Communications in Information Literacy - Volume 18 - Issue 1 - Article 4 - Choose Your Own Research Adventure: An Asynchronous Tutorial to Address “Research as Inquiry”

Oct 15, 2026

The article applies the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, focusing on “Research as Inquiry” as a teachable core of asking questions to deepen inquiry and understanding. It addresses scaling challenges because common instructional design tools favor linear presentations that constrain students’ grasp of research as iterative. The authors develop an asynchronous, question-based online game to deliver the frame, then examine its development, implementation, assessment, and the sustainability and scale of the approach.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Innovative Practice

Purpose and background

Challenge of scaling “Research as Inquiry”

Prior research and gaps

Questioning-focused approaches and frameworks

Communications in Information Literacy | Volume 18 Issue 1 | Article 4 | | --- | --- | | 6-2024
Choose Your Own Research Adventure: An Asynchronous Tutorial to Address “Research as Inquiry”
Stacy Brinkman
University of California, Irvine, [brinkmas@uci.edu](brinkmas@uci.edu)
Samantha Hilton
Occidental College, [hiltons@oxy.edu](hiltons@oxy.edu)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit](https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit)
Part of the Higher Education Commons, and the Information Literacy Commons
Let us know how access to this document benefits you. | | Recommended Citation Brinkman, S., & Hilton, S. (2024) . Choose Your Own Research Adventure: An Asynchronous Tutorial to Address “Research as Inquiry”. Communications in Information Literacy, 18 (1), 56–71 . [https://doi.org/](https://doi.org/)[ ](https://doi.org/)[10.15760/comminfolit.2024.18.1.4](10.15760/comminfolit.2024.18.1.4) This open access Innovative Practice is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4 .0) . All documents in PDXScholar should meet accessibility standards. If we can make this document more accessible to you, contact our team. Choose Your Own Research Adventure: An Asynchronous Tutorial to Address “Research as Inquiry” Stacy Brinkman, University of California, Irvine Samantha Hilton, Occidental College Abstract The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education posits that the practice of asking questions in order to deepen inquiry and understanding is a key element of information literacy. While the “Research as Inquiry” frame is teachable in library instruction, it can be difficult to scale. Popular instructional design software tends to present information in linear formats that can limit how students understand the iterative nature of research. This article presents an attempt at an asynchronous tutorial that overcomes this limitation of medium and that presents “Research as Inquiry” through an iterative and question-based online game. We discuss the development, implementation, and assessment of the tutorial, as well as issues of sustainability and scale. Keywords: research as inquiry, asynchronous tutorial, choose your own adventure, information literacy Innovative Practices edited by Andrea Baer, Carolyn Gamtso, and Merinda McLure Brinkman, S., & Hilton, S. (2024) . Choose your own research adventure: An asynchronous tutorial to address “Research as inquiry.” Communications in Information Literacy, 18(1), 56–71. Choose Your Own Research Adventure: An Asynchronous Tutorial to Address “Research as Inquiry” The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education posits that the practice of asking questions in order to deepen inquiry and understanding is a key element of information literacy. The “Research as Inquiry” frame argues that “research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field” (Association of College and Research Libraries [ACRL], 2015). In other words, research is not a straight path and the process of openended questioning, reflecting, and deciding what step to take next, based on newly encountered information, is an act of research itself. While there may be little debate on the importance of inquiry in research and information literacy, this particular frame has not been the primary focus of information literacy research or teaching practice. In multiple studies over the course of 14 years, Project Information Literacy (PIL) found that the “Research as Inquiry” frame was challenging and the practice of inquiry was underdeveloped: a majority of students found it most difficult to get started on a research project or frame a research inquiry (Head and Eisenberg, 2010a); instructors tended to frame assignments so tha

FAQs

What does “Research as Inquiry” emphasize in information literacy?

It emphasizes practicing the act of asking questions to deepen inquiry and understanding, framing research as iterative and driven by increasingly complex or new questions.

Why is it difficult to scale instruction for “Research as Inquiry”?

Scaling is challenging because many instructional design tools present information linearly, limiting how students understand research’s iterative, question-driven process.

What solution does the article propose for teaching “Research as Inquiry”?

It presents an asynchronous tutorial delivered through an iterative, question-based online game, and evaluates its development, implementation, and assessment with attention to sustainability and scale.

Oct 15, 2026

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