2. Help your students get familiar with sources

Welcome to Part 2 and thanks for being here! 

Students have difficulty understanding sources, and on this page you'll learn about three problems in particular:

Problem 1: Students don't understand different source types or their purposes.

Many students have very little exposure to sources other than books and websites when they enter college. They may never have encountered a journal or a journal article before, nor do they understand that a journal article is found within a journal just like a book chapter is found within a book. 

Even if a student has encountered journal articles before, they probably viewed them in PDF form on the internet, not within a print issue of a journal. This makes it difficult to make the connection that a journal article is published within a larger publication called a 'journal.' 

In fact, librarians often hear students say things like "I need to find journals and journal articles as sources for my assignment." This makes it clear students don't understand journal articles are published within journals. But if you've never seen an issue of a journal before, it's no wonder the concept of a journal is pretty fuzzy. 

But that's not the only problem. Most students never grasp that different types of sources serve different purposes and needs. We rarely give students time to examine different types of sources side by side and reflect on their qualities. 

How is Cline Library's Research and Instruction Services (RIS) team addressing this problem? 

The RIS team developed an Information Literacy Basics tutorial that's required for all NAU students to take in their first year English class (ENG 105, ENG 205, or HON 190). You can enroll in the course yourself and take a look at it, just use this link: https://ac.nau.edu/lms-apps/self-enroll/447456

In fact, take a close look at Lesson 2 of the tutorial so you're aware what students are learning. Lesson 2 provides students with an overview of how information comes into existence and is documented and stored in sources like books, newspapers, magazines, journals, conference proceedings, and websites. However, students just read about sources in this tutorial, so they aren't actually interacting with real sources to gain the insights they need. That's where you come in!  

How can YOU help address this problem? 

Consider creating assignments that give students hands-on exposure to a variety of source types that are relevant to the subject content you're teaching. Have them reflect on the differences between these sources as well as when and how they would be used. 

You will find lots of relevant assignment ideas below. 

Regarding these assignment ideas:

Problem 2: Many students have difficulty distinguishing source types in their online form.

Nowadays there are many more source types than there used to be, and a lot of those source types are delivered in both print and online formats. Many students are unaware that sources can simultaneously exist in print as well as online, and they're unable to recognize different types of sources when they encounter them in their online form. In fact, it's not uncommon for students to consider any source they find on the internet to be a 'website' even though the source may be a journal article, newspaper article, magazine article, etc. This phenomenon is called 'container collapse' and you can read about it in the excerpt below.

The inability to recognize different source types has serious repercussions. Take a look at the excerpts from the journal article shown to the left:

  • Leeder, C. (2016). Student misidentification of online genres. Library & Information Science Research, 38(2), 125-132. 

The author of this article calls different source types "genres," and he explains that the inability to recognize different online genres means students can't recognize the types of sources they're finding online, which means they don't understand the source's purpose or function, which means they can't "make judgements regarding the document's relevance to their information need." 

When students can't identify the type of source they're looking at,  this impedes their ability to understand the purpose of that source or it's intended audience. They're also hampered in judging the source's credibility. Plus they won't be able to cite the source properly.

How is Cline Library's Research and Instruction Services (RIS) team addressing this problem? 

In Lesson 2 of the Information Literacy Basics tutorial (https://ac.nau.edu/lms-apps/self-enroll/447456), students are given tips for distinguishing sources from each other including how different sources appear when you encounter them in their online form. For example, shown to the right is a diagram from the tutorial that teaches students how to identify newspaper articles in their online form.  

But does the tutorial give students enough practice identifying different types of source they come across online? Not really. They could use a lot more practice and exposure, and that can happen in your classroom. 

How can YOU help address this problem? 

First, recognize that it's probably really easy for you to identify different sources in their online form – in fact, you can probably even distinguish different source types within your Google results. Give it a try – would you be able to identify source types in the Google result shown below if the labels weren't there?

Now consider that for students, this task is really hard. Many don't have the experience to pick up on cues that indicate source type.

We especially need to show students how experts (like you) are able to recognize different types of sources in their online form. If we don't model this, students won't know what skills to strive for, or why those skills will help them solve information problems more efficiently and effectively.

Assignment ideas:

(Note: These assignment ideas are relevant to Learning Goal A.)

Regarding these assignment ideas:

Problem 3: Students don't understand websites as a type of source.

Websites have unique characteristics that distinguish them from other types of sources. However, the word 'website' is confusing because it's regularly used in two different ways – as a location and as a type of source. As you know, all content found on the internet has a location designated by an address called a URL (uniform resource locator) – and we commonly call this location a 'website.' For clarity, let's call it a website-location. So, all content on the internet is presented from a website-location, including: 

But we also use the word 'website' to refer to a particular type of source that's distinct from traditional sources like books, journal articles, etc. In this definition, a website is a collection of related, hyperlinked pages devoted to a specific topic or purpose, and created and maintained by an individual, organization, educational institution, company, etc. The website for the American Fancy Rat & Mouse Association (shown to the right) is a good example. For clarity, let's call it a website-source.

Students don't understand that many different types of sources are digitized and presented on website-locations, but only a subset of those sources qualify as an actual 'website.' 

It's no wonder this distinction is challenging for students! We're regularly using the word 'website' to mean two different things – as a location as well as a type of source!

How is Cline Library's Research and Instruction Services (RIS) team addressing this problem? 

Students get an overview of what websites are in Lesson 2 of the Information Literacy Basics tutorial (https://ac.nau.edu/lms-apps/self-enroll/447456) and the dual meaning of the word 'website' is discussed. 

However, students need more exposure and practice distinguishing websites from other types of online sources, and that's where you can help!

How can YOU help address this problem? 

Reinforce with your students how we use the word 'website' to mean two different things. Give them practice distinguishing between traditional sources in their online form (like books, newspaper articles, etc.), versus an actual website.

It can be especially helpful to show students a traditional source in it's print form and in it's corresponding online form, so they understand that the same content can be published in two formats. 

For example, to the right you see a journal article as it appears within the pages of a journal issue, along with the PDF of the exact same article printed out from the internet. And below you see an example of the same article from The New York Times in its print and online form.

Or, suppose you're creating an assignment and you want your students to use scholarly books and journal articles as sources, but you don't want them to use websites as sources. Telling students not to use websites is a very confusing instruction unless you've first made it clear what a website is. Otherwise students are going to encounter scholarly journal articles on the internet (like the one you see to the right) and assume they can't use it because they mistakenly think it's a website. 

In general, it really helps to be explicit about the types of sources you want students to use and why. Also, show them actual examples of the types of sources you want them to use . Below you see what students have to clarify with instructors when assignment instructions are not spelled out clearly:

Assignment ideas:

(Note: These assignment ideas are relevant to Learning Goal A.)

Regarding these assignment ideas:

Comment on this content and/or collaborate with NAU librarians to find other solutions to these problems!

The content on this page is a work in progress and we'd love to improve it! Cline Library's Research and Instruction Services team is interested to hear any comments or suggestions you have on the content presented on this page, or your ideas for other solutions. Also, if you've already created assignments that address these issues, or you have ideas for assignments that would help address these issues, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us!