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Lesson Plan November 20, 2017

Scholarly Article Autopsy

Submitted by Krista Bowers Sharpe

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scholarlyautopsyworksheet.pdf. 140.94 KB
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Adapters

Erin McCoy
I have used this assignment twice, in an upper division criminal justice class. The first time was in a 75 minute class, so I was able to do it as written and it went very well. The students were engaged and they realized the intensity of reading a scholarly article. The second time was in a 50 minute class so my adaptation was as follows: still using the worksheet, each group only had two questions to answer- I divided them up 1&6, 2&7, 3-4-5. Then everyone worked through questions 8-11. When we came back whole group, the groups had to listen to their classmates present their questions, and try to answer the questions on the worksheet that they didn't do. This prompted a lot of good discussion and, while it felt fast, students were able to get a cursory view of the entire worksheet and still appreciate the different components in a social science article.

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Short Description

This lesson is intended as a single session within a major’s research methods course. Rather than using a shorter “scholarly vs. non-scholarly” comparison worksheet, this activity asks students to work in groups to systematically examine a scholarly article in depth, identify and evaluate its various components visually and in writing, and then compare it to a non-scholarly article on the same topic. Groups then report back to the entire class. Discussion is guided so as to touch on the processes by which sources are created, what these methods say about their authority, and to consider contextually appropriate uses for them.

Learning Outcomes

● The student will be able to identify the standard elements of scholarly writing. ● The student will be able to distinguish scholarly from non-scholarly literature. ● The student will be able to select the appropriate type of source to use in various contexts.

Participation Type

Group

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips

Unless seating allows for sitting in circles, pairs work better than groups of three for this activity; Some groups/students will spend too much time on some questions, so time-keeping and pacing are necessary; it is difficult to fit this activity into a 50-minutes session.

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated):

Although the activity was developed for students taking two social science majors' research methods courses (SOC 323 and ANTH 305), it could be adapted to any setting that lends itself to in-depth examination of information creation processes, the construction of authority, and the contextual appropriateness of sources.

Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, supplements, etc.)

Lesson plan with tips for guided discussion.

BowersSharpe_AutopsyLessonPlan2017.docx

Assessment or Criteria for Success

The librarian and the teacher of record will evaluate students’ learning based on the verbal reports of their article comparisons and the resulting discussion between groups. Additional assessment will take place after the session by examining the written worksheets and marked-up articles.

Suggested Citation

Bowers Sharpe, Krista. "Scholarly Article Autopsy." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments). 2017. https://projectcora.org/lesson/scholarly-article-autopsy
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