About

Roll Tide Research

  • About: Roll Tide Research is a series of interactive tutorials and other multimedia resources focusing on information literacy concepts, critical thinking skills, and practical research strategies for using resources available at the Libraries and elsewhere. The contents are organized into modules based on their general order in the research process, but the tutorials were designed to stand alone and can be taken separately and in any order. Some tutorials include optional quizzes at the end that allow users to email results to themselves.
    Roll Tide Research was developed by the University of Alabama Libraries and launched in fall 2017. Content is regularly updated and additional content is being developed.
    most recent update: August 2020
  • Feedback: We welcome your feedback. Please send comments, suggestions, questions, or report any problems or accessibility issues to us through our feedback form.
  • Note to instructors: Modules that include optional quiz components allow users to email quiz results to themselves. Students can then forward these results to you for assessment purposes, if so assigned. These modules can be assigned in any order that fits your instructional needs, so each module’s quiz is separate.
    A combined quiz, containing questions for modules 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, and 4.1 is also available and may be more convenient for instructors who wish to assign all five of the above modules and receive a single email response report for each student. This quiz can be accessed at tinyurl.com/RTResearchQuizCombo.
    Instructors interested in developing specialized library modules for disciplines, assignments, specific courses, etc. should contact Jon Ezell or their liaison librarian.
  • Embedding Roll Tide Research into Blackboard Learn: All of the modules on this site can be linked in BBL as external links using the emailed quiz system listed in the previous paragraph.Embeddable versions of modules 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, and 4.1 are also available for upload into Blackboard Learn courses as Gradebook-integrated items that will enter grades as students complete the modules. This may be more convenient for you depending on your class sizes and course load. If you would like to add these to your course or would like more information, please contact your liaison librarian or Jon Ezell, Ph. D., Coordinator for Creative Media and Instructional Design at ezell007@ua.edu.
  • Use of Roll Tide Research by outside institutions

    • The online Roll Tide Research modules are openly available to all and the embedded assessment quizzes can be completed by anyone and the results can be sent to any email address specified in the form. No prior permission is needed but feel free to send us any questions you have. If you are wanting to use these modules for formal classroom or academic activities, please also email us with your feedback if you have the chance.
    • Creative Commons License
      This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

First-Year Writing / EN102 Modules:

  • These two modules were developed in partnership between the Libraries and First-Year Writing, initially for the Blackboard Learn course shell of EN102 Online.
    • Instructors who would prefer to have these modules installed in their Blackboard Learn course and integrated into their gradebook can reach out to their partnering / liaison librarian or directly to Jon Ezell.
  • The web-based versions posted here were developed in response to multiple requests from instructors who did not want to integrate them with their Course Gradebook in Blackboard and/or did want to go through the manual upload and installation process in Blackboard.
  • The modules on this page are perfect for instructors who wish to assign library modules as additional / optional resources, or who wish to use them prior to in-person library instruction to allow for a flipped classroom session.
  • The following direct links (access by right-clicking and choosing Copy Link Location) and abbreviated URLs can be posted or distributed to students.
  • Both modules include many elements from Roll Tide Research modules 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, and 4.1, along with additional tutorials for specific databases and research skills.
  • They are intended to be assigned during specific points in the semester to align with the progression of the course and it’s major research project(s).
  • First-Year Writing Instructors can direct any questions regarding implementation to their partnering librarian or directly to Jon Ezell at ezell007@ua.edu.

Other Tutorials:

  • The Libraries develop dozens of guides, video tutorials, and interactive learning objects every semester.
  • If you have any suggestions for digital learning objects related to library resources or information literacy, please contact your liaison librarian or Jon Ezell at ezell007@ua.edu.