliography is to include at least one book, one encyclopedia article, three periodical articles

and a website.

LIS048NAsyllabus.doc

SG10/25/01

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