Library Instruction at the Point of Need Conference| Oct. 29, 2010 Lessons Learned: Developing an Information Literacy Course for Science Majors and Pre-Med.

Library Instruction at the Point of Need Conference| Oct. 29, 2010

Lessons Learned: Developing an Information Literacy Course for Science Majors and Pre-Med Students

Sarah H. Jeong & Mary Beth Lock

Presentation Outline

• Overview of Wake Forest University• Overview of LIB100 program• Expansion of LIB100 program• Development of LIB220 course• Overview of LIB220 course

– Course Goals and Topics– Formative Assessment– Summative Assessment

• Lessons Learned• Recommended Reading

Overview of Wake Forest University

Academic Collegiate University 

• Located in Winston-Salem, NC (since 1956)• Private, co-ed liberal arts education• It is mid-size, 4569 undergraduates (2009/10) • Traditional campus setting, with the majority of

undergraduates living on campus  • Students are very reliant on their library for

study space and services.  

Genesis of LIB 100

• Developed in 2003 to provide basic instruction to students on using tools for research

• A one hour elective course

• Currently teach 12 sections in Fall and 11 sections in Spring

 • 15-18 students per class 

• Teaching is shared among 16 librarians, with 5 assistants

• More demand than we can supply

Goals of LIB100 Goals:• Determine nature and extent of information needed to identify research

topic• Learn how to find resources and the strengths and limitations of each

type• Learn to evaluate sources for reliability and identify bias• Identify keywords, and structure and implement search strategies• Acquire in depth knowledge of library services and resources.• Develop awareness of legal, economic, political and social aspects of

information to use information ethically.o Copyrighto Honor codeo Plagiarism

• Show some interesting tools o Zoteroo Features of our catalog (bookbag, holds, recalls) o Interlibrary Loan

Overview of LIB100-Assignments

• Getting to a research topic• Identifying search terms (keywords)• Finding and evaluating relevant

o bookso databases/journals/articleso websites

•  Final projecto annotated bibliographyo class presentation

Expansion of the LIB100 Program

• Spring 2007• Science Librarian, Social Sciences Librarian, and Coordinator of LIB

100 developed proposals for two library courses at the 200 level for upper-level undergraduate majors in the sciences and social sciences

• Courses were approved in November 2007• Spring 2008

• LIB220 Science Research Sources and Strategies and LIB210 Social Science Research Sources and Strategies were developed

• Fall 2008• LIB220 and LIB210 were offered

• Spring 2009• LIB230 Business & Accounting Research Sources and Strategies

and LIB250 Humanities Research Sources and Strategies were offered

Development of LIB220

Information Literacy Standards for Science and Engineering/TechnologyBy The ALA/ACRL/STS Task Force on Information Literacy for Science and Technology

1. The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed.

2. The information literate student acquires needed information effectively and efficiently.3. The information literate student critically evaluates the procured information and its sources,

and as a result, decides whether or not to modify the initial query and/or seek additional sources and whether to develop a new research process.

4. The information literate student understands the economic, ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and its technologies and either as an individual or as a member of a group, uses information effectively, ethically, and legally to accomplish a specific purpose.

5. The information literate student understands that information literacy is an ongoing process and an important component of lifelong learning and recognizes the need to keep current regarding new developments in his or her field.

ACRL-STS Science Information Literacy Wiki

Promoting to Students

• LIB220 course announcement was sent to majors and minors in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Health & Exercise Science

• Health Professions Advisor sent the course announcement to pre-med students 

 • Flyers were posted in the library as well as in the

science departments

Goals of LIB220

1. Determine the nature and extent of information needed  to identify a suitable research topic in the sciences.

2. Learn how library resources in the sciences are organized.

3. Develop advanced literature searching strategies with using scientific databases to make them effective searchers for information.

