BUCPUA Hosts an Insightful Lecture on Library Research and Academic Writing
On Monday, September 16th, students from Dr. Madhu Dutta-Koehler’s UA515 History, Theory and Planning Practice course gathered for a lecture about how to conduct library research and improve their academic writing. Ken Liss, a librarian and Head of Liaison & Instruction Services at BU’s Mugar Library, and Dr. William Koehler, Dean of the School of Business & Communication at Regis College, conducted the session giving students valuable information to further their academic career.
Librarian Ken Liss led the first part of the lecture discussing how to use online library resources to their fullest potential in a calm demeanor. Liss explained how to translate interests into academic research through skimming a multitude of articles and sources from online databases. BU offers an abundance of online databases to students through Mugar Library and Liss emphasized the importance of using these databases to explore interesting topics for research.
After explaining how to use online databases and why finding a specific topic is important, Liss got students involved. Liss distributed a worksheet where students had to use databases to find an interesting topic they could research further. After giving students some time to explore, Liss asked for volunteers to explain what topic they found and how they got to that point. Many students were eager to share. One student explained how their search started broadly with the topic of sea-levels rising and Boston, which led them to an article specifically about historical extensions of Logan Airport which is on the water.
Liss was exceptionally friendly, ending with the sentiment that “librarians love to help and we don’t give grades!” He welcomed students to stop by his office if they had any research questions.
After a short break, the next presenter, Dr. William Koehler, began to discuss techniques for academic writing. The class was kept engaged through Dr. Koehler’s lively energy and animation. Dr. Koehler stressed the importance of good writing as “the key to professional success,” by identifying types of academic writing, how to outline, and how to construct arguments.
The presentation highlighted the “Four Cs” — clarity, conciseness, cogency, and correctness — as major factors to excellent academic writing. Dr. Koehler also discussed the significance of analyzing academic sources, organizing one’s own work, and avoiding fallacies such as confirmation bias or circular reasoning. As Dr. Koehler repeated throughout the night, “writing is a process,” and therefore, students should carefully research, outline, and edit their arguments.
The lecture was an insightful explanation on the importance of research and writing, where students gained knowledge from experts on building their academic and professional careers.
Delanie Fico, CAS ’21