Thing Fourteen

Thing Fourteen – Other Online Resources

I found the blog prompt questions interesting for this one. First, I introduced these (particularly CompletePlanet) just like I did any of the other subscription databases and explained the distinction between those databases, Google and these types of resources. It was also asked how students adjusted to not having quick, pre-packaged answers and I have two separate answers. First, oftentimes the students were able to find some remarkably straight-forward answers from these sites. But those that have had problems, I have tried to explain regularly that if they aren’t struggling at least somewhat to find their desired answers to their questions, then they aren’t doing real research. That frustrating feeling is a good sign that good work is being done. I also remind them on a regular basis that they are tackling difficult, possibly unanswerable, questions and that it will take a lot of work and ingenuity to be able to thoroughly answer them. If they try their hardest and there are still parts of their question that remain unanswered, that’s okay too. The students, particularly the higher-achieving students, aren’t entirely comfortable with this, but they are trying anyway, which is great to see.