Research Instruction Services

Merced College Library Orientation (20 minutes)

• identify library locations & hours
• contact the library faculty for help with research
• identify major library tools
• understand the process for checking out Course Reserves
• check out books & DVDs
• use / check out Study Rooms
• log into computers & check out tablets
• connect to WiFi
• understand the process for printing & making copies
• get help with technology
• access tutorial services

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• Use this tutorial to cover the essential library services & resources in broad terms.
• This tutorial is best for the beginning of the semester.
• If assigning this in the beginning of the semester, we recommend pairing it with the Using OneSearch tutorial, which shows students how to log into their library account, find textbooks, etc.
• The library faculty can create a module that has both assignments, a citation guide, and subject guide in one place.

Recognizing Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Sources (15 minutes)

• differentiate between primary, secondary, & tertiary sources
• recognize that format alone doesn't determine whether a source is primary, secondary, or tertiary
• recognize that what is considered primary, secondary, & tertiary may be different between disciplines

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• While this tutorial may be more relevant for history, we have found that students need some help when determining primary sources between disciplines.

• differentiate between popular, trade, and scholarly articles
• distinguish between scholarly articles from the sciences/social sciences and the arts/humanities
• read scholarly journal articles more efficiently
• understand how the information cycle determines the kinds of sources available on a topic

• Fully updated as of August 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• This tutorial helps students recognize some of the types of sources that they can find in the library's databases. It's important to recognize that the library also subscribes to popular sources from conservative and liberal magazines, etc.
• It also provides students with information about how to research "new" topics that don't have much scholarly literature.
• We recommend that students learn about source types before searching in databases.

• distinguish between original/empirical and review articles
• differentiate between various types of literature review articles

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Added to the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• We recommend this tutorial for students who are already familiar with the differences between popular and scholarly articles, which is covered in the Recognizing Scholarly, Popular, & Trade Articles tutorial

• differentiate between popular and scholarly articles
• read scholarly journal articles more efficiently
• differentiate between types of scholarly articles
• define open access 
• recognize signs of predatory journals
• identify recommended science- and health-related library databases

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• We recommend that students complete this tutorial with either the Using CINAHL Complete or Using Science Full Text Select tutorials.
• The library faculty can create a module for you that has multiple assignments in one place--you would just need to add points and the rubrics.

• recognize the value of reference sources
• use Wikipedia for academic research
• recognize major components of scholarly books
• read scholarly books for academic research
• distinguish between monographs and anthologies
• find reference sources & scholarly books through the library

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Added to the Canvas Commons in August 2023

• explain the purpose of book reviews
• distinguish between various types of book reviews
• find book reviews via OneSearch

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Added to the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• Depending on your outcomes, you may also be interested in having students complete the Finding Literary Criticism tutorial

• identify resources to find career information

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• This tutorial covers the Occupational Outlook Handbook, CA Occupational Guides, running a catalog search, and visiting the Career Center
• The guide featured in the tutorial also features other online resources.

• understand the role of the U.S. Census Bureau
• explain why the census is conducted every 10 years
• recognize the limitations of the Decennial Census
• identify other useful surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau
• use the U.S. Census Bureau glossary
• distinguish between race and ethnicity
• recognize information gaps related to sexual orientation and gender identity
• use effective strategies to find statistics and data related to a topic and/or geography

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Added to the Canvas Commons in August 2023

• recognize that literary criticism can be found in journal articles and books
• identify library search tools that can help you find literary criticism
• use search strategies to help you narrow results to literary criticism

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Added to the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• Depending on your outcomes, you may also be interested in having students complete the Finding Book Reviews tutorial

• recognize how checklist approaches for evaluating information can fall short when used on their own
• recognize Caulfield's techniques for evaluating information
• identify media bias tools
• identify fact-checking tools
• articulate components of the PROVEN method

• Content fully updated as of August 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• Students should know about differences between sources prior to completing this tutorial.
• Pairs well with an exercise that has students select the "best" source based on circumstance as sources are not necessarily bad or good on their own.
• The library faculty can work with you to develop a more nuanced exercise relevant to your class content.

• recognize how the library provides access to scholarly and other subscription content
• identify how library databases can help you refine your search for information
• find databases provided by the Merced College Library
• select relevant subject databases

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• We recommend that students complete this before the Using Basic Search Strategies and / or one of the specific EBSCOhost database tutorials focused on layout and navigation. 
• Providing students with this foundational knowledge empowers their research process as we have almost 70 databases; learning to decide where to look is important for information literacy development.
• It may also be beneficial for students to have an understanding of the kinds of materials that can be found in databases as there is a mixture of source types, including magazines from liberal and conservative perspectives.
• The library faculty can create a module for you that has multiple assignments in one place--you would just need to add  points and the rubrics.

