The purpose the SURF tutorial

SURF is a tutorial designed to introduce your students the basic steps in the research process in a fun and interactive way. Each module covers a step in the process from formulating a search to citing sources that are used. This tutorial is designed primarily for a course that requires students to write a 3-5 page paper, a speech or annotated bibliography. It is also designed for use in any course to teach students specific concepts related to researching and writing.

What does SURF teach?

Pedagogy
One of the main objectives the creators of SURF wanted to achieve is presenting library research in a fun and interesting format primarily for first year students. Rather than presenting information, the tutorial allows students to use their own research topic and find resources that can be used on their own assignments. Additionally, students can utilize a variety of interactive elements to visually clarify concepts and meet the needs of multiple learning styles. To ensure accessibility, the tutorial has been designed to meet the current ADA requirements set forth by the university, and has been tested with various accessible software by the Office of Students with Disabilities. Each module has been developed to meet the standards set forth in the CSULB Information Literacy Minimum Standards adopted by the library in 1998. The SURF tutorial is designed to compliment content presented in the U100 Library Component.

U100 Learning Outcomes

• Students will learn how to access library resources in all formats (on campus and remotely)
• Students will learn about essential library services (ILS, Ereserves, Reference Services etc.)
• Students will learn to use COAST, a General Subject database (Academic Search Elite etc.) and the Internet using basic search strategies (Boolean, subject terminology, etc.)

SURF Tutorial Learning Outcomes

• Students will build upon existing information literacy skills
• Students will expand on their ability to find and evaluate information
• Students will learn to effectively apply information to research assignments
• Students will learn about all aspects of plagiarism and academic integrity
• Students will learn to properly cite sources

Overview of the tutorial

To get acquainted with the main parts of the tutorial, take a look at the main theme of the module and the activities students will perform. We have also included ways that these activities and concepts can be integrated into your course and sample assignments. To print this as a rubric, please download this document (.pdf).

Part 1:Organizing and Brainstorming

Overview: Students will learn how to get started on a research assignment
Activities: Student will create a timeline for research, dissect their assignment, pick a topic, develop a research question, pick keywords and build search statement
How to integrate these concepts
Sample assignments

Part 2: Sources and Searching

Overview: Students will find sources for their topic
Activities: Pick the best sources, learn about scholarly vs. popular information, find an article, find a book, find a web site for their topic
How to integrate these concepts
Sample assignments

Part 3: Thinking and Evaluating

Overview: Students will evaluate the information sources they found
Activities: Evaluate books, journal articles, web sites, learn tips to comprehend as they read scholarly material, and to recognize bias
How to integrate these concepts
Sample assignments

Part 4: Writing and Citing

Overview: Students will learn how to avoid plagiarism and integrate research into their writing
Activities: Learn writing tips, how to avoid plagiarism, how to use style manuals and cite quotations
How to integrate these concepts
Sample assignments

How does SURF work?

• Instructor assigns part or all of SURF
• Students register and create log-in
• Students answer worksheet questions about their assignment
• Answers are saved each time a student “logs-out”
• At the end—students can email (or print) answers to faculty and themselves

How to incorporate SURF into your course

SURF is designed to be used as a continual assignment throughout the semester or as an individual assignment for task oriented instruction.

SURF and Beachboard

Links to SURF can be imbedded in all parts of Beachboard. You can link to the main site or to any sections of the tutorial you desire. You can also link directly to some of the interactive elements. Please keep in mind that some flash sites don’t work in BeachBoard platform. Have students open site in separate window or use that setting in BeachBoard

SURF and your students

To introduce your students SURF please use this handout which provides specific technical information and basic instructions. Choose between the MS Word Version (46 KB) or the PDF Version (133 KB) of the handout.