UA Library Tutorial Feedback: Student comments

Tutorials

These tutorials are for getting started with information literacy.

In July 2020, several student workers completed our tutorials and gave us feedback on how well they worked. These quotes are from those students.

Feedback on What Types of Sources Do I Need?

1. I learned very well on how to categorize the type of material I want to look for in the search bar. I didn't know that this existed so it's useful to have for the future.
    
2. I think this tutorial did a great job of teaching the differences between a primary & secondary source and I believe that most students would find it easy to follow. As a Senior I was a bit surprised to realize that I hadn't been using the filters to their full potential when doing research so I think this tutorial would serve freshman well.
    
3. I think the most essential learning portion of this tutorial was learning the difference between the two types of sources. I know that a lot of people sometimes have a hard time distinguishing the difference between them. Overall, I think it was very detailed, helpful, and well made.
    
4. Overall it was made very well and straight to the point so that there are no moments of confusion.

Feedback on How Do I Create a Search Strategy?

1. The video was very closely related to the questions that were asked in the quiz, so it was easy to answer them as long as you paid attention. The questions were very straightforward and it didn't feel like I had to think much or juggle between two answers. I liked that the video was short and sweet, but offered visuals of using the AND and OR because it stayed in my mind while I answered the questions.
    
2. I think the assignment was very straightforward and VERY similar to the tutorial. If you wanted to really drill the idea of the AND and OR usage, then you did a great job! I think that is the main thing I took away from this tutorial. I actually did learn something very valuable here and I think you guys did a great job in teaching something that is really simple but often not well known.
    
3. I think that the practice assignment helped a lot with the actual assignment so I do not have any suggestions. Something that I appreciated having was the "hints" which were usually right under the question and it helped me format my answers in the proper way.
    
4. I enjoyed this tutorial it was simple and easy to understand and I think freshman students in particular would benefit from it. I am a senior and I didn't learn how to create a search strategy until this summer in my Business Writing class. I think more students should learn this skill as early as possible in their college education because it really does make research easier.
    
5. Overall, this tutorial was very good about staying relevant to proving how different search words can change the whole search outcome and helps make it clear how things can be broken down to get better results.
    
6. As mentioned before, if the goal of this tutorial was just to get students to learn about how to properly search a topic (mainly what they should be searching) it was very effective. I think I still struggle with using the actual databases, but I am sure that will be addressed later. I like the repetition of the practice because I feel like I really got it down.
    
7. I really liked the entire tutorial! I think that it was simple, spot on, and straight to the point. I think that it helped me learn the topic and something that I will be using once the semester begins. It's a quick and effective way to create a search strategy or pick out words to create a bigger relevance in your searches in order to not struggle finding an article that relates to your topic.

Feedback on Should I Rethink My Search?

1. I think the assignment was very similar to the hands-on practice. I like the repetition of having to refine the search over and over. It's very realistic that sometimes you won't like the results you're given back, but with some fine tuning, you can find something you were looking for.
    
2. The tutorial went very well! The instructions were very clear and to the point. It helped me learned a lot about the topic and how to become better at searching to get straight to the point and not spend more time researching.
    
3. I was surprised to learn that you can filter resources by a geographic location. I am excited to try it the next time I have to do research for a paper. I think students will find this tutorial very helpful.

Feedback on How Do I Evaluate Online Information?

1. I did not get any quiz questions wrong. The video was great so it helped me come to the right answers.
    
2. This tutorial helped learn how to evaluate my articles and I think it was interesting to see how other sources test or reflect their credibility.
    
3. I think the tutorial is well thought out and very informative. Students will find this tutorial very helpful.
    
4. The message was clear and the lesson was easy to understand as well.

Feedback on How Do I Give Credit to the Ideas of Others?

1. I think this was my favorite "assignment" section because it is very accurate, helpful, simple and important. I know a lot of students have a hard time with APA and MLA citing (me included) so the ability to have this tutorial is great. I enjoyed the option to do either APA or MLA depending on the professor's wants or the student's needs. I would argue this is the most valuable of the tutorials because it is used so commonly.
    
2. This tutorial was great and easy to understand. It made the differences between plagiarism and paraphrasing very clear.
    
3. I appreciated that there were examples on the bottom of the question which really helped when completing each portion.