Several LibGuides researchers have recommended course-specific guides over (or in addition to) subject-based guides.
- "Librarians tend to structure library guides according to the research process and around academic disciplines, while students tend to think more in terms of courses, coursework and the products of research" (Castro-Gessner et al., as cited in Bergstrom-Lynch, 2019, p. 208)
- Creating course guides will allow you to be more specific in your content choices, rather than treating the guide like a dumping ground
- Results from Conrad and Stevens' 2019 study suggested that it "might be easier for students to find guides that are explicitly associated with their courses, through either the guides’ titles or other searchable metadata, than to find and understand the relevance of general research guides" (p. 72)
- Through an analysis of browser search terms, Castro Gessner and co-authors (2015) found that 39 per cent of searches performed by their users contained course-related terminology (e.g., course name or code, professor name, etc.)
- Reeb and Gibbons (2004) attested through their research that "undergraduate students’ mental model is one focused on courses and coursework, rather than disciplines. This mental model is not well suited to library subject guides that require an understanding of disciplines and do not impart the needed personalization or customization" (p. 126)