Supporting students’ “search for meaning” in empirical journal articles

Undergraduate students entering the classroom are often expected to have the skills needed to find, utilize, and synthesize academic scholarship. Yet, few feel prepared to do so. The research methods classroom provides immense opportunities for developing a meaningful foundation for students to enhance information literacy such that they feel comfortable and confident using peer-reviewed scholarship. In this activity, students collaborate to engage with peers to access institutional databases, explore empirical articles, practice citation skills, and ask questions about the process of engaging in meaningful research. Courses: Social science/communication research methods, introductory courses that require peer-reviewed sources, undergraduate capstones, Communication Theory. Objectives: Students will: (1) gain hands-on tools for and experience with locating, searching for, and understanding content within peer-reviewed empirical articles from online databases; (2) engage in group collaboration to demystify the search for and use of scholarly article content in and beyond the research methods course; and (3) develop working relationships with peers to facilitate a positive, engaging, and supportive classroom climate early in the semester.