| Abstract: | Building collections for undergraduates requires data about topics they research and materials they use. The author studied citations from 204 papers by freshmen in a beginning level composition class at Western Illinois University. The results weren't too surprising: students cited more books than articles, used material spanning a wide range of years and covered predictable topics.What was surprising was their tendency to use inappropriate materials. Clearly, there is a need not only to build collections with undergraduate research needs in mind but also to teach undergraduates how to identify sources that better meet their needs. |
