Alternative Approaches to an Educational Objective INTRODUCTION This research critiques an

Donegan, P. M., Domas, R. E., & Deosdade, J. R. (1989). The comparable effects of term paper counseling and group instruction sessions. College & Research Libraries, 50, 3343.

STUDY PURPOSE, AND PROBLEM INVESTIGATED

The underlying problem addressed in the article involved instructing college students in the use of library research facilities. The objective of such instruction, in this context, is to teach college students how to identify and locate appropriate sources for a specific research topic. The purpose of the research study reported in the article was to assess two alternative approaches of providing this type of instruction.

In one respect, the title of the article is misleading, because it refers to "term paper counseling." The use of the term "term paper" implies instruction and assistance to students which is more comprehensive than just learning to identify and locate appropriate sources for a research topic, which

1 2is but one function involved in the development of a research paper. Further, the teaching objective of the college class in which this instruction was presented was for students to learn the entire process of researh paper development.

In another respect, however, the title of the article was not mislea

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lish with the literature review performed was an assessment of whether or not any of to various research approaches effectively prepared college students to identify and locate sources for specific research topics. There was an implied assumption by the researchers that each of the two instructional approaches included in their researchterm paper counseling, and group instructionwas effective. Thus, the purpose of their research was simply to determine if one of the two approaches was more effective than the other. DATA, AND DATA COLLECTION The data used in the research study reported in the article were collected through the administration of a testdeveloped specifically for use in the study. The researchers obtained The items included items which the researchers obtained from standardized test instruments, as well as items constructed by the researchers themselves. The researchers subjected all of the potential items to an assessment procedure which involved rigorous pilot testing and statistical analysis. 4As a result, the researchers were able to demonstrate the reliability of the data collection instrument used in the study reported in the article. The items included in the data collection instrument,
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Approximate Word count = 1245
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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