![\"Erial](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/library.depaul.edu\/about\/library-news\/library-news-for-faculty\/PublishingImages\/erial.png?w=640&ssl=1\" "\\"Erial")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThese are some of the questions library staff addressed in a two-year ethnographic research study that included interviews, videotaped observations, and cognitive mapping. With the assistance of a resident anthropologist funded by a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Illinois State Library, students, faculty, and librarians participated in interviews about students’ research experiences in the library. For more details on the project, Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries, see http:\/\/www.erialproject.org<\/a>\/<\/p>\n One finding came through clearly — students are unaware of the full set of services and resources offered in the library and often fall back on familiar methods and environments, such as Google or their public libraries.\u00a0 Moreover, librarians assisting them rarely have access to\u00a0 the learning goals set by faculty for particular research assignments, creating a disconnect between what the student understands about the assignment and the type of assistance that is most appropriate for the librarians to provide.<\/p>\n In a workshop for the 2011 DePaul Faculty Teaching and Learning Conference on May 6, Paula Dempsey and Elisa Addlesperger will present key findings of the study relating to the ways students, faculty, and librarians interact around research assignments. Faculty participants in the workshop will discuss the findings in small groups and provide feedback on how communication and collaboration with librarians can be strengthened to promote student success in the research process.<\/p>\n Faculty who are not able to attend the workshop are encouraged to contact Paula Dempsey<\/a>\u00a0for more information and to give feedback on what they expect from students and librarians when assigning a research project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How do students make sense of their research assignments once they leave the classroom? And how do librarians guide students in interpreting requirements to meet learning goals? What do faculty expect from both students and librarians when designing research assignments? These are some of the questions library staff addressed in a two-year ethnographic research study <\/p>\n