Lear 1

Master’s Research Projects Guidelines/

Memorandum of Understanding

Bernadette A. Lear, MLS

Behavioral Sciences and Education Librarian

PennStateHarrisburg Library, Room 102A

(717) 948-6360

The Role of a Librarian in Your Master’s Project:

A librarian can be a useful committee memberif your paper includes a substantial literature review or meta-analysis. He or shecan coach you in effective search strategies to find appropriate books, journal articles, government documents, dissertations, conference proceedings, and other literature. Librarians can help you locate information resources both within the Penn State University Library system, and throughout the country.

Pertinent to Behavioral Sciences and Education programs, I purchase all Harrisburg Library’s books and videos for Children’s Literature, the Curriculum Materials Collection, Education, Psychology, and Sociology. I regularly teach BSED students and faculty how to find and use information within the context of their curricular, professional, consumer, and personal lives. My graduate-level coursework (Master’s in Library Service, Rutgers, 1999) included Human Information Behavior, and Information Sources in the Sciences. Before I came to PennState, I also managed an information resource center for grassroots community organizations. Therefore, I have knowledge of education, psychology, and social sciences information resources, as well as some experience withnonprofit program development, grantwriting, and other aspects of organization development. My current research interests include the role of information, education, and Libraries in society, especially from a historical perspective. I have no background in psychologicaltheory or clinical practice;foundations of education;K-12 teaching;psychological assessment;curriculum development;survey/questionnaire design;or statistical research methods.

According to the Psychology Program Master’s Paper Manual, Psychology Master’s paper committeesgenerally MUST have two members, both of whom are Capital College Psychology faculty members AND members of Penn State’s Graduate Faculty (though the Psychology faculty may make exceptions to this rule). The third committee member can be a faculty member from another discipline or institution, or a non-academic professional in a psychology-related field.

I am a tenure-track faculty member within PennState’s University Libraries “program.” My current rank is “Assistant Librarian,” parallel to “Assistant Professor.” Thus, I can serve as the third person on Master’s committees which already have two Graduate Faculty from CapitalCollege’s Psychology program. HOWEVER, PLEASE NOTE: Because I do not have a doctoral degree and am not a member of PennState’s graduate faculty, I CANNOT serve as the “chair” or “advisor” of a Master’s project. Also, I CANNOT serve on doctoral committees. Before I will consider becoming a member of your Master’s Project Committee, you MUSTdiscuss it with your advisor and get his or her approval. Before agreeing to be on your committee, I MUST also get approval from the Director of Penn State Harrisburg Library (Dr. Gregory A. Crawford).

If I serve as a committee member for your project, this means that you have another faculty member chairing your committee, and that my role is to read your COMPLETED proposal and final paper and provide feedback to you. My role also is to give you a basic training session in using the Library’s resources (if you have not already had this through one of your Penn State, graduate-level courses);show you additional research skills at your request;attend your proposal and final defense meetings; and decide if you successfully reached the departmental expectations set for your project. My role is NOT to read each version of your paper, or oversee your design, writing, data collection, or analysis. That is the role of your committee chair.

As you can see, I can be useful committee member for certain projects, but am inappropriate for others. However, whether or not we decide that I should be a committee member, feel free to contact me if you need help using the Library’s resources. I am happy to meet you in a research appointment and show you how to find literature for your topic.

Limits, Requests, and Advice:

  • Contact me at work by e-mail () or phone (717-948-6360).
  • Unless you need an answer to a quick question, please do NOT “drop in” at the Library’s reference desk to discuss your Master’s project. When I am scheduled on desk duty, I must help all walk-in and telephone customers (“first-come, first served”) and will not be able to give you the personal and confidential attention you deserve. The best way to meet with me is to set up an appointment.
  • If I am serving on your Master’s project committee, I expect you to meet with me at least once, early on in your project, for a run-through of the Library’s resources (unless you have already had an instruction session with me as part of one of your graduate-level courses). This would include an introduction to PennState’s CAT, WorldCat, articles databases (PsycInfo, ERIC, and others, depending on your topic), Dissertation Abstracts, and Web of Science. I will also show you advanced strategies, such as subject heading/thesaurus searches and cited reference searches. Even if you have had such training before, you may want to meet with me again to refresh your knowledge. I consider this initial meeting part of the “minimal responsibility” of a Librarian committee member. After this first meeting, you are welcomed to make subsequent appointments as needed. Depending on the level of assistance I provide in later appointments, and the time commitment involved, I may consider further help to be “more than minimal assistance,” and may expect credit or authorship for publication or presentation purposes.
  • As a professional Librarian, I adhere to Standards and Guidelines of the American Library Association. Among other things, Librarians:
  • Provide equitable library service to all persons
  • Protect individuals’ rights to privacy and confidentiality
  • Respect intellectual property and copyright
  • Uphold principles of intellectual freedom (this means promoting people’s freedom to read what they choose, and suggesting information resources based on a person’s own articulation of his or her information needs).

