Students as Researchers [1 2 3 4]

i-cite emphasizes commonality in academic and nonacademic research, offering nonacademic research as a familiar commonplace to which students can relate academic research. Downs, then, does not draw the clear distinction between academic and non-academic research that other composition texts often do. He presents both as connected, as requiring similar skills. In the overview of tutorial #1 (sources answer questions), for instance, Downs asserts, "the sources and questions you've seen so far might not remind you a lot of those you see in school, but they have a lot in common." Downs encourages students to connect with rather than to disassociate from these spaces of research, making academic research a less foreign process. Moreover, the "How i-cite Works" screen explains that the CD's "animated intro" helps students "[s]ee how research and sources can help you answer questions, whether you're getting a tattoo or writing a paper" (see figure 1). Down emphasizes that both of these activities ask students to engage in research practices. In this way, i-cite bridges between non-academic and academic research practices rather than presenting them as wholly distinct and arguing that students need to leave behind the former in order to do acceptable academic work. To do effective academic research students are not required to leave behind their prior experiences with research. This presentation makes academic research less alienating and more inviting to students.

Figure 1: Animated Introduction Section: We All Do Research

Click on the image above to play the video.*

*Videos are saved as .wmv files. When clicked, they will open in your computer's Windows Media Player.

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