4. Learn how to evaluate scientific research critically.

5. Learn how existing and emerging information technologies can assist in their research processes in the sciences

a. Zoterob. Endnotec. Deliciousd. GoogleDocs

Course Topics

• Organization of scientific information • Primary Sources: Journal articles of original research, patents,

conference papers, etc.• Secondary Sources: Textbooks, review articles, handbooks, etc.• Tertiary Sources: Encyclopedias, guides to the literature, and

bibliographies, etc.

• Peer review process• Reading assignment and class discussion

– Yudkin, B. (2006). Critical Reading: Making Sense of Research Papers in Life Sciences and Medicine. Routledge study guides;. London ; New York: Routledge.  

Science Research Guides

• Biology Research Guide http://guides.zsr.wfu.edu/biology

• Neuroscience Research Guidehttp://guides.zsr.wfu.edu/neuroscience

• Chemistry Research Guide• http://guides.zsr.wfu.edu/chemistry • Physics Research Guide• http://guides.zsr.wfu.edu/physics • Health & Exercise Science Research Guide• http://guides.zsr.wfu.edu/hes

Scientific Databases

Multi-subject Databases• Web of Science• Google Scholar

Biology• Biological Abstracts• BioOne Indexing &

Abstracting• GEOBASE• PubMed

 Health & Exercise Science• SportDiscus • Dynamed• CINAHL • PubMed

Chemistry • Scifinder Scholar• Analytical WebBase

Physics• INSPEC• arXiv

Reference Management Software

Fall 2009: • Taught how to use Endnote and Zotero for individual

work on Final Projects

Fall 2010: • Currently teaching how to use Zotero for group work on

Final Projects• Students can still use Zotero but not Endnote after

graduation

Open Access

 • Open Access

• Directory of Open Access Journals http://www.doaj.org

• Public Library of Science (PLoS)

• BioMed Central• PubMed Central• arXiv

 Open Access @ WFU

• WakeSpace institutional repository

• ZSR Library’s fund to assist faculty in paying open access publication fees

Research Ethics

• Historical Events in Biomedical Research– Nuremberg Code– Tuskegee Syphilis Study– U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Sexually Transmitted Disease

Inoculation Study

• National Research Act of 1974– Established the National Commission for the Protection of Human

Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research– Required establishment of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) at

institutions receiving U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services support for human subjects research

• Belmont Report• Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Copyright and Plagiarism

• Copyright Law

• What is permissible/what requires permission

• Consequences of Plagiarism

• Use clickers

– “Can you do that?”

Formative Assessment Fall 2009

Formative Assessment = continual feedback during the course

• Research Log Assignment• Clickers 

• American Medical Association (AMA) Citation Style• Copyright and Plagiarism

• Minute PaperAngelo, T. A. & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.  

Minute Paper Fall 2009

What was the most useful thing you have learned in this course so far?• "The most useful thing I have learned is the number of

resources out there for finding articles.  It is helpful to know the differences between primary and secondary sources, and how to narrow down searches."

• "Learning how to use Endnote and Zotero for citations was extremely useful because I know personally I always have trouble with them."

• "The most useful thing I've learned so far is how to find an navigate different databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, etc."

Minute Paper Fall 2009

What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind as we end this session?

• "I am still curious as to how to use all the resources available on the ZSR website.  I never knew there were so many and it is kind of overwhelming."

• "Simply because I am a chemistry major, I would love to find other databases and tools for chemistry other than Web of Science, JSTOR."

• "I feel very unclear/unconfident on how to write an appropriate annotation to be successful in the final project."

