In our experience, the following best practices help to reduce barriers for students in the research process. Please contact us with questions about constructing research assignments for Excelsior University courses.

These best practices are adapted from Planning Checklist: Research Assignments by Library Instructional Council, Maricopa Community Colleges, under CC BY NC 4.0.

• Ensure all the resources needed are available and accessible.
• Ensure that the assignment requirements allow the most effective resources.

Example: If students need statistics, permit them to use websites, as governments, think tanks, and similar websites are often most effective.

• Suggest and link to specific library or other resources as appropriate.
• Suggest effective source types and research strategies as appropriate.

• Provide links to the library's 24/7 chat services. 
• Encourage students to contact the instructor with questions.

• Provide rubrics and models so that expectations are clear.
• Clarify or avoid ambiguous terms.

Example: What qualifies as "library" vs. "web" resources is not always clear. A library database may link to the full text of an open access journal on the web; Google Scholar may link to full text in a library database. If requiring library resources, require students to provide a permalink containing "vlib.excelsior.edu" to indicate a "library" resource.

• Define library / academic terms. 

Example: Students who are new to college or returning after a long absence may be unfamiliar with academic terms such as "journal" or "database." Consider linking to the Library Glossary.

We recommend linking to the following library resources as appropriate: