Abstract
Information literacy and critical thinking are arguably the most important and transferable skills undergraduate history majors develop in the course of their studies. A primary-source-based research paper is often an undergraduate history major’s capstone assignment toward graduation. Yet they often face these assignments having little or no prior experience with archival research and lack confidence in finding and using primary sources. This article reports on a study conducted during the 2022 and 2023 spring semesters at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) involving archival literacy instruction for undergraduate history majors enrolled in HIST 392 Historical Research and Writing. It examined the extent to which the instruction topics, delivered via a “one-shot” session, enhanced students’ research skills and instilled confidence for completing their primary-source-based research paper. The questions guiding the study included: What archival literacy topics are most relevant and useful for students for completing their assignment? What research competencies should be prioritized in future lectures to craft the most impactful instruction in the limited time of one or two classes? How can the instruction be improved for future students? The author found that the instruction topics presumed to be most useful to students were indeed valued and positively impacted knowledge and confidence for completing the research paper. The areas for improvement regarded instruction delivery.
Recommended Citation
Gorzalski, Matthew J. "Instilling Primary-Source Research Confidence in Undergraduate History Majors: Insight into Instructional Impact and Student Preferences." The American Archivist 88, No. 2 (Fall 2025): 364–390.