Dominican University of California
Archbishop Alemany Library
RES-2000: Information and Research

Course Description

Information & Research (RES 2000) is designed to give students the research skills necessary to succeed in their studies at Dominican University of California. Through hands-on practice and discussion, students in RES 2000 will:

• Develop and practice search strategies to locate print, electronic and Internet resources;
• Locate and evaluate different types of information required for assignments across Dominican University’s departments;
• Use an appropriate citation and bibliographic style;
• Gain an awareness of the diversity of information seekers and their challenges in an information society.

Instructor

Robert Bruce

Teaching Methods

• RES 2000 is an interactive course designed to advance students’ research and evaluations skills. The class will include discussion, demonstration, and hands-on practice. Active participation in group discussions is expected. Grades will be affected positively or negatively by performance on individual assignments as well as by the level of class participation.
• Assignments, lecture notes, and grades will be available via the Blackboard site. Students will be expected to access the Blackboard site weekly to prepare for class discussions and assignments. Students may also email the instructor with questions or concerns that arise outside the scheduled office time.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Develop and practice search strategies to locate print, electronic and Internet resources;
• Locate and evaluate different types of information required for assignments across Dominican University’s departments;
• Use an appropriate citation and bibliographic style;
• Gain an awareness of the diversity of information seekers and their challenges in an information society.

Textbook

There is no required textbook for this class; however, students will not be able to complete assignments without consulting one of the documentations style manuals appropriate to their area of study. The most recent editions of all manuals are available in the Library Reference Shelves as well as in the bookstore.

• Humanities: Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
• Sciences, Social Sciences, Business: Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (2001). (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Art, History: Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.

Course Student Learning Outcomes

General Education Student Learning Outcomes for Information and Research: Concepts and Techniques (1 unit): The main goals of RES2000 are for students to determine their information needs, to select and critically evaluate information resources, and to gain awareness of ethical information use. To achieve these goals by course end students will:

• Describe his/her information needs and build search strategies using keywords and subject terms;
• Identify and locate appropriate print and electronic resources to fulfill information needs;
• Evaluate both individual resources and search strategies for suitability in the context of university-level research;
• Indicate the sources of information through in-text and bibliographic citation, recognize and avoid plagiarism in quotations in paraphrasing, and gain an awareness of the barriers to information access.

Grading Policies and Practices

Grades below a C are not considered passing in GE courses. See the Academic Catalog p. 64.

Grading Scale

Percent range	Grade
94% to 100% inclusive	A
90% to 93% inclusive	A-
87% to 89% inclusive	B+
84% to 86% inclusive	B
80% to 83% inclusive	B-
77% to 79% inclusive	C+
74% to 76% inclusive	C
70% to 73% inclusive	C-

Assignments

• Research Journal: students will be expected to keep a record of their research in a journal. The journal will consist of typed, double-spaced analyses of the research process, and examples of sources found. Students will reflect on and improve their research based on self-evaluation, peer-review, and instructor suggestions. Students will add to their journal as the semester progresses. Journals can be hard copy documents kept in a folder or electronic documents saved on a disk or memory key; however, hard copies will be turned in for a final grade.
  Points Possible: 30
  DUE: Journals 1 – 3 due in class on September 14; Final version of all journals in hard copy due in class on October 12
  Research Journal #1 - Research History
  Research Journal #2 - Topics
  Research Journal #3 - Finding Books
  Research Journal #4 - Finding Articles
  Research Journal #5 - Finding Websites
  Research Journal #6 - Research Future
  
• Bibliography: Students will compile the sources found in the research journals into a complete bibliography (Works Cited or References page). All bibliographies must be formatted correctly according to a chosen documentation style. Points will be lost for improper formatting and lack of depth in sources.
  Points Possible: 30
  DUE: October 12
• Barriers to Access Presentation and Essay: Students will submit an essay that examines the socio-economic barriers to accessing information. This essay will be used to assess the students’ research skills, including: identifying a topic, locating information, compiling sources in a bibliography, and avoiding plagiarism.
  Points Possible: 30
  DUE: October 26
• Participation and attendance: 10%
  Students are expected to contribute meaningfully to class discussions and complete assignments on time.

Implication of Missing or Late Assignments

• Late assignments will lose points. Assignments turned late in without prior notice will be marked late and loose points.
• Assignments more than three weeks late will not be accepted for credit.

Time Frame for Return of Assignments and Feedback

Collected assignments will be graded and returned at the next class meeting. Any delays will be announced.

Course Schedule

Week 1: Thursday, August 24, 2006	Welcome to RES 2000! Introductions Course Requirements & Expectations Journal #1: Research history – interview a partner about their research history, and compare it to yours. For Next Week: Have a topic ready It can be: An assignments from another class A topic of personal interest to you It must be: In-depth College-level (Ask yourself – if it’s a personal interest, what would made it college-level? What does college-level mean to you?)
Week 2: Thursday, August 31, 2006	Information and Research – what is it? Timeline – primary & secondary information Scholarly vs. popular information What did these sources do for your understanding of the topic? Group work – research jigsaw The Research Journal Expectations Examples Topic Refinement Narrowing a broad topic Being flexible Being scholarly Journal #2: Topic Refinement
Week 3: Thursday, September 7, 2006	Research discussion & evaluation Instructor’s Journal – demonstration & student evaluation Group work – peer-reviewing research journals Background Information Why? Where? Finding books in library catalogs Basic keyword searches Organization Journal #3: Finding & Evaluating Books
Week 4: Thursday, September 14, 2006	RESEARCH JOURNALS 1 – 3 DUE Research discussion & evaluation Instructor’s Journal – demonstration & student evaluation Group work – peer-reviewing research journals Articles and Databases Review: Scholarly or peer-reviewed vs. popular sources Advanced searching: limiters, types, subjects Journal #4: Finding & Evaluating Articles
Week 5: Thursday, September 21, 2006	Research discussion & evaluation Instructor’s Journal – demonstration & student evaluation Group work – peer-reviewing research journals Websites The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly Dig deeper into the Web Journal #5: Finding & Evaluating Websites
Week 6: Thursday, September 28, 2006	Research discussion & evaluation Instructor’s Journal – demonstration & student evaluation Group work – peer-reviewing research journals Bibliographies APA, MLA, & Turabian styles Examples
Week 7: Thursday, October 5, 2006	Review & self-evaluation of journals Last chance for bibliography help Journal #6: Research Future
Week 8: Thursday, October 12, 2006	JOURNALS & BIBLIOGRAPHIES DUE!!! Barriers to Access No access to computers, no access to information or social network. How do you overcome it?
Week 9: Thursday, October 19, 2006	Barriers to Access Work on barriers to access presentation & essay.
Week 10: Thursday, October 26, 2006	Presentations