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Peer Review

How to Research | Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona

Reviewed:

Aug 19, 2025 by Library and Information Services
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Ratings

Overall Rating: 4.8 stars
Content Quality: 5.0 stars
Effectiveness: 4.8 stars
Ease of Use: 4.8 stars
Overview:

Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona created more than 30 video tutorials on finding and using library resources. The tutorials span the following areas: Library Basics, Databases, Citing Sources, and Information Literacy. Some of the tutorials include interactive exercises. 

Type of Material:

Tutorial

Recommended Uses:

Homework both individual and group, prior to writing papers,.

Technical Requirements:

Java  

Tested in Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Most of the tutorials have titles or descriptions reflecting the content and skills covered. Examples of learning outcomes include: 

  • Students will learn how to choose and evaluate topics based on the type of assignment they have been given.

  • Students will learn to develop a search strategy using both narrowing and expanding.

  • Students will learn that different types of resources are available and when to use them during their research.
Target Student Population:

College General Ed, College Lower Division, High School

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

None

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:

 

  • Overall, the tutorials do a great job summarizing and integrating the primary concepts associated with the type of library research of first and second year college students. The tutorials would be a solid foundation for students who are finding and using library resources.
  • The information appears to be current and relevant up-to-date with the Library's content.
  • The content in the information literacy section is cleverly designed (e.g. the student character wandering a southwestern landscape, becoming overwhelmed by a flood of online sources, followed by a librarian coming to the rescue with search tips).
Concerns:

The tutorials are specific to Pima Community College, especially when they cover library catalogs, databases, and services. While this is a great tool for that college, I am unsure how useful it would be for students from other colleges. The tutorials are not under a license allowing derivatives, so they cannot be customized for other colleges and universities.   

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:

 

  • The tutorials clearly identified learning objectives that they followed. The tutorials' concepts were introduced logically and progressively.
  • Students would be able to learn a lot in a short amount of time. Each tutorial stated how much time it would take students to complete each section. This was very helpful and none of the times listed were too long.
  • The tutorials were flexible and accounted for different types of projects. Faculty could assign their introductory classes these tutorials and it would make sense in a lot of different scenarios.
Concerns:

  • Sometimes, the tutorials would introduce a topic very briefly then expect users to be able to complete an exercise on it. Example – There was a brief description of primary and secondary resources, then several exercises on the topic.  
  • The tutorials could use a certificate page to indicate that users completed them when assigned for coursework.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:

 

  • Tutorials were visually appealing.
  • The tutorials remember where you last visited, which was helpful.
  • The tutorials are engaging and interactive, not only with the exercises but how the information was presented.  
Concerns:

  • The visual theme (not the concepts) for some of the tutorials may have seemed childish to college students. It felt more appropriate for students in K-12 education.
  • As additional videos and tutorials were added to the collection over time, the design elements and themes varied, leading to less consistency.
  • It uses Java which is not known to be accessible. A PDF transcript of the tutorials would be helpful under “Resources.”
Other Issues and Comments:

The How to Research page (https://pima.edu/academics-programs/academic-support/library/how-to-research.html) does not include all the tutorial categories. It leaves out Information Literacy. 

While the tutorials appear to have had a consistent design theme at one time, this is not the case currently. The presentation of the video tutorials as boxes on a three-column website could be improved. Perhaps add simple lists of links at the bottom of the category pages. 

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