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Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation
Critical Research for College Success
Course: IFS110

First Term: 2026 Fall
 Lecture   1.0 Credit(s)   1.0 Period(s)   1.0 Load  
Subject Type: Academic
Load Formula: S - Standard Load


Description: Understand the research process and how to access, evaluate, and incorporate sources appropriately into academic projects.



MCCCD Official Course Competencies
1. Develop a research plan for choosing sources appropriate to an information need. (I)
2. Apply advanced search strategies in a range of resources. (I, II)
3. Evaluate information based on relevant criteria. (III)
4. Demonstrate practices for the ethical use of information, including tools for properly citing information. (IV)
5. Demonstrate participation in scholarly conversations at the appropriate level. (V)
MCCCD Official Course Competencies must be coordinated with the content outline so that each major point in the outline serves one or more competencies. MCCCD faculty retains authority in determining the pedagogical approach, methodology, content sequencing, and assessment metrics for student work. Please see individual course syllabi for additional information, including specific course requirements.
 
MCCCD Official Course Outline
I. Research plan
   A. Background information
   B. Keywords and subject term identification
   C. Source selection
II. Advanced search strategies
   A. Research technologies
   B. Search strategy development and refinement
   C. Research Plan Revision
III. Information evaluation
   A. Critical reading
   B. Content relevancy
   C. Source credibility
IV. Ethical use
   A. Intellectual property
   B. Attribution and citation formatting
   C. Plagiarism prevention
V. Scholarship as conversation
   A. Audience and medium identification
   B. Content contribution
 
MCCCD Governing Board Approval Date: May 27, 2025

All information published is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, but based on the dynamic nature of the curricular process, course and program information is subject to change in order to reflect the most current information available.