Harry,

Great start.  Perhaps one way to encourage  the conversation rather than the "search-for-what-supports-my-particular-pre-conceived view", is fewer assignments that encourage either-or thinking.  Arizona immigration law, abortion, capital punishment, hydro-fraking etc etc ad nausiam  Many assignments I see students researching require a stance; surely a noble thought and worthy goal but that approach seems to preclude real open-mindedness and fearless research.  Add to that the fact that, as one article linked in your article points out, scholarly sources are virtually indecipherable to most freshmen (http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2011/10/27/i-need-three-peer-reviewed-articles-or-the-freshman-research-paper/) ,  true inquiry is doomed. 

I have also observed, that many students tend to construct a final thesis before doing ANY research- often at a professor's insistence that they submit a thesis before beginning a paper.  I envy the sciences approach of hypothesis, which at least allows a "successful:" inquiry even if disproven (not proven?)  There is a book severl professors use, the title of which alone is a great paradigm: They Say...I Say.

I work one-on-one with many students and try to be an honest broker of the other side, or more accurately, the stance that there are many sides: a conversation with the topic if you will. 

Rick



________________________________________
From: Teaching Breakfast List [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pence, Harry ([log in to unmask])
Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2011 8:28 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: More on library research

Barb always has interesting things to say, and this comment of the way research paper assignments are done looks unusully interesting.

http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/library-babel-fish/burkes-parlor-tricks-introducing-research-conversation

Harry


Harry E. Pence
SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus
SUNY Oneonta