In terms of your Master’s project, this means that I CANNOT give you preferential borrowing rights; “bend” established Library policies and procedures for you; cancel your fines;“hack” into or abuse information systems; or do anything else that I would not do for another student. Also, I CANNOT advise you on what topics you should research, though I can recommend search phrases and strategies to help you find information on your topic. Please also note that Librarians do NOT keep records of the books or articles you use, after you return them to the Library.

  • You MUST allow appropriate time to thoroughly search for literature, acquire the materials, and—most importantly— read, think about, and take action on what you find. This process can take months. Although PennState has many online resources, it does not subscribe to every journal and does not own every book. We borrow items on your behalf from libraries through the United States and overseas. It can be especially difficult to get free copies of dissertations, government documents, conference proceedings, other “gray” literature, and items published in foreign countries. Also, after reading an article, you may want to track down studies or authors that were referenced in the article’s bibliography, or try new search terms or strategies. Don’t expect to complete your literature searching in a few hours or a weekend.
  • Finding “all” the literature on a topic involves:
  • Having a prepared and critical mind, so you can react to new directions and opportunities when they emerge
  • Understanding how information is organized, and using organization schemes to your advantage
  • Thorough and systematic research behaviors
  • Perseverance
  • Being in the right place at the right time
  • Coincidence (blind luck)

Adapted from K. Borowske. (2005, April). Curiosity and motivation-to-learn. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of College and Research Libraries, Minneapolis, MN.

  • If you are taking the customary 6-9 months to work on your project, it is highly recommended that you re-run major search strategies several times throughout the project to look for newly-published materials.
  • I recommend you keep a journal or some kind of written record of your literature research activities. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but should include dates, the name of the database or source you used, the terms and strategies you tried, and what your next steps would be. This will help you keep track of what you’ve done, help us troubleshoot difficulties you may be having, and help me assess whether you’ve done a thorough literature review. AT YOUR DEFENSE, BE PREPARED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SEARCH METHODS AND THE RESOURCES YOU USED.
  • If we meet for a “troubleshooting appointment,” please bring all pertinent notes, photocopies, and database printouts (this includes citation information for any literature you have questions about). Printouts and photocopies contain important “clues” that will help diagnose problems and/or reconstruct your search. Also, be ready to describe what you have already done toward solving the problem on your own.
  • Please give me at least TWO WEEKS notice to give you feedback on your proposal or final paper.
  • Please proof read and spell check any work you turn in. I expect you to be familiar with APA style. It is strongly recommended that you have your drafts reviewed by the staff in the LearningCenter, C216. You should contact Ms. Kathy Brode ( or 717-948-6469) to schedule an appointment. You should also have someone else (a colleague with good writing skills) read your work. Even the most skillful authors benefit from editorial comments and feedback.
  • If your project includes statistical analysis, consider using the statistical consulting center atUniversity Park. It provides two short term consultations at no charge, one at the design stage and one at the analysis stage of Master’s research. Instead of traveling to University Park, you may be able to receive consultation on the phone; this would primarily depend on your questions and need related to your research. Each consultation consists of two meetings with a statistics graduate student enrolled in the center’s Consulting Practicum. The first meeting is intended for you to explain your project to the consultant and to identify your priorities in terms of assistance. The second meeting, scheduled for two weeks later, is for discussing the written recommendation report you will receive. The center does not analyze your data. The typical short-term project requires 10 hours of statistical effort. This effort consists of meeting, research, and documentation time. You can call the center at (814) 863-0281 or request a consultation at Please make sure that you check the “short-term consultation” box. “Long-term consultation” is not a free service.
  • Penn State Harrisburg has a Center for Survey Research that provides limited, free service to students. See its web page at for more information.