Summative Assessment Fall 2009

• Summative Assessment = graded assignment which demonstrates what the students have learned at the end of a project or periodically

• Nobel Prize Winner Journals Assignment• Secondary Source Assignment• Primary Source Assignment• Final Project Annotated Bibliography

Nobel Prize Winner Journals Assignment

• Students determined if 3 original journal articles written by the recipients of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine were in ZSR Library’s collection

• Real-world example of finding sources from a bibliography in ZSR Library

Secondary Source & Primary Source Assignments

Secondary Source Assignment• Students searched scientific databases using the

advanced searching tips taught in class and found a review article on their research topic

• Secondary source formatted in AMA citation style

Primary Source Assignment• Using scientific databases or the bibliography of a review

article, students found a primary source related to their research topic

• Primary source formatted in AMA citation style

Final Project Fall 2009

• Annotated Bibliography of secondary sources and primary sources on a research topic of their choice– Summary of topic based on the sources found for

the final project– Discussion of search strategies used to find

sources for the final project– Bibliography of sources formatted in the American

Medical Association Citation Style– Lessons learned about scientific research

throughout the semester

Formative Assessment Fall 2010

Clickers• Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Sources

 • AMA Citation Style

• Copyright and Plagiarism Minute Paper

Class Discussion of Documentary: Big Bucks, Big Pharma Marketing Disease and Pushing Drugs (2006)

Minute Paper Fall 2010

 What was the most useful thing you have learned in this course so far?

• "I have learned about a ton of databases I didn't know about before."

• "How to effectively use various databases.  It used to be a chore trying to search for sources, but I am pretty skilled now."

• "Learning how to use PubMed efficiently and being able to narrow down the choices.  As an HES major involved in several projects, that is a very handy skill to have."

Minute Paper Fall 2010

What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind as we end this session? • "I am still unsure about my other options for finding an

article if Wake doesn't have it."

• "A question I have is how to effectively relate sources to my research/lab report in the discussion."

Summative Assessment Fall 2010

• Repeated Assessments• Research Log Assignment• Finding relevant primary and secondary sources

• New Assessments• Science News Assignment

– Read references in science news sources and find the original journal article in ZSR Library

• WorldCat Assignment – Find a book ZSR Library does not own on their research topic and request it

through Interlibrary Loan• Group Presentations and Final Project Bibliography

– Assigned groups of 2-3 students who had similar research interests– Group work prepares students for collaborative work in scientific research

Final Project Fall 2010

• Oral presentation (6-7 minutes each presentation)o Discussion of search strategieso Include best sources used and whyo Presentation slides created in GoogleDocs

• Final project bibliography created in GoogleDocso 10 sources and search strategies

o Review articleso Primary sourceso Books from the library and from ILL (WorldCat) assignmento Science news sources

o Sourced formatted in AMA citation style

Lessons Learned

• Students don't always read the comments from one assignment and carry it forward to future assignments

• Students enjoy using clickers for classroom interactiono They are engagingo Their answers are anonymous

• Revision and refreshing is necessary to improve the course in the futureo Minute Paper can tell you where you need to clarify your

lecture

Lessons Learned cont’d

• Students have applied the research strategies that they learned not only for LIB220 assignments but also for lab reports in their other science courses and future research

• Since LIB220 students will become future scientific researchers and medical professionals, teaching research ethics at the undergraduate level is important and encourages them to start thinking about how to conduct research on human subjects ethically

Recommended Reading

• National Academy of Sciences. On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2009.

• Macrina, F. L. Scientific Integrity: Text and Cases in Responsible Conduct of Research. Washington, D.C.: ASM Press, 2005.

• Issever, Ç. & Peach, K. Presenting Science: A Practical Guide to Giving a Good Talk. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Recommended Reading cont’d

• Yudkin, B. Critical Reading: Making Sense of Research Papers in Life Sciences and Medicine. London ; New York: Routledge, 2006.

• Friedland, A. J. & Folt, C. L. Writing Successful Science Proposals. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.

• Slebodnik, M., & Zeidman-Karpinski, A. (2008). Resources for Information Literacy Instruction in the Sciences. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship.

Questions?

Sarah H. Jeong, MLISResearch & Instruction Librarian-ScienceZ. Smith Reynolds [email protected]

Mary Beth Lock, MLSDirector of Access ServicesZ. Smith Reynolds [email protected]