Research assignments short on the "how to"

A new report from Project Information Literacy, "How Handouts for Research Assignments Guide Today's College Students," finds that although product mechanics are provided, very little information or guidance helps students with locating and using sources in the conduct of research. Project Directors Head and Eisenberg did a "content analysis of 191 course-related research assignment handouts distributed to undergraduates on 28 college campuses across the U.S." Faculty often make some unwarranted assumptions about college students ability to locate and identify appropriate sources of information.

According to an article in CHE today, "The study found that 83 percent of assignment handouts called for a standard individual research paper, as opposed to alternatives such as collaborative, oral, or multimedia projects. Ms. Head and Mr. Eisenberg analyzed handouts for the diversity of their suggested sources, combing them for recommendations of library resources, course readings, primary sources, and the Internet as elements in the research process."

Dr. Head is quoted as saying, ""I think this study gives professors an opportunity to question whether they're accomplishing what they want to do with their handouts and whether, if they included different details, it might give them better research papers at the end of the day."