The Research Assignments Handbook and its companion resource, the Research Assignments Toolkit, were the outcome of a sabbatical project in 2023-2024 by Kathleen Oakey, a faculty librarian at Sheridan College.

This resource has been licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0- opens in a new window. - Open in a new window

For the full work, Designing Research Assignments that Enhance Student Research Skills- opens in a new window.

Below are suggested methods, styles, or approaches to using this guide.

Self-guided Activities

Review the materials and work through the activities independently and at your own pace. Adapt and utilize the example text from Module 4, Developing Assignment Instructions, for your own assessments. If you are using this guide on your own, consider seeking opportunities to collaborate with colleagues or share your insights with your professional community.

Facilitated or Co-learning Approach

Whenever possible, completing and discussing the activities in a group or with a colleague can significantly enrich the learning experience. This approach not only enhances understanding and fosters accountability but also offers a supportive environment to discuss personal challenges in developing effective research assignments. Additionally, it provides a platform to share firsthand experiences and effective solutions to common issues.

Experimenting & Collaborating

To deeply understand how to develop student research skills through effective assignment design, experiment with the strategies outlined in this handbook to identify what works best in your context. Connect with other instructors at your institution who use innovative, well-crafted assignments and are willing to mentor you and share their techniques. Additionally, collaborate with librarians at your institution who can offer valuable support and assistance in refining your plan.

The Research Assignment Planning Toolkit for Faculty is a companion resource to the handbook that this guide was developed from. The toolkit offers helpful resources for planning and evaluating your research-based assessment, including reflection questions, a planning guide, a checklist, and a rubric. The toolkit can be downloaded, modified, printed and reused for educational purposes.