+1 862 207 3288 Over the next weeks, you will do primary research about ONE of the resources available to students at Oakland University. As a first semester freshman, it’s important to learn about resources that will help you throughout your academic journey here at OU. this assignment asks you to investigate the resource in depth.
Your audience for this project is a student who is new to Oakland University.
Your purpose is to analyze and evaluate this resource for new students. This involves more than just reporting or summarizing information. You will come to your own conclusions (analysis) about how, when. and why this resource can be useful to students.
You will choose ONE of the following places/offices to research.
• Student Technology Center
• International Students and Scholars Office
• Writing Center
• The Recreation Center
• Disability Student Services
• Academic Skills Center
• Kresge Library Research Desk
• First Year Advising Office
• Center for Student Activities
• Career Services
• Graham Health Center
• OU Radio Station
• OU Newspaper
Your FIRST task is to gather information.. Whatever you choose you should use the following methods:
1. Observation –observe how students use this service and in the next column analyze what you are observing… via oakland website www.oakland.edu
Observation of Kresge Library Research Desk Comments/Analysis
A research librarian is always at the desk. Sometimes he is speaking to students, sometimes he is chatting on line. I don’t need to physically go to the library to get help with research. I can use the chat feature on the Kresge Library Ask A Librarian website.
2. You might also want to include a survey as part of your observation. Write 3-5 closed survey questions that you can ask students who are using the service during your observation. Closed questions give a limited number of responses.
Examples:
How often do you use this service?
a. Once a semester
b. 2-3 times a semester
c. 4 or more times a semester
d. This is my first time
How did you hear about this service?
a. A friend or roommate
b. During orientation
c. OU website
d. Professor in class
Your second task is to organize your research and write an individual essay of 3-5 pages (not including illustrations) that does the following:
Introduces the service to your audience. Give a brief overview of the service: where it is located, hours, why it’s important that students know about this service.
Summarizes/Analyzes your observations and your survey. Review the major findings of your research, cite your sources and then analyze why they are important. You will need to organize these findings into separate paragraphs.
Example: Your research showed that students use the Research Desk at the Kresge Library in three ways: when they are assigned academic research and don’t know where to begin, when they have hard copy sources in the library.
Each of these topics could be explained and analyzed in a separate paragraph. If you have trouble organizing your research.
Evaluates this service. After your research is complete, evaluate its overall value to freshman at OU. Would some students benefit from these services more than others? Would you personally use this service? How and when? This evaluation will serve as the conclusion of this essay.
The website of the first year advising center: http://wwwp.oakland.edu/fyac/
