ASSESSMENT OF LIBRARY RESEARCH INSTRUCTION
Susan Avery and Jennifer Masciadrelli (Staley Library)

Start Date: October 2002 • Completed: May 2003
Each section of the Critical Writing, Reading and Research 1 course includes a one-week module of instruction on how to retrieve and evaluate information. This project assessed the effectiveness of this instruction in a total of 32 sections of the course during the fall semester of 2002.

Two surveys were used to assess the students' ability to:

• write a research question,
• select appropriate databases based on the research question,
• create a manageable search (not too many or to few results),
• select relevant articles based on the research question, and
• apply evaluation criteria to a web site relevant to a particular class topic.

The assessment initiative has enabled the research module instructors to modify how and when the content is taught in order to increase instructional effectiveness. Beginning in the fall of 2003, elements of the module that focus on the retrieval and evaluation of information will be integrated into the Critical Writing, Reading and Research 2 course. Connecting these components directly to an assignment (the CWRR2 research paper) is expected to make the instruction more relevant for the students.

For more information, see the following document(s) or contact either of the project team members listed above.

1. Project Report (PDF; includes summary of data and conclusions)