Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation (20 minute presentation)
Target Audience
Higher Education
Location
Room 218
Abstract
In our ever-expanding digital culture, citation generators are becoming increasingly popular sites for student-researcher-writers whose professors require specific, and often, different, citation styles as part of the assignments that they give. Citation generators are, in effect, “workhorses,” performing one of the more tedious aspects required of the researcher-writer; that is, the need for him or her to convey, accurately, and, in fact, precisely, a “record” of his or her information for others to consult. Jane Kessler and Mary K. Van Ullen, library scholars and authors of “Citation Generators: Generating Bibliographies for the Next Generation,” echo this sentiment, partly, pointing out that “[a]pplying proper citation format can be tedious because it requires meticulous attention to detail” (310)-something that even the most experienced of writers sometimes lacks. This session, led by a college public services librarian and an associate professor of Rhetoric, both of whom work at a small private liberal arts institution and who collaborate regularly in order to teach students information literacy skills, will examine recent scholarship on citation generators in addition to taking a closer look at several of the current, popular, generators themselves. The fundamental question that we intend to raise is--Do citation generators make students more accurate, and therefore, ultimately, more persuasive, more rhetorically-skilled, or, do these programs, counterproductively, increase the burden that students face as researcher-writers. We suspect, of course, that the answer lies somewhere in between, and, while citation generators have value, students must have a basic knowledge of proper citation style.
Presentation Description
This session, led by a college public services librarian and an associate professor of Rhetoric, both of whom work at a small private liberal arts institution and who collaborate regularly in order to teach students information literacy skills, will examine recent scholarship on citation generators in addition to taking a closer look at several of the current, popular, generators themselves. The panelists will discuss whether citation generators make students more accurate, and therefore, ultimately, more persuasive, more rhetorically-skilled, or, if these programs, counterproductively, increase the burden that students face as researcher-writers.
Keywords
Information literacy, Citation generators
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Hunter, Shaunna E. and Rand, Lizabeth A., "Citation Generators: Helpmate or Hindrance in the Information Literacy Classroom?" (2009). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 71.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2009/2009/71
Citation Generators: Helpmate or Hindrance in the Information Literacy Classroom?
Room 218
In our ever-expanding digital culture, citation generators are becoming increasingly popular sites for student-researcher-writers whose professors require specific, and often, different, citation styles as part of the assignments that they give. Citation generators are, in effect, “workhorses,” performing one of the more tedious aspects required of the researcher-writer; that is, the need for him or her to convey, accurately, and, in fact, precisely, a “record” of his or her information for others to consult. Jane Kessler and Mary K. Van Ullen, library scholars and authors of “Citation Generators: Generating Bibliographies for the Next Generation,” echo this sentiment, partly, pointing out that “[a]pplying proper citation format can be tedious because it requires meticulous attention to detail” (310)-something that even the most experienced of writers sometimes lacks. This session, led by a college public services librarian and an associate professor of Rhetoric, both of whom work at a small private liberal arts institution and who collaborate regularly in order to teach students information literacy skills, will examine recent scholarship on citation generators in addition to taking a closer look at several of the current, popular, generators themselves. The fundamental question that we intend to raise is--Do citation generators make students more accurate, and therefore, ultimately, more persuasive, more rhetorically-skilled, or, do these programs, counterproductively, increase the burden that students face as researcher-writers. We suspect, of course, that the answer lies somewhere in between, and, while citation generators have value, students must have a basic knowledge of proper citation style.
