Engaging with scientific literature

by: D-Eva Project

This assignment will familiarize the students with the process of accessing the University library system through the web. In particular, the goal of this assignment is that students will conduct a literature search using specialized computerized online database containing references for articles and books related to educational sciences.

The teacher will group the students in pairs and set topics for each pair. There will not be 2 pairs with the same subject. Then, he/she will ask students to complete the task individually and at the end to discuss it in pairs. It will be emphasized that this is an individual exercise that will help guide students through doing an online literature search on a class research topic using the online databases (ERIC, PsychINFO, EBSCO and Proquest) and academic search engines (Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic Research and Semantic Scholar). The assumption throughout the assignment is that the found papers will be used for a literature review in writing a research report.

The students know that have to limit their search to articles and books from the past 10 years. The final search for this assignment should be narrow enough so that students’ search results is no more than 30 articles, book chapters, or books. Students are instructed to read abstract articles or book descriptions, look for authors’ keywords and online databases descriptors and thesaurus terms, and reflect on the usefulness of the content for their topic.

At the end the students are asked to list all references in APA format in a document, in alphabetical order, and embed it into the assignment on LMS. For this assignment we estimate a maximum of 2 seminars. 1 seminar unit = 90 minutes. Notes:

a) It is important that teachers make sure that students know the basics of how to use these databases and search engines.

b) The task can be taken to a higher level, asking students to include references in the field of gray literature, especially Youtube videos, TED speeches, reports from various organizations such as UNESCO, OECD, …; to identify one or more figures within selected article that shows meaningful data for student’s project or to write a summary (1-2 paragraphs) of selected articles.

Keywords

Online research, information literacy, audio feedback, self and peer assessment

Problem justification

University students are required to write a variety of reports for assessment purposes. A research report is one type that is often used not only in the sciences or engineering but also in psychology and educational sciences. Hence the aim is to build a list of references necessary for a literature review when students write about a research topic. To accomplish this task, usually the students go to university library and access it informational resources (books, journals, periodicals, films and videos, databases etc.). In addition to individually-focused studying, students come to a library for various purposes, such as group learning, collaborating, or socializing.

But with the advent of Internet and web technologies, digital libraries and online databases are quickly becoming the norm at colleges and universities as ways to expand the materials available to students and to help them refine their research skills. On the other hand, today’s students don’t know the world without the internet. So, this “laptop generation, whose idea of research is a quick troll through Google” (Sharp, 2005), needs to be encouraged to explore its school's digital libraries. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic, with campuses closed for extended periods, has forced students to remain and study at home. So, they rely on digital and other research facilities, such online repositories or databases, provided by universities.

Therefore, we can think at a digital transformation with multiple benefits, in terms of: - helping students make better use of online library information - facilitating students’ interaction with their and other colleagues’ work through digital library services - reducing teachers’ time load when digital assessing students’ work.

See for more details: https://tomorrowsprofessor.sites.stanford.edu/posting/673

Competences

developing a search strategy, solid online research skills (using search keywords, Boolean operators, online databases thesaurus etc.)
locating appropriate scientific literature
synthesis and critical thinking / evaluation (teaching students how to be critical evaluators of information they encounter during online research is an essential life skill)
critical reading (to ensure critical writing)
critical writing of references following APA standard
communication, research and organizational/learning skills are core competences acquired by scientific research activity

Assessment strategies and instruments

Teachers can make use of a set of questions (as a digital checklist or a questionnaire), to ask students to reflect upon their assignment (and to discuss with teacher or their peers):

What are some of the criteria/limitations you can tell the database to use in order to search for a topic?
What do you do to find articles in which you can see the ‘full text’ online?
How did you narrow your search enough so that you had 30 or less "hits" (i.e., articles, books, or chapters) for your topic? What did you find most helpful in narrowing your search?
If you encounter a problem in conducting your literature search, please explain in detail what the problem was.

Students will do a peer-assessment using the grading rubric below and then discuss in pairs (share ideas, compare references etc.). Thus, the students have the opportunity to revise, before submitting for teacher assessment (TA) and further comment. The evaluation from the peer and TA are intended to provide feedback as the student proceed with the research for term paper.

At the end, each pair will share their opinion in front of the class.

Assessment criteria

Table 8.

Grading Rubric for peer assessment

Grading Scheme for formative/summative assessment

A – Focused around a clearly research questions. The search was performed with at least 2 databases and 2 search engines. The final list reflects analysis, interpretation and synthesis of information (less than 10 years, educational sciences content etc.). All references are cited correctly. The writing is excellent.

B – The research question is clearly stated. It is unclear how many databases or search engines were used. There is some original thinking but is not as well focused as an A paper. All references are cited correctly. The writing is good.

C – The research question is unclear. Writing and organization are mediocre.

D – The research question is unclear. There is inadequate detail with no analysis. Writing is poor.