Not all ASU courses require students to complete a research paper. Yet, most assignments in all subject areas require students to effectively research their topic.
Librarians want to work with you to plan assignments which will make good use of Library resources and to present Information Literacy instruction for your courses.
Contact us to explore some of the alternatives to term or research papers.
If you're requiring students to use library resources for an assignment, consider the following as you design the assignment:
For more ideas, read these articles:
"Assignments: Being Clear About What Matters" by Barbara Fister (in Inside Higher Ed)
"What Happens to Your Research Assignment at the Library?" by Dennis Isbell (in College Teaching)
References:
Jenkins, B. (2007, February). Guidelines for Effective Library Assignments. Retrieved November 9, 2010, from http://libweb.uoregon.edu/instruct/assignments.html
Queen's University. (2008, October). Designing Research Assignments. Retrieved November 9, 2010, from http://library.queensu.ca/inforef/design.htm
While the traditional research paper is still a commonly-used assignment, there are a variety of alternatives.
Instructors may choose to create and use alternative research assignments to include a research component in a course that doesn't lend itself well to papers, or to respond to the rising incidence of plagiarism. Some instructors add assignments leading up to the final research paper that allow students to receive feedback on every stage of the research process. Ideas include:
In other instances, instructors choose to move away entirely from the requirement to write a paper. Ideas include:
Check out these websites for other ideas and examples: