Transcript A New Perspective on Reference: Crossing the Line between Research and Writing Barbara Alvarez River Campus Libraries University of Rochester.

A New Perspective on Reference:
Crossing the Line between Research and Writing
Barbara Alvarez
River Campus Libraries
University of Rochester
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Current trends in education
• Change of focus from knowledge to skills
• Ubiquitous interdisciplinarity
• Growing participation of undergraduates
in original research
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research paper:
most complex and advanced form of learning
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learning to write and to do research:
“trying to walk toward two different mountains”
Peter Elbow
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How are our current students dealing with
complexities and conflicts of research and writing?
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How are our current students dealing with
complexities and conflicts of research and writing?
Faculty’s view:
• Finding sources is not an issue
• Difficulty with posing research questions
• Lack of critical judgment in selection of
sources and interpretation
• Poor writing skills: mechanics, organization,
clarity
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How are our current students dealing with
complexities and conflicts of research and writing?
“…finding things about her life was definitely very easy. […]
I had a lot of trouble coming up with a thesis statement
that, I guess I didn’t really understand. […] But at the
time, I was just, I have all this research, how am I
supposed to just come up with something that’s arguable,
when all of it is right in front of me?”
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How are our current students dealing with
complexities and conflicts of research and writing?
“…finding things about her life was definitely very
easy. […] I had a lot of trouble coming up with a thesis
statement that, I guess I didn’t really understand. […] But
at the time, I was just, I have all this research, how am I
supposed to just come up with something that’s arguable,
when all of it is right in front of me?”
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How are our current students dealing with
complexities and conflicts of research and writing?
“…finding things about her life was definitely very easy. […]
I had a lot of trouble coming up with a thesis
statement that, I guess I didn’t really understand. […]
But at the time, I was just, I have all this research, how am
I supposed to just come up with something that’s
arguable, when all of it is right in front of me?”
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How are our current students dealing with
complexities and conflicts of research and writing?
“…finding things about her life was definitely very easy. […]
I had a lot of trouble coming up with a thesis statement
that, I guess I didn’t really understand. […] But at the
time, I was just, I have all this research, how am I
supposed to just come up with something that’s
arguable, when all of it is right in front of me?”
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How do we currently support students’
research and writing across the curriculum?
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How do we currently support students’
research and writing across the curriculum?
research = domain of the library
_________________________
writing = domain of the writing center
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How can we provide a student-centered
support for research and writing?
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How can we provide a student-centered
support for research and writing?
• Holistic view of the research-writing process
• Crossing the line: learning the pedagogy of writing
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Collaboration with the writing center
• Research instruction for writing courses
• Research training for new writing instructors
• Sharing research findings
• Reference librarian as writing tutor
• Writing fellow as reference/teaching assistant
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What did we learn from the “other side”?
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What did we learn from the “other side”?
Similarities:
• Pragmatic approach
• No authority associated with grades
• Intermediaries between students and faculty
• Solid teaching theory and practice
• Perceived as service rather than teaching
partner
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What did we learn from the “other side”?
Difference of focus:
Writing vs. Reference
student who can write a good research paper
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Writing vs. Reference
• interpreting & presenting
• gathering & evaluating
• selective treatment
• exhaustive coverage
• no ready answers
• retrieval of results
• searching to generate
new ideas
• focus on technical aspects
of searching
• improvement over time
• immediate fulfillment of need
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How can we connect research and writing
at the reference desk?
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How can we connect research and writing
at the reference desk?
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Focus on the student rather than the paper
Reference interview to help sort the ideas
Critical reading
Analytical searching
Discovering debates about the topic to help
with argumentation
• Encouraging a recursive process
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Writing fellow as reference assistant
• at the reference desk
• in the classroom assisting with
bibliographic instruction
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Collaboration between academic libraries
and writing centers in January 2006
47% of survey respondents report a formal collaboration:
• 24% create instructional tools
• 20% meet jointly with students
• 19% meet jointly with faculty
• 16% team-teach classes, courses, workshops
• 7% teach writing staff to teach library research
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Essential elements of library-writing center
collaboration
• Referral system
• Cross-training
• Shared physical or virtual space
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Benefits of “crossing the line”
• Broader perspective
• Leveraging of strengths
• Better alignment with student and faculty needs
• Students: integrated learning = better results
• Better understanding of current faculty
interests
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