Library 160: Introduction to College-Level Research
Iowa State University Library Instruction Services, Iowa State University
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Publisher: Iowa State University
Language: English
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Reviews
The book's table of contents made it easy to focus on the chapters that interested me the most. read more
The book's table of contents made it easy to focus on the chapters that interested me the most.
The book provided wonderful examples of scenarios in teaching and instruction of research.
The contents of this textbook are timely and relevant. I will definitely be implementing it in to my information literacy lesson plans and instruction.
The book was easy to follow, the chapters flowed and it was brimming with examples.
The book is consistent with terminology and examples.
I like the fact that the topics ranging from locating primary sources to newspapers are broken down into sections. I would recommend a particular section to our English 101 professors.
The book's structure and flow is easy to follow. It starts from the beginning explaining what is research to building up selecting searches and web (internet research).
The book's interface and design made it easy to jump from chapter to chapter and focus on headings highlighted in the book.
The book contained no errors.
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This book is a natural fit for learning, improving, and implementing research building blocks into your information literacy classes. I well definitely be utilizing this book this semester.
The text appropriately covers all information literacy areas and provides a practical glossary. read more
The text appropriately covers all information literacy areas and provides a practical glossary.
The content is accurate, moderately error-free, and unbiased.
The text is up-to-date and reflects the current information landscape.
The clarity of language and accessibility of the prose, coupled with sufficient context for jargon and technical terminology, are commendable attributes of the information literacy text.
The book's consistency and framework make it an invaluable resource for undergraduate students seeking a structured and cohesive approach to understanding the research process.
The book's modularity is apparent, allowing readers to navigate the content in a flexible and personalized manner.
The text's topic is presented logically and clearly, with each section building on the appropriate research practices.
The interface is easy to navigate.
Additionally, this textbook contains a video to guide users on the book layout and "Check your understanding" interactive elements for users to practice concepts outlined in the chapters.
There are very minimal grammatical errors in this textbook.
The textbook does not contain culturally insensitive or offensive materials; however, the book can benefit from images of various ethnicities.
Library 160: Introduction to College-Level Research consistency across chapters, in writing style and terminology, makes it a reliable guide for readers navigating the intricate landscape of information literacy.
This textbook comprehensively covers the research process in a concise, comprehensible format that should be easily understood by students at the community college level. This book additionally provides information on ethical use of information,... read more
This textbook comprehensively covers the research process in a concise, comprehensible format that should be easily understood by students at the community college level. This book additionally provides information on ethical use of information, resources for students who wish to learn how to develop a citation, and a brief overview of how research fits into the overall writing process. I also like that this book introduces the SIFT method and explains why the CRAAP method may no longer be the most effective evaluation tool. One critique would be that this book fails to mention that students should cite their sources as they find them so that they can more easily find those sources again if necessary and more effectively prevent plagiarism. Understanding when a source requires citation is one thing, but students often leave citing those sources until the very end of the writing process, which can lead to confusion and errors in citations.
Content within this text is accurate and unbiased.
While this book was written for a specific institution and program, this text makes an effort to generalize certain topics (like database availability and selection) to be broadly applicable to other institutions that might utilize different platforms and tools or have other options available. This is something that can be easily customized by anyone with access to Pressbooks. This does detract slightly from the comprehensiveness of the book, but not by much. This book seems to be most relevant to an undergraduate "Introduction to College" course or to segments of a Freshman Composition course. That said, this book could also easily be incorporated into other courses that assign research papers.
Again, this textbook comprehensively covers the research process in a concise, comprehensible format that should be easily understood by students at the community college level. This book covers some complex concepts (like copyright and fair use) and makes them accessible to students.
The language, tone of voice, and terminology used within this text are consistent. The use of Glossary Terms easily enables students to learn the terminology and ensures continuity of terminology throughout the book, as well as clear definitions of each term.
At no point does this text refer the reader to another internal section. Each topic is further subdivided into smaller segments that could be utilized in a stand-alone manner as needed.
This text is organized in a linear, logical manner, proceeding from one step to the next logical area of consideration.
All aspects of the Pressbooks interface for this text seem to be free of navigation issues or distortions. The only potential issue could be that the "next page" button is a little easy to overlook, but that's nitpicking.
