Sessions Offered

Locate Information Effectively

Stages of the Library Research Process (5 minutes)

Describes anxious feelings most students experience during the information research process.

Flow of Information: Determining the Right Information Sources (10-15 minutes)

Discusses how coverage of a topic typically progresses over time in popular and scholarly media. Students will learn how researchers can locate needed information more quickly and easily by pinpointing where in the information flows it lies. [Complements the module titled “Distinguishing Among Types of Information: Magazine and Journals.”]

Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Suggestions

Overcoming Library Anxiety (10-15 minutes)

Library anxiety is the feeling of being overwhelmed by the complexity, size, and/or unfamiliarity of a library system. It can cause procrastination, avoidance of library usage in favor of less reliable information sources, and plagiarism.

This module is designed to help students overcome the negative and debilitating feelings of using the library and its resources for scholarly research and personal enrichment.

Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Suggestions

Research Topic Selection (15 minutes)

Models how to narrow or broaden a topic and come up with a research inquiry statement, followed by a small group exercise where students follow the same process.

Creating an Effective Search Statement (10-15 minutes)

What are the important elements of a topic? How can they be translated into an effective search statement for computerized resources? Active learning exercise to identify the key terms and synonyms of a topic statement, learn about Boolean operators, and develop a search statement that reflects the critical elements of a topic.

Primary vs. Secondary Resources (20 minutes)

Will teach students to distinguish between primary and secondary source material. This module is particularly useful for history classes, or in any case students are required to locate primary source books, documents, and articles.

Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Suggestions

Locating & Evaluating Books (25 minutes)

Explains the differences between the UCLA Library Catalog and the California Digital Library’s (CDL) Melvyl catalog. Demonstrates effective use of the UCLA Library Catalog for identifying and locating books at UCLA. Discusses how to evaluate search results.

Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Suggestions

Locating & Evaluating Articles (25 minutes)

Demonstrates effective selection and use of article index databases to identify relevant periodical articles. Discusses evaluation of search results. Demonstrates how to locate periodicals (magazines and journals) subscribed to by the Library.

Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Suggestions

Mastering the Maze: Interpreting Call Numbers (1-3 minutes)

Libraries are some of the most organized places on the planet, although for those who unfamiliar with the organization, it may seem like a chaotic labyrinth. This short module will help students crack the call number code so that finding an item on the shelf may never become an exercise in frustration again. [Complements the module titled “Finding Books.”]

Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Suggestions

Evaluate Information Effectively & Appropriately

Critical Thinking About Web Sites (15-30 minutes)

How to screen web sites for accuracy, currency, reliability, authority, and bias using web exercises: "Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide!"

Distinguishing Among Different Types of Information: Magazines vs. Journals (15 minutes)

What are the differences between magazines and journals? Which are appropriate for what sorts of research?
(See Selecting the Right Source)

Unreviewed Web Pages/Sites vs. Reviewed Web Pages/Sites for Research (20-30 minutes)

What sort of information is available on the web and how can you tell which would be most useful for research?

Use Information Effectively & Ethically

Citation Style 1 (10-15 minutes)

Learners will demonstrate mastery of skills needed to interpret a variety of citations correctly.

Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Suggestions

Citation Style 2 (10-15 minutes)

Learners will demonstrate mastery of appropriate citation style and techniques for a given discipline.

Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Suggestions

Avoiding Plagiarism (20 minutes)

Learners will use information ethically by avoiding plagiarism. [Complements the interactive tutorial]

Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Suggestions

Carlos and Eddie's Guide to Bruin Success with Less Stress (interactive tutorial)

Designed as an introduction to academic integrity and intellectual property, Carlos and Eddie’s Guide to Bruin Success with Less Stress aims to help educate UCLA students about their role in the academic community and to help them make informed choices. The tutorial was constructed with the intention of engaging students and demonstrating how issues related to ethical uses of information and various media formats are relevant not only to their academic careers, but also to their daily lives. We hope that you and your students find this tutorial interesting and informative and that it serves as a catalyst for meaningful class discussions.