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Ad-Lib: A Monthly for Freshman Advisers adlib(a)fas.harvard.edu
December 2003 Issue 2
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IN THIS ISSUE:
-- Talking Points:
Ways to encourage good use of Harvard Librarians at end of term
-- Readings for Advisers:
An article that puts the undergraduate research process in
perspective
-- For your Advisees
Online Guides for Citing Sources
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TALKING POINTS
Ways to encourage good use of Harvard Librarians at end of term
Holiday greetings, BFA Members!
If you're in the midst of your just-before-break conversations with
advisees, then you're probably hearing about all that they're coping with
as the semester winds down: second midterms in Bio, Math, or Spanish, a
last problem set for Ec 10. Research papers due in January seem like a
distant prospect to many first year students, who may be more worried just
now about the length of the lines at Logan than about the length of their
bibliographies. "I was stressed until yesterday, when I had my last test"
a freshman told a Lamont Librarian this week. "Now I just have three
papers to write, but they're not due for, like, six weeks. I should be
fine."
At the Reference Desk, we're used to undergraduates who speak to us in
code. Experience has taught us that there are usually questions behind
they questions they bring to us. We know to probe further anytime a
student asks us where the "American history books are," for example, or
how to get to JSTOR. So when a freshman, in particular, tells us she's
"fine" in these early weeks of December, we're aware that she could mean
any one of several things:
** She really does have the situation under control. (Her course
instructor, for example, may have arranged a library instruction session
earlier in the term and that's helped her understand where to go for
information and how to look for it.)
** She may have some concerns about getting the work done, but she's too
exhausted to deal with the project just now. (She's promised herself
she'll face it as soon as she gets home.)
** She's underestimating the work that lies ahead of her and hasn't yet
given her pending projects much thought.
** She's putting on a brave front. Just as some freshmen truly believe
that they're an Admissions Office mistake, there labor under the
misconception that Harvard students must figure out things on their own.
(In fact, many preface questions to Reference Librarians with such
apologies as "This is probably a dumb question . . . " or "I'm sorry to
bother you, but . . . ." )
Either now or in early January, you'll be talking with your advisees about
managing expectations and apportioning time. During those conversations,
try to ask them questions about *how* they're getting their research
done--not just *what* they're writing on. Do they have a research
strategy already in place? Where are they looking for information? Are
they satisfied with what they've done? What questions are emerging as
they use library resources? How do they think they can get those
questions answered?
Listen, too, for statements that seem to need "decoding" in some way.
Examples:
** "I'm not sure there's enough information on my topic." [What's at the
root of the student's anxiety? What does "enough" mean?]
** "I searched Google and I searched HOLLIS and I'm not having any luck."
[Is the student searching the right way? Using the right words? Is there
a better place he or she could be searching? Where--or from whom--might
your advisee find out what those "better places" are?]
** "My roommate already knows how to do this." [This is a version of the
common Harvard student misconception that everyone else has "caught on."]
The best advice you can give to advisees who seem to be struggling with
his research? Encourage them to TALK TO A LIBRARIAN about next steps.
The people resources they'll find on the Harvard campus--whether they
start in Lamont or Cabot or Hilles or Widener--are as valuable as the
collections that these buildings hold.
Let your advisees know that Reference Librarians are here to help them in
their quest for information of any kind. Every day, we work with students
who are looking for fast facts, persuasive evidence for their arguments,
primary and secondary source material, even cutting-edge research. We
answer questions on everything from using the HOLLIS catalog to citing
sources correctly and avoiding plagiarism. We talk students through their
anxieties at every stage of their course projects. All they'll need to do
is ask.
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RECOMMENDED FOR ADVISERS:
A reading that puts undergraduate research problems in perspective
Leckie, Gloria J. "Desperately Seeking Citations: Uncovering Faculty
Assumptions about the Undergraduate Research Process." _Journal of
Academic Librarianship_, 22. 3 (April 1996): 201-208.
Get to the article here: http://tinyurl.com/yu6b
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FOR YOUR ADVISEES:
Online Guides for Citing Sources
http://hcl.harvard.edu/lamont/resources/links/citation.html
It's that time of year again: Harvard undergraduates in the thick of
research projects, style guides flying off library reference shelves.
Even students who have mastered the intricacies of parenthetical
references or the rules for books without publication dates can feel
stumped by a web page, a government document online, an article from
LEXIS-NEXIS, Academic Search Premier, or JSTOR. Just what do the MLA, APA,
and Chicago Style manuals recommend for non-print formats?
Lamont librarians can help your advisees find out. You can direct them to
the address above or have them take this path from the Lamont home page
(http://hcl.harvard.edu/lamont): Conducting Research ---> Great Links --->
Citing Sources.
In addition to the Expos Program's _Writing with Sources_, we've created
links to APA and MLA , the _Columbia Guide to Online Style_ and Dartmouth
College's excellent compilation of examples and rules for referencing
print, electronic, and Web materials.
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If you liked this issue of Ad-Lib, share it with a colleague!
Ad-Lib is a monthly newsletter for Freshman Advisers, brought to you by
the Lamont, Hilles, and Cabot undergraduate libraries in the Harvard
College Library. We welcome your suggestions, questions, or thoughts! Send
them to adlib@fas OR contact us directly. Here's how:
Susan Gilroy, Lamont Library sgilroy@fas 6-5403
Chao Chen, Hilles Library chaochen@fas 5-8726
Ellie Clement, Cabot Library clement @fas 6-8442
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