Research Assignment Ideas

Assignment Ideas

• Utilize this sample research synthesis worksheet (University of Northern Colorado)
• Use this sample article analysis worksheet (University of Northern Colorado)
• Create a short annotated bibliography on a topic
• Find an article in American Psychologist and evaluate it.
• Find a book on a topic and evaluate it.
• Create a citation for a specific article.
• Create a short bibliography on a topic.
• Fact-check a Wikipedia article — this requires research and teaches about the quality of information found online.
• Create a grant proposal for a project in your discipline, including a literature review, justification, budget, impact, etc.
• Create a research guide on a topic for other students that includes books, articles, and quality websites.
• Create a problem scenario for your class and have students justify their solutions with data and research.

Assignments Using AI Tools

• Write an AI text generator prompt that students can use to brainstorm research topics. Have a “conversation with the AI” and respond and ask questions at least twice, including asking the tool to help narrow your research topic.
• Choose a research topic and then ask an AI text generating tool to create a Boolean search string. Then revise it to best suit the student is interest in the topic.
• Brainstorm engaging topics for a research assignment.
• Give students a basic prompt to ask a text-generating AI tool. Then ask them to refine the prompt and have a “conversation” in order to get the best fact-based results.
• Ask students to use their chosen research topic and ask a text-generating AI tool factual questions, and then cross reference the response with reliable sources. By comparing the information, students practice evaluating the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated information, which enhances their ability to discern credible sources in academic research.
• Use a text-generating AI tool to create a five-paragraph essay on a research topic. Then review, fact-check, and revise the essay.

Assignments Using Archives

• Using the student newspaper archive, have students trace the development of how Utah Valley University has addressed challenges such as parking, student diversity, engaged learning, tuition, and others. 
• Have students select an artifact from the George Sutherland Archives and research its history and meaning. 
• Have students select an image from our photograph collections as a starting point for a research project on local, technological, or social history.
• Ask students to analyze the advertisements in the newspaper collections. Ask them how advertisements reflect changes in advertising, gender politics, or popular culture.
• Using our oral history collections as a model, have students create their own oral histories of fellow students, friends, or family. 
• Using materials from our nineteenth century materials (e.g., letters, photos, diaries, maps, etc.), have students create short documentaries about Utah's pioneer period. 

Discussion Questions

• When do you know you have trustworthy information?
• What makes a good research question?
• How do you evaluate a journal to determine its scholarly value?
• What are some common problems with citation?
• What are some things you would look for when evaluating a source?
• Why are citations important?
• Why is it important to use scholarly sources? Why can't we just use Google or Wikipedia?
• Why should we use library databases and not just Google?

In-Class Activities

• Give students a list of articles and have the class create citations for them.
• Create a clicker (or phone poll) activity.
• Bring in citation lists from past assignments and have students peer review the citations.
• Have students brainstorm topics and keywords for a research project.