The Library Research Assignment (Research Article)

In order to gain experience in locating and evaluating veterinary science information, all students enrolled in the VETS 180 course are required to write a Research Article on a topic related to the anatomy and/or physiology of an animal.  It can be a "guide" to assist potential clients in caring for an animal, usually in reference to a particular condition. Try to write it in a style so that it could actually be submitted for publication in a general Veterinary Science magazine, such as Veterinary Technician.  Here are some examples that are close to what is expected: example 1, example 2, and example 3.

-Library Research Article Requirements:

1. You must work through the tutorial and successfully complete the quizzes (through Vancko Hall) at the end of each of the 4 units.
2. You should sign up for your topic and a Research Workshop at the library reference desk by the due date as posted.
3. The final project must be current, accurate, clear and concise. Visual appeal; including the use of graphics, is important.
4. The Research Article should be at least 2-3 double-spaced/printed pages (500 words), depending on the use of graphics, and must include a bibliography/list of references that properly cites your sources of information. 
5.  Your article must also include a list of unique or special terms with their definitions that will help the reader to better understand your research.  (See the examples) 
6. Your Research Article must include information from at least 6 sources, of which 3 must come from scholarly veterinary journals, and no more than 2 can be general web sites.

-Grading:
The Research Article is worth 30 points, or approximately 10% of your total grade. Those 30 points are broken up as follows:

Successful completion of Quizzes - 5 points
Attendance at Research Workshop - 5 points
Final Project - 20 points
   -Accuracy and appropriateness of Information (10 points)
   -References (5 points)
   -Grammar (Spelling, Wording) (3 points)
   -Style, layout, and overall appearance (2 points)
  
As you work on your client information sheet, you should maintain a running list of citations for information sources you have used. You will need to link any facts you use in your information sheet back to the source where you got that fact. For more information about citing your sources, check out our MLA and APA citation guides.

Quizzes

In this tutorial, there are 4 Units, representing four steps in the gathering of information:

1. Gathering Background information
2. Book information
3. Periodical (magazine or journal) information
4. Gathering appropriate Web information

At the end of each unit, there is a quiz that you must complete before going on to the following unit. (The links to these quizzes are in Vancko Hall, below the links to the Tutorial Units.) After successfully completing the quiz, you may go on to the next unit and complete the quiz at the end. Upon successful completion of each of the 4 quizzes, you will be done with this portion of your Library Research Project. Questions in each quiz come from the information contained in the preceding unit as well as information contained in the Information Evaluation section.