Information Literacy Resources: 1. Japanese seniors and graduates research preparation

Class:

Japanese seniors and graduates research preparation - library instruction session

Instructors:

Sachié Noguchi, Japanese Studies Librarian

Subject of the Lesson

To develop a Japanese language vocabulary that can be used as keywords to search Netto de Hyakka (a online Japanese encyclopedia and Webcat Plus portal) using Netto de Hyakka (a online encyclopedia in Japanese)

To learn basic way of doing research from vague idea of topics to concrete library materials on the topic

Audience

Senior (3rd and 4th year) undergraduate and graduate students in the Japanese Studies

Learning Objectives

(this lesson addresses ACRL Standards 1, 2, 3, and 4. Of the SAILS Skill Sets, it addresses Sets 2, 5-10.)

• Students will use online English-Japanese dictionaries to develop a list of key concepts in Japanese
• Students will use online Japanese (kokugo) dictionaries to develop lists of related terms in Japanese
• Students will use online Japanese encyclopedia to explore a research topic effectively to find entries on their chosen topic
• Students will select appropriate search option for the online encyclopedia
• Students will use Webcat Plus portal to develop find books on their chosen topic in Japanese
• Students will critically evaluate books found in Webcat Plus

Course Outline

• Introduction
• Building a list of key words in Japanese
• How to find a chosen topic in the online encyclopedia
  • Mypaedia: heading search with or without setting conditions
  • Mypaedia: full text search with or without setting conditions
  • World Encyclopaedia: full text search with or without setting conditions
• How to find books on a chosen topic in Webcat Plus
• Evaluating books found in Webcat Plus
• Wrap up

Methods

Part I

• "Question Shuffle" activity*
• Brief lecture

Part II

• Think-Pair-Share:
  Think - students will spend 3 minutes coming up with a list of potential topics. Pair - students will pair up to discuss their topics and refine their search terms for 3 minutes.
  Share - students will announce their topic/search terms to the rest of the class.
• Model searching: Under the guidance of the instruction, using an online English-Japanese dictionary, one student of a pair will search their English term(s) to develop a list of Japanese terms while the other student from this pair record their findings using the vocabulary building handout. Other students observes.
• Guided searching: Using an online English-Japanese dictionary, all students will search their English terms and develop a list of Japanese terms. Students will record their findings using the vocabulary builder handout.
• Guided searching: Using an online Japanese (kokugo) dictionary, students will learn the pronunciation of the Japanese term, its definition, synonyms and related terms. Students will record their findings using the vocabulary builder handout.

Part III

A. Individual work

1. Guided searching: Using Mypaedia heading search in _Netto de Hyakka_, students will search their Japanese terms for encyclopedia entries/articles with or without using setting conditions, and record their findings including search results differences by using and not using setting conditions in the database search log handout.
2. Scanning the search results students will identify in what contexts the topic is discussed and judge whether the article is relevant to their research.
3. Scanning the relevant articles, look for other terms that can be added to their vocabulary builder handout.
4. Using Mypaedia full text search, repeat the same exercise of above 1-3.
5. Using World Encyclopaedia full text search, repeat the same exercise of above 1-3.

B. Group discussion:
The instructor as an leader, students will compare and discuss the search results, pros and cons of each search system.

Part IV

Using the most relevant terms from the search results of the encyclopedia, using Webcat Plus portal search books on these terms

Part V

Group discussion:
Using the search results of a number of student, students evaluate the search results of books in Webcat Plus in terms of relevancy, types of books (general, mass circulated, research contents, etc.), also evaluate the usefulness of Webcat Plus.

Part VI. Wrap up

• Brief review of the session
• Question & Answer: finish "question shuffle"
• students complete evaluation form