Embrace the Messiness: Libraries, Writing Centers, and Encouraging Research as Inquiry Across the Curriculum

Abstract

As educators, how do we clarify the concept of research into a manageable form so it’s communicated effectively while still creating space for the complexity inherent across different academic disciplines, different classroom settings, at different levels from first-year students to graduate students? How do we look at this work of meaning-making appropriately so we can build an engaged pedagogy that can move across disciplines? This chapter will explore and attempt to define the challenging “mess” that comes with teaching research and writing in the disciplines; it will provide strategies for and examples of embracing the complexity of information literacy, scholarly inquiry and research writing. Finally, it will articulate the experiences of writing center staff and librarians who collaborate to embrace the messiness of research and writing to empower students.