• recognize how the library provides access to scholarly and other subscription content
• find all of the library's databases provided by the brand EBSCOhost
• select relevant subject databases

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• Some instructors require that students only use databases from the brand EBSCOhost, which accounts for 30 of the library's nearly 70 databases. 
• This tutorial outlines how to find and use the EBSCOhost Web (all databases) platform to select several databases from this brand at one time. 
• We recommend that students complete this before the Using Basic Search Strategies and / or one of the specific EBSCOhost database tutorials focused on layout and navigation. 
• Providing students with this foundational knowledge empowers their research process as around 30 of the library's almost 70 databases are provided by EBSCOhost; learning to decide where to look is important for information literacy development.
• It may also be beneficial for students to have an understanding of the kinds of materials that can be found in databases as there is a mixture of source types, including magazines from liberal and conservative perspectives.
• The library faculty can create a module for you that has multiple assignments in one place--you would just need to add  points and the rubrics.

• identify keywords
• use quotation marks
• use words that expand or limit searches

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• We recommend that students complete this tutorial after the Finding & Selecting Databases tutorial and / or before one of the specific database tutorials.
• The library faculty can create a module for you that has multiple assignments in one place--you would just need to add points and the rubrics.

• access Academic Search Complete
• find the Advanced Search interface
• narrow results by source type, publication date, and full-text access
• scan article titles and abstracts for relevance
• open PDFs
• use database tools to save, email, cite, and link articles

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• We recommend that students complete this tutorial after the Finding & Selecting Databases tutorial and the Using Basic Search Strategies tutorial.
• The library faculty can create a module for you that has multiple assignments in one place--you would just need to add points and the rubrics.

Using CINAHL Complete (15 minutes)

• access CINAHL Complete
• find the Advanced Search interface
• narrow results by source type, publication date, and full-text access
• scan article titles and abstracts for relevance
• open PDFs
• use database tools to save, email, cite, and link articles

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• We recommend that students complete this tutorial after the Finding & Selecting Databases tutorial and the Using Basic Search Strategies tutorial.
• The library faculty can create a module for you that has multiple assignments in one place--you would just need to add points and the rubrics.

• access JSTOR Essential
• locate the Advanced Search interface
• enter search terms
• narrow results by content type, publication date, and subject
• use database tools to cite, email, download, and save items

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• We recommend that students complete this tutorial after the Finding & Selecting Databases tutorial and the Using Basic Search Strategies tutorial.
• The library faculty can create a module for you that has multiple assignments in one place--you would just need to add points and the rubrics.

Using OneSearch (20 minutes)

• access OneSearch
• use filters to specify the kind of source you are interested in
• find locations for physical items, including books and textbooks
• sign into your OneSearch account to place holds on physical items, such as regular books and DVDs, & renew items
• find & access full-text articles
• describe the advantages and disadvantages of using OneSearch vs. a subject-specific database

• This tutorial pairs well with the Merced College Library Orientation tutorial at the beginning of the semester.
• The library faculty can create a module for you that has both assignments in one place--you would just need to add  points and the rubrics.

• access Science Full Text Select
• find the Advanced Search interface
• narrow results by source type, publication date, and full-text access
• scan article titles and abstracts for relevance
• open PDFs
• use database tools to save, email, cite, and link articles

• Content fully updated as of July 2023
• Updated in the Canvas Commons in August 2023
• We recommend that students complete this tutorial after the Finding & Selecting Databases tutorial and the Using Basic Search Strategies tutorial.
• The library faculty can create a module for you that has multiple assignments in one place--you would just need to add points and the rubrics.

Citing & Formatting in MLA (9th ed.) (1 hour)

• recognize the purposes of citing sources
• identify the key characteristics of a properly formatted paper in MLA style
• create in-text citations in MLA style
• identify the core elements of Works Cited citations in MLA style
• identify the key characteristics of a properly formatted Works Cited list in MLA style

• We recommend that students complete this assignment when they are actively citing sources.
• Also consider that students should be spending more time learning how to evaluate and use sources than is spent learning how to cite sources.

Citing & Formatting in APA (7th ed.) (1 hour)

• recognize the purposes of citing sources.
• identify the key characteristics of a properly formatted paper.
• create in-text citations.
• recognize how to pull information from sources to create citations for a References page.

• We recommend that students complete this assignment when they are actively citing sources.
• Also consider that students should be spending more time learning how to evaluate and use sources than is spent learning how to cite sources.