This book walks through the process of conducting literary research while helping readers refine their library skills. Along the way, the authors draw from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Framework, discussing this concept more in-depth throughout the book.
Type of Material:
Open (Access) Textbook
Recommended Uses:
Use as a reference book as students conduct literary research, step by step. Chapters can be discussed in class and consulted when when writing literary research papers.
Technical Requirements:
Browser, PDF reader, or EPub reader
Identify Major Learning Goals:
• Understand the assignment
• Identify a research problem
• Develop audience awareness
• Enter a scholarly conversation
• Understand theory’s integral role within humanities research
• Understand how theory relates to particular research methodologies and methods for gathering evidence
• Use online library catalogs, database search strategies, library services, citation management, and search alerts
• Evaluate source credibility
• Posit a research question
• Posit a thesis statement
• Compose a title
• Define key terms
• Write persuasively
• Write academic prose
• Steer clear of plagiarism
Target Student Population:
College General Ed, College Lower Division
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Little ICT skills required, familiarity with basic research concepts a plus
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
This book was written by faculty and designers at the University of Central Florida to use as a main text in a literary research course (a sample syllabus is provided). The core concepts are grounded in English literary research and align with professional library standards. Information is accurate and current. Each chapter is highly structured and includes basic information and explanations, examples, interactive checks for understanding, exercises, summary or key takeaways, and links for deeper understanding. The book does an excellent job of integrating concepts. Links work and are appropriately attributed.
Concerns:
Several interactive elements are available only on the online version of the text.
Methodologies are tied to theories, showing just a couple of examples.
The chapter on library resources is based on the authors' library and doesn't easily translate the content to generic libraries.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The learning objectives reflect core ICT literacy standards. The authors address prerequisite knowledge and expectations. The chapters progressively build upon each other, using a sample literary research project as a book "thread." With its scaffolding features, learning can be efficient. The book does an excellent job of integrating concepts. Because each chapter has exercises, it is easy to write assignments for. The material is applicable to academic and professional literary settings.
Concerns:
This reviewer would have placed the chapters on research questions and research processes BEFORE the chapters on library resources, Google Scholar, and resource evaluation.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The book is clearly written and has a consistant, professional looking structure and layout. The colored boxes of headings, diargrams and videos are visually appealing in light of all the text. The book has many interactive features, althought some are available only in the online version. The book is generally easy to navigate, with ways to access specific content; little technical skill is needed. the book is available in several formats (which differ in "look" to some degree). The book is almost fully ADA-compliant.
Concerns:
No help feature is available. The reader can get a bit lost in the structure.
Creative Commons:
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