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This information has been provided for librarians, instructors,
faculty, and other educators interested in learning more about Searchpath.
If you have contributions or suggestions about using Searchpath,
please e-mail
us.
What Is Searchpath?
Searchpath is
a resource for Metropolitan State University students. It is a self-instructional
tutorial to teach them basic library and research skills. It covers
the research process from initial topic selection to citation styles
and the issue of plagiarism. There is a link to Searchpath on the
Libraries' home page.
The content of the tutorial is organized into six modules:
| 1.
Starting smart |
is
an overview that introduces students to various types of sources. |
| 2.
Choosing a topic |
provides
tips on broadening and narrowing a topic and discusses search
concepts. |
| 3.
Using WebPALS |
has live practice searches in our online catalog. |
| 4.
Finding articles |
provides
practice searching in the Academic Search Premier database. |
| 5.
Using the Web |
includes the comparative evaluation of Web sources. |
| 6.
Citing sources |
includes the topics of citing, plagiarism, and copyright. |
Students can
complete the tutorial on their own time outside of class. Each of
its six sections takes about 15 minutes and students can complete
one or more modules at a time. Each of the modules is followed by
a short quiz (see details below).
Who
Is It Designed For?
Searchpath is
designed for students in classes with a substantial writing component
or introductory-level research, especially for classes such as Metro
101, Nursing 335. However, we hope instructors of other classes
will find it useful and assign it to their students.
How
Can Instructors Effectively Use Searchpath with Their Courses?
Please
have students complete Searchpath before they begin their
research or attend a library class. Students can complete Searchpath
on their own time and submit their quiz results to you.
Each module
is followed by a short quiz and a results page, which provides an
overall percentage score for that module, as well as a summary of
questions answered right or wrong. Students can either print the
six results pages with their name and submit the printouts to you
as proof of completion or they can email their quiz results to you.
Many instructors
have chosen to give extra credit points to students who complete
Searchpath. We strongly suggest that students be required
to pass the quizzes with a score of at least 85% or better.
Students
may retake a quiz as many times as they want to improve their score.
Does
Searchpath Replace the Information Studies 115 course?
No! We continue
to offer Information Studies 115 and some assignment-specific
library instruction and hope that you will encourage your students
to take our Information Studies course. In the class, they will
expand on the skills taught in the tutorial and gain hands-on experience
by working with a librarian.
If you have questions
about the Information Studies 115 course, please
contact a reference librarian: Jennifer
DeJonghe: jennifer.dejonghe@metrostate.edu
Michelle
Filkins: michelle.filkins@metrostate.edu
Ria
Newhouse: ria.newhouse@metrostate.edu
Ruth
Zietlow: ruth.zietlow@metrostate.edu
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