Content last reviewed:
The Library offers many resources to support you. Here are the top 10 tips for TA success!
Tip 1 – contact your research specialist. They are the first point of contact and can help you find resources or services to support your teaching and research. They can pinpoint possible challenges with student assignments and can confirm the library has adequate resources.
Tip 2 – ask for in-class instruction via Zoom, MS Teams, or Brightspace library modules. We can help with writing an outline for an essay, researching essay topics, modeling effective search strategies, learning about peer review, locating primary sources, or citing sources in proper format. Here are our guidelines for Library Instruction. Book a session with your research specialist.
Tip 3 – do not assume that students know how to find library resources. Students often have little or no experience in the library and need help with accessing course reserve readings on ARES or searching Omni for the first time. They may need some Omni search tips to help them get started.
Tip 4 – consider embedding a research specialist into your course by adding the 'librarian widget' in Brightspace. This provides a convenient way to link online library support for your students in the form of tailored course guide, instructional videos or library modules.
Tip 5 – inform your students about citation styles. Be prepared to tell students which citation style to use for their essay and provide them with adequate information. The library has many citation guides for citing your sources and we also provide Citation Management workshops.
Tip 6 – talk to your students about the challenges of the research process. It is not straight forward and involves hours of searching for appropriate material. Their original research question may evolve over time and they should expect to face obstacles throughout the research process. Try sharing some of your own experiences illustrating how research is hard work. The First-Year Library Basics guide might help them transition to the university research environment.
Tip 7 – discuss web sites with students. Are they allowed to use them? If not, tell them why and talk to them about Evaluating sources: academic, popular, news, and social media articles.
Tip 8 – explain the difference between Academic journals vs. Popular magazines. Many students do not know the difference or how to limit their searches to peer-reviewed journals when using Omni or the library databases.
Tip 9 – help your students to understand how to Avoid Plagiarism. Talk to them about Academic Integrity and know where to send them for help, because dishonesty affects every Carleton degree.
Tip 10 – Ask a Librarian for help via the CHAT service. Discover how a variety of library resources such as maps, archives, primary sources, data, statistics, government publications, opinion polls, videos and so much more can help enhance research projects and essay writing.
