Library Research / Winter 2015 / p.1

RES601 S99.A Library Research (NC)

Winter2015(Dec. 14 – Jan. 9)

Phillip Nott, M.Div., Th.M., M.L.S.Office: Circulation Office

Director of Library Services

Phone: 214-818-1327(Library: 214-818-1348)Email:

Office hours: Generally, Mon - Fri. 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., but to verify availability, appointments are encouraged.

Please do not hesitate to call or email with any questions about the syllabus or assignments.(Due to FERPA requirements, please use your institutional email when emailing the professor.)

  1. COURSEDESCRIPTION:

This is a study in the use of a theological library and preparation of a graduate research paper according to the standards of Criswell College.

  1. COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of the courseyou should be able to:
  1. Build the skill of information literacy (generally defined by American Library Association (ALA) and others as the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively.)
  2. Compose an academic research paper based on the standards of Criswell College.
  1. COURSE TEXTBOOKS:

Vyhmeister, Nancy Jean and Terry D. Robertson. Your Guide to Writing Quality Research

Papers: For Students of Religion and Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014. 290 pp. $19.99.

Criswell College Manual of Style (CCMS). Dallas: Criswell College, 2010.

  1. COURSEWEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS:
  1. 1stWeek – Reading/Quiz (10%) (due Dec. 19th)
  2. 2ndWeek – Book Review (40%) (due Dec. 26th)
  3. 3rdWeek – Catalog/Database Searching (25%) (due Jan. 2rd)
  4. 4th Week – Annotation of Sources (25%) (due Jan. 9th)

This is a 4 week online course. All weekly assignments are listed in Blackboard and are due before Saturday midnight at the end of each week. All assignments must be completed, and completed satisfactory, to pass. Late submissions will be docked one point per day including weekends. All assignments must be submitted through Blackboard. If you experience problems with Blackboard or your school email, please go here: .

To access the library databases offsite you will need to enter the following login information:

Username – rglee

Password – library84

  1. GRADING SCALE

Pass/Credit =80-100 (as stated in the catalog, a “C” or better must be achieved for any course applied toward degree requirements.)

Fail/No Credit=79 and below

  1. INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES

Academic Honesty:

Absolute truth is an essential belief and basis of behavior for those who believe in a God who cannot lie and forbids falsehood. Academic honesty is the application of the principle of truth in the classroom setting. Academic honesty includes the basic premise that all work submitted by students must be their own and any ideas derived or copied from elsewhere must be carefully documented.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:cheating of any kind, submitting, without proper approval, work originally prepared by the student for another course, plagiarism, which is the submitting of work prepared by someone else as if it were his own, andfailing to credit sources properly in written work.

Learning Disabilities:

In order to ensure full class participation, any student with a disabling condition requiring special accommodations (e.g., tape recorders, special adaptive equipment, and special note-taking or test-taking needs) is strongly encouraged to contact the instructor at the beginning of the course or if a student has a learning disability, please inform the professor so assistance can be provided.

  1. RECOMMENDED BIBLOGRAPHY

Adler, Mortimer Jerome, and Charles Lincoln Van Doren.How to Read a Book. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972.

Badke, William B. Research Strategies: Finding Your Way Through the Information Fog. Bloomington, IN: IUniverse, Inc, 2014.

Harris, Robert A. Using Sources Effectively: Strengthening Your Writing and Avoiding Plagiarism. Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak Pub, 2005.

Safire, William. How Not to Write: The Essential Misrules of Grammar. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005.

Strunk, William, Jr. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. With Revisions, an Introduction, and a Chapter on Writing by E. B. White. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 8th ed. Revised by Wayne G. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams and University of Chicago Press Staff. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.

Venolia, Jan. Write Right!:A Desktop Digest of Punctuation, Grammar, and Style. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2001.

Williams, Joseph M. Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.