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The undergrads are coming, the undergrads are coming! Managing large-scale student research projects

by Rebecca Goldman on Aug 16, 2010

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My presentation from SAA 2010 Session 705: The Real Reference Revolution.

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My presentation from SAA 2010 Session 705: The Real Reference Revolution.

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The undergrads are coming, the undergrads are coming! Managing large-scale student research projects — Presentation Transcript

The undergrads are coming, the undergrads are coming! Managing large-scale student research projects
Rebecca Goldman
Drexel University Archives
August 14, 2010

Our HIST285 project
Research a technology at Drexel
Develop a thesis, and find supporting material in the Archives
Create a digital exhibition of findings on the Archives website

A HIST285 exhibit

Why collaborate with an undergraduate class?
opportunity for outreach
learn new things about our collections
support Library's mission
students are future alumni
stress test for our procedures

HIST285 by the numbers, Fall 2009
90+ student researchers
9 group projects
10-week quarter
And…2 full-time Archives staff

Challenges in Fall 2009
tracking team research progress
scheduling researchers, interns and student workers
tracking offsite storage requests
tracking scan requests

Managing the hordes:Solutions for Spring 2010

JIRA
Bug-tracking software customized for tracking reference questions

You can assign and schedule reference questions…

…add attachments and comments…

…track progress on a question…

…and search the whole database.

Google Calendar
Track researcher appointments, student and intern schedules, and archives closures on the same calendar

Google Spreadsheets
Track requests from off-site storage (on a small scale)

Paper files
Folder for each group
Sign-in sheet to track when groups come, which members come, and what Archives staff need to do before the next visit
Scan request form
Paper materials generated during research (research notes, photocopies of materials, printouts of search results)

Looking to the future

Future plans for HIST285
More instruction on exhibition design
Have students blog about their experiences
Find ways to involve interns in the process

Thinking about working with an undergraduate class?
Recommend good research topics
Maintain contact with students
Set multiple deadlines
Group projects suck
Manage expectations of the Archives
Manage your own expectations of students
Participate in creating assignments and grading
Be a partner in the research process

What do students think? Some survey responses
All said archives research was at least “sort of fun.”
All said research took as much time or less time than they expected
Most common favorite part: seeing old documents and photographs
Used to keyword searching, and would have preferred to have more content available online

“I'm a nerd and felt like Batman when I was doing it.”

Contact info
Rebecca Goldman
Digital Archives Technician,
Drexel University Archives
RebeccaGoldman@drexel.edu
http://www.library.drexel.edu/archives

Thanks
Photo credit: Drexel University Archives
Drexel University Libraries
Dr. Erik Rau
Laurie Rizzo
Rob Sieczkiewicz

The undergrads are coming, the undergrads are coming! Managing large-scale student research projects

by Rebecca Goldman on Aug 16, 2010

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The undergrads are coming, the undergrads are coming! Managing large-scale student research projects — Presentation Transcript