Research tool developed by student helps with efficiency, citations
With the help of E.S. Bird Library, a student’s idea has expanded from an individual project to a simplified research tool.
Allie Jennings, a 2010 graduate of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, approached a librarian about the tool after Jennings developed it for a communications design course project, said Pamela McLaughlin, director of communications and external relations at Bird. The library then produced the tool, called the Research Helper, which walks students through the process of finding sources and helps keep track of them, McLaughlin said.
‘The Research Helper is low-tech and handy. If you use it when you start working on a research project, it’s all in one place,’ McLaughlin said. ‘It’s a convenience thing.’
On Feb. 8, library officials announced the release of Research Helper, which also offers straightforward advice on how to conduct research and provides a single spot for detailed citations, keywords and names of databases and journals.
Often during the research process, Jennings lost information she had copied down and had to spend time tracking down that information again, Jennings said in a Feb. 8 Syracuse University News Services release. The guide Jennings created helps organize research and improve efficiency, according to the release.
Research Helper is available online and in print copies at any library service desk, according to the release. SU librarians also assisted in expanding the content of the guide, according to the release.
By describing a selection of library resources, Research Helper also includes advice to help students begin the research process and create an effective search strategy, according to the release.
The back cover of the guide includes a list of library contacts who offer help with research in person or via text messages, phone, e-mail and instant messages, according to the release.
But some students think using Research Helper would make them too dependent on the guide.
Kenny Shin, a junior biology and predentistry major, said the guide would not allow students to learn how to cite sources themselves.
‘It would take up much less time for us to do the citations,’ Shin said. ‘But we wouldn’t learn from it.’
Published on February 14, 2011 at 12:00 pm
