2013 UC Merced Research Enterprise Book

Undergraduate Database Research Recommendation System

z Students can effectively retrieve broad and relevant information by

z Students learn to expand their basic information literacy

z Internet-accessible, scalable and can be updated and modified easily

z Instructors and librarians will be able to add content and limits

simply querying the course information

Background Research projects conducted by undergraduate students are frequently driven by the need to fulfill the requirements of specific assignments within the framework of formal course curricula. Unlike knowl- edge-based systems, typical library information retrieval systems are not designed to recommend broad publication databases in response to student queries. Moreover, undergraduate students are often unfamiliar with the expert vocabulary of the subjects they are researching or the or- ganization of scholarly literature. It is a challenge for them to effectively retrieve the most relevant scholarly information. Description UC Merced researchers David Noelle and Donald Barclay have developed an easy-to-use, Internet-based software tool, Undergradu- ate Research Database Recommendation System (URDRS), that uses a locally managed knowledge base, coupled with machine learning methods, to increase the success of students as they attempt to access the relevant information needed to complete scholarly research projects related to their coursework.

URDRS supports course-based research, prompting us- ers to input information on class/course codes and even specific course assignments. Ranked results are provided in a manner that facilitates subsequent access to the recommended databases. Applications This invention is generally useful for undergraduate students to conduct course-based research. URDRS can be integrated into websites, catalog, course management systems and other web-accessible resources. Campus librarians would save significant time by dealing less with repetitive reference, instruction, development of online tutorials and website tinkering.

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