From what I could see, there were no blatant grammatical errors in this textbook.
This book is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It serves as a "how-to" manual regarding the steps of the research and citation process.
As an introductory text book, Library160 does a good job covering the basics. The 5 chapters address "Getting Started," "Locating Information," Search Techniques," "Evaluating Information," and "Using Information Ethically." Each chapter begins... read more
As an introductory text book, Library160 does a good job covering the basics. The 5 chapters address "Getting Started," "Locating Information,"
Search Techniques," "Evaluating Information," and "Using Information Ethically." Each chapter begins with clearly stated learning objectives. The sub-sections within the chapters proceed in a logical and well-organized manner. There is a thorough glossary at the end.
The content in Library 160 is accurate; however, examples rely rather too-heavily on the authors' (Iowa State University Library Instruction Services) unique library features. Adapting this text book would require substantial editing. For example, some screen grabs are from ISU's specific search interface, record examples and unique “pay for” tools like Map It and Get It. But explanation of Library of Congress call numbers is quite good.
Content is up-to-date. Again, using ISU's specific website to illustrate content may prove problematic in the future. Likewise, the database search pages change not infrequently and may not reflect what students see when they login to their own school's library page.
One of the strengths of Library 160 is the way in which it is written. The language used is accessible and friendly. I made note of several "real world" examples (like avoiding "BS") that help make the content real to students.
Library 160 does an excellent job using terminology consistently. One issue with information literacy classes is the lack of standard terms. For instance, faculty often use phrases like "scholarly articles,” "academic journals,” and "peer reviewed sources," interchangeably, which can be confusing for students new to the research process. Also, between disciplines what constitutes a primary source can vary. This textbook explains all of the "jargon" and offers clear visuals as to how the terms interrelate.
As mentioned above, the 5 chapters are each divided into smaller sub-sections. The Table of Contents is always on the left side of the screen, making it easy to move around between sections or return to previously covered content. Moving between pages is also straightforward--the arrows at the bottom of the screen show what's "previous" and what's "next."
Overall, the organization of Library 160 makes sense. However, the early mentions of "how to cite" work represent something of an issue. Ethical information use is covered in the last chapter book, but opportunities for additional coverage abound. The style guides (MLA, APA, Chicago) are only just mentioned. Likewise, fair use, copyright, plagiarism are all addressed but only in most generic terms.
The interface is fantastic! There are a lot of great visuals (bullet points, charts, graphs) and several embedded YouTube videos break up large sections of text. Plus, there are quizzes to check understanding. Yay quizzes!
I did not find any grammatical errors. At first, the use of the second person "You" seemed too informal for a textbook, but by the end of the book, it felt collaborative as "you" can be singular or plural--"you" the individual student as well as "you" all the students in this class.
There is one curse word in this book (BS), but in context and with a solid reason. I was surprised to see it, but not offended.
At the very end of Library 160, there is a small section on "Promoting Yourself as a Student Researcher." The idea of sharing student work through scholarly channels and encouraging students to think about themselves as “student researchers” is a powerful one. More energy should devoted to that concept in information literacy instruction. Too often students feel like they're just “pretending” to be scholars. Perhaps Library 160 can help change that!
The book is extremely down-to-earth with easy to access chapters, sections, and information. read more
The book is extremely down-to-earth with easy to access chapters, sections, and information.
The book is very accurate to today's libraries, but I wish it covered a bit more about the CRAAP test which is still relevant in some libraries today.
This book uses information that tends to stay the same. For example, even with databases, boolean operators do not tend to change even when the databases do. This makes it easier to follow along and makes it accessible to all regardless of which databases they use.
The book is extremely accessible with its use of down-to-earth language that's extremely easy to understand. It feels wordy at times as a result, but I feel it also makes it more personable to both staff and students.
Very consistent in its explanations, its down-to-earth language, and all the steps needed to effectively conduct research.
Very easy to take out sections of it and utilize in a class section. The book often separated each section of a chapter into subsections, which makes it easy to adapt and utilize the text.
This book follows a clear organization and goes step by step, following all the outcomes that are first outlined in each chapter.
