Teaching Research with the Library: Working with Secondary Sources

Suggestions can be adapted for different class levels. Gustavus library faculty enjoy collaborating with you—reach out to your library liaison to explore or refine assignment ideas. When relevant, assignments are tagged with the corresponding Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education frames.

Working with Secondary Sources

Gain Familiarity with Sources

• Speed Date a Book/Article – Give students an academic book and/or article. Have them identify main points and point them to tools like abstracts, literature reviews, and key features that help them navigate academic sources. Model how you read academic sources.
  Frame(s): Information Creation as a Process; Research as Inquiry

• Comparing News Sources & Scientific Articles – Have students start with a news article about a scientific article. Prompt them to track down the original study and then evaluate accuracy, interpretation, and audience differences within the news source.
  Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process

• Your Voice Matters – Prompt students to start with a statement and then search for evidence. Have them revise their original statements based on their findings. 
  Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process; Research as Inquiry; Searching as Strategic Exploration

• Explore Variety – Have students gather diverse sources (news article, academic article, meme, video, etc.) about a single topic and analyze how each addresses different audiences.
  Frame(s): Information Creation as a Process; Research as Inquiry

• Weeding Sources – Prompt students to generate a list of sources related to a topic. Encourage them to discuss quality and relevance of each source, then have them evaluate which source(s) would be most useful to their work and why.
  Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process; Scholarship as Conversation

More Advanced Approaches

• Analyzing Arguments – Have students evaluate claims, evidence, counter-claims found in secondary sources, and form their own response during an informal writing context.
  Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process; Research as Inquiry

• No One Right Answer – Compare how a topic is discussed in secondary sources, especially places where the sources might disagree. Help students embrace complexity and their own analytical voice.
  Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Research as Inquiry

• Trace Facts – Assign students to track a fact from discovery to reception, analyzing significance and dissemination.
  Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Research as Inquiry

• Don't Find Sources, Find Out – Focus on “finding out” about a topic rather than just collecting sources. Explore who is talking, to whom, and how ideas circulate.
  Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Scholarship as Conversation