My responsibilities/Your responsibilities:

  • It is my job to help you with your project and give you constructive feedback on your work.
  • It is my job to help you progress in a timely manner, and be available and accessible to you.
  • It is my job to suggestpotentially useful databases, indexes, and other resources for your literature review.
  • It is your responsibility to read the Psychology Program Master Paper Manual.
  • It is your responsibility to organize your time, arrange meetings and appointments ahead of time, allow me sufficient time to prepare for meetings, and inform me of deadlines.
  • It is your responsibility to thoroughly search information resources, critically reflect on the results you find, ask for help when you need it, and retrieve (get copies of) all books, articles, and other materials.
  • It is your responsibility to adhere to all policies of the University Libraries, Information Technology Services, and Penn State Harrisburg Library. See and for more information. If you have questions, ASK.
  • It is your responsibility to get Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval BEFORE conducting ANY research on human subjects. This involves taking an online training module and passing an online quiz. See IRB’s web site ( for further information. There are severe consequences for not following the IRB regulations. Failure to follow these rules can get you, me, and the entire university into serious trouble. All research may have to be suspended at PennState and all federal funding may be withdrawn. If you engage in data collection without my knowledge and without an IRB approval, I will immediately withdraw as a committee member.
  • It is your responsibility to be familiar with the APA style. If you need a copy for quick look-ups, you can find one in the Psychology program office or in the reference section of Penn State Harrisburg Library.
  • Plagiarism and other acts of academic honesty carry severe penalties, EVEN WHEN THE PERPETRATOR’S ACTIONS WERE UNINTENTIONAL. It is your responsibility to adhere to PennState’s Academic Integrity Policy (see Be aware that I will use Turnitin and other resources to check your work. You MUST give others credit:
  • Whether you use EXACT wording orSUMMARIZE HIS/HER/THEIR IDEAS
  • Whether you get the information FROM PRINT, THE INTERNET, or ANOTHER MEDIUM
  • Whether the information is RECENT or OLD
  • When in doubt, ALWAYS cite your source! “Common” knowledge isn’t as common as you think it is!
  • It is your responsibility to schedule your defense in time for graduation:
  • Fall graduation: Defend by the last week of September/First week of October
  • Spring graduation: Defend by the last week of February/First week of March
  • Summer graduation: Defend by the last week of April

Publication and Presentations:

If you have developed your topic; collected data and literature on your own; analyzed the data and literature on your own; and required very little supervision during the writing of your thesis, you should have the first authorship of any publications that come from your research. If I met with you repeatedly (more than three one-hour research appointments during the project) to assist in your searching;helped you analyze search results; re-ran your database searches to troubleshoot technical problems, etc.,then I will ask you to give me authorship credit as well.

Following APA guidelines, if a committee member has met with you outside of your proposal and final defense dates; advised on the design; provided critical feedback that substantially contributed to your project; and/or helped you with your drafts, IRB application, data collection, data analysis, etc., you will include that committee member as an author as well. Please remember that if you do not submit your work for publication within three months, and I feel that I contributed more than your chair or any other committee member, I reserve the right to develop a publishable manuscript from it. If you do not work with me to submit an acceptable manuscript during the three month period, your inactionwill be interpreted as you choosing to relinquish your right to be the first author. If I am left to do most of the manuscript and the revision process, depending on the work it involves, you agree that I may list myself as the first author.

If your data was based on grant-funded research projects, or you use resources or staff expertise at other institutions, you need to make sure they are acknowledged in all of your presentations or publications.

Agreement:

Each page in this document represents a promise, a part of a contract. If you would like me to serve as a committee member or chair of your committee, please initial and date each page of this document. Then sign and date the agreement on the next page and return it to me. Keep a copy for your records.

BAL

4/2005; updated 9/2005

Agreement For Master’s Paper Supervision

[ ] I am requesting that Bernadette Lear serve as a committee member, with minimum responsibilities (attending thesis proposal and final defense) and no co-authorship of publications or presentations.

[ ] I am requesting that Bernadette Lear serve as a committee member, with more than minimum responsibilities, and agree that co-authorship of publications or presentations is warranted if she fulfills the following (Please specify the additional responsibilities below):

I have read this entire document and agree to its terms. Bernadette Lear will serve as a committee member. I understand that my committee chair bears primary responsibility for helping me with my project.

______

Student’s signatureDate

______

Committee member’s signatureDate

BAL/2005

Student’s Initials: ______Date: ______