Requiring a short research paper in introductory political science
courses can prove challenging for instructors, in part because of
the diversity of student grade levels and majors in such courses.
This is particularly the case with Introduction to Comparative
Politics, as, at most universities, this course is not only required
for the political science major, but often also fulfills
multicultural requirements and can be used to complete lower
division social science requirements. In deciding whether to include
a research paper assignment in this course, one must weigh the
benefit of catching majors early in order to begin building strong
research skills, as well as the benefit of immersing students in key
issues affecting the larger world, against the challenge of
underdeveloped writing and research skills among the typical student
in such a course. Another factor to consider is the grading load of
reading large numbers of papers, given that most introductory
courses have high enrollments. When choosing to require a research
paper under these circumstances, then, one must also commit to
working with students to hone their research and writing skills. In
a collaborative, mutually beneficial partnership, college and
library faculty can work together to identify ways to integrate
information literacy concepts into course content and to design
effective learning assignments addressing these important skills.
This approach was undertaken by the authors, who revised a
significant portion of the Introduction to Comparative Politics
course at the University of West Florida to integrate information
literacy activities in support of a semester-long, content-based
research and writing assignment. This article explores using
information literacy exercises as a tool to produce higher quality
research papers in lower division political science courses.