The interface is pretty interactive, allowing the user of this text to simply read or to also engage with the material through interactive activities.
Did not notice any grammatical errors in the text.
Did not notice any culturally insensitive aspects of the book and felt the piece was pretty inclusive.
The book is very down-to-earth, easy to read, and easy to utilize parts of. I love how the user of this text can simply read or also engage with the material through interactive activities, which I'll be sure to incorporate some of these interactive activities in my own information literacy classes. I wish they also adapted more visual learners by providing some linked videos or something akin to that. I also wish that the book had a print version that I could have at hand and offer students if they expressed any interest in learning more. Some students have come to me before asking for print copies of their books, and it would be nice to have a print copy at hand for students to pick up and look through.
The sections on teaching students strengths and weaknesses of each information source helps tremendously as well. It shows how one can evaluate different resources and understand the different types of sources that may come up. I feel there could be some additional coverage of how to utilize research for research powerpoints, presentations, etc.
Overall, a wonderfully written book that provides accessibility to all.
This book goes into great detail and includes modern research concepts such as using Wikipedia for background information and how to search Google. read more
This book goes into great detail and includes modern research concepts such as using Wikipedia for background information and how to search Google.
I found no issues with accuracy.
The length was just right-not exhaustive, but inclusive of all topics needed to understand how to conduct modern-day research.
It also includes a helpful Glossary.
It is consistent in the terminology it uses.
It is organized in good-sized chunks.
The fluid nature of research makes organizing it a little difficult. This is no fault of the authors; it is just a difficult subject to unravel linearly.
The e-book version flowed very well. Indid not take a look at the PDF version.
I found no grammatical errors.
I found no examples that were offensive or insensitive.
I found it very helpful and look forward to using it in the near future, myself.
Library 160: Introduction to College-Level Research is written for students attending a particular course at Iowa State University. It has a full table of contents and is easy to navigate. Sections are short and include clearly labeled... read more
Library 160: Introduction to College-Level Research is written for students attending a particular course at Iowa State University. It has a full table of contents and is easy to navigate. Sections are short and include clearly labeled subsections. While there is no index, the linked table of contents handily provides user-friendly navigation.
Generally, the text is accurate and unbiased. However, Web Search Engines are incorrectly identified as not having filters for advanced search or narrowing a search (Table 2.1, pg. 28). In the case of Google, there is a capacity for advanced search, searches can be narrowed by time, and images can be narrowed by type of image, usage rights, etc. This is something the authors acknowledge further in the text (Section 4.6, pg. 129).
The content is up-to-date and relevant to today’s readers. The text does link to tutorials and other resources from other universities. Given that those links are out of the hands of the authors and ISU, broken links may go unnoticed. Additionally, there are several figures that look like they are from the ISU Library catalog. While those helpfully illustrate the text, they may become dated as web pages change. That said, given their placement in the text, updates should be easy to make.
The text is clear and terms are defined for those new to the concepts. Each chapter includes learning outcomes that are achieved by the end of the chapter. Terms (like 'popular information' and 'peer review') are well-defined with examples. However, the use of bolding for terminology is not consistent throughout the book. Some terms (like 'thesis' and 'finding tools') are bolded and explained but others (like 'item records' and 'DOI') are just explained, not bolded. It also would be helpful to have bolded terms and concepts in a central list in the book for easy reference. In Section 1.4 (pg. 8), it’s not clear by Books whether the authors are referring to scholarly books or all books. Section 3.3 covering nesting and Boolean operators was complex compared to the rest of the text. It was helpful when the text differentiated between the ISU Quick Search function and a search engine. For instance, when discussing Boolean operators, the text identifies how to do a search similar to Quick Search in Google using a – instead of NOT.
The text is consistently written and cohesive.
The text is logically divided, and individual sections can be assigned independently. Sections are generally small and concise, easy to take in and understand. Page numbers did not consistently appear in the downloaded PDF.
The flow of the text is logical. The sequence of the sections, particularly illustrating the steps in beginning the research process, are clear and aligned with the student experience. The sections on Keywords are particularly organized and well-defined.
Navigation throughout the text is easy and logical. A few things I noted that could be improved: Figure 1.1 on page 10 in the section defining journal articles/issues/volumes is mid-quality and not ultimately necessary for the text since it is well explained in the preceding section. It may become dated since the journal clearly shows publication dates.
I didn’t observe any grammatical errors.
While the examples used throughout the text assume some knowledge about the United States, they are inclusive and cover a wide range of topics. Since the book is clearly written specifically for ISU students, reliance on U.S. concepts is less of an issue. The sub-section on outdated and offensive subject headings (pg. 80) was a helpful addition to the text.
This text is written for students early in their college careers. It would be useful for any student undertaking academic research for the first time. The text adds helpful sections that go beyond basic research skills, such as the Did You Know section (pg. 30) about free accounts. There are interactive checks for understanding that are relevant to the subject matter being reviewed. They include the opportunity to retry if answered incorrectly and give immediate feedback to the student. In the PDF, the checks are labeled “An Interactive H5P element” which may cause a student who is unfamiliar with H5P to avoid clicking.
The Introduction to College-Level Research provides a straightforward and thorough review of the research process. The five chapters cover the primary elements students should be considering as they become proficient in locating, evaluating, and... read more
The Introduction to College-Level Research provides a straightforward and thorough review of the research process. The five chapters cover the primary elements students should be considering as they become proficient in locating, evaluating, and using information. Being a student centered textbook, I can understand why there isn't any mention of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy or a specific section that discusses why this book was created, but these are elements that would be helpful for instructors using this textbook outside of the institution. Additionally, as this appears to be for a specific course, including a glossary of terms would be helpful as a reference. While definitions are provided throughout each chapter, they can get lost in the text.
The content appears to be accurate, error-free and unbiased. Any included references were relevant and functioned properly. I appreciated that, in the section concerning Wikipedia, the authors did address the issue that the majority of editors are male and there are inherent biases and exclusions in those articles.
Given that these chapters cover topics with a general approach, it is unlikely that this content will be obsolete in the near future. However, some of the images from the institution's interface may become outdated.
The authors clearly define concepts and terms, and provide excellent examples throughout. Some of these examples, however, may edge into the overwhelming for novice researchers. A particular example is the graphic provided in the Boolean Operators section, 3.2. The very detailed search example (that includes AND, OR, and NOT with nesting) is simultaneously effective and a lot to take in. I very much appreciated their approach of including "strengths" and "weaknesses" at the end of certain section; this summarized information very concisely and helps demonstrate that there isn't one source or tool that is perfect.
Despite being written and compiled by the Library Instruction Services unit, this book manages to have a consistent voice and approach to how each chapter and subsequent section is presented.
Keeping to 5 chapters with quick subsections makes this book easy to use and read, either as a professor assigning work or a student using it as a resource. The sections are, for the most part, very reasonable in length, and the ones that verge on being too long are appropriately divided. I did not find the text to be disruptive.
The book is thoughtfully organized with a clear and simple structure. The order of the chapters is logical and follows a typical research process.
No issues noted with the interface. The occasional “check your understanding” quizzes were very effective and added to the overall experience of using the textbook online.
I did not note any grammatical errors during my review of the text.
The text did not appear to be culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. Generally, all their examples and screenshots were very generic and represented authors from different backgrounds and fields of study. However, there is certainly opportunity to provide more inclusive examples or to discuss critical information literacy and social justice.
Overall, a good resource for an introductory college research course. It is simple in its approach, which makes the material approachable for novice researchers. For instructors not at the home institution wanting to use this book, certain sections may be confusing for students given the very specific screenshots, but this is expected given it’s attachment to the 160 course offered at Iowa State University. It would be useful to have more details about the course itself and the institution, as well as the makeup of the Instruction Services team that authored this source.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Getting started with research
Chapter 2: Locating information
Chapter 3: Search techniques
Chapter 4: Evaluating information
Chapter 5: Using information ethically
Ancillary Material
Submit ancillary resourceAbout the Book
You will learn how scholarly information is produced, organized, and accessed; how to construct and use effective search strategies in a variety of web tools and scholarly databases; how to choose finding tools appropriate to the type of information you need; critical thinking skills in the evaluation of resources; and best practices in the ethical use of information.
About the Contributors
Author
Iowa State University Library Instruction Services, Iowa State University