Library Research Scholars

SUNYLA 2024 Presentation: Mentoring Undergraduate Researchers: An Inaugural Program Incorporating Multidisciplinary Library Research Projects and High Impact Practices

Hufford, J. R. “Librarians as Mentors in an Undergraduate Research Program.” Journal of Library Administration, vol. 57, no. 7, 2017, pp. 776–88, https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2017.1350080.

Abstract: Projects in undergraduate research programs differ from assignments in courses in that they are independent of an institution's curriculum, and faculty mentoring plays a more important role. These programs can be fertile ground for librarians interested in participating. Whether such librarians would make good mentors for undergraduate researchers depends largely on their experience and education. Texas Tech University has two of these programs, but library support for them has been sporadic. The time is overdue for librarians involved in campus outreach and instruction to examine how they can best support Texas Tech's undergraduate research activities, and, in particular, whether they are adequately prepared to provide effective mentoring to undergraduate research students. This article reports on such an examination.

Fargo, H. M., and Linares-Gray, R.H. (2022). “Collaborating with Undergraduate Students on LIS Research.” portal, vol. 22, no. 3, 631–49, https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2022.0034.

Abstract: Many librarians conduct research in higher education by studying the undergraduate students with whom they work. Instead of research on students, this paper argues the need for library and information science (LIS) research with, for, and by students. It shows why librarians should explore collaborative partnerships with student-researchers to produce LIS scholarship. Such partnerships can create work that amplifies and responds to students' lived experiences. Research collaborations that include students as partners provide important learning opportunities, help learners gain familiarity with the LIS field, and produce significant student-centered scholarship. The authors present five principles for librarians to consider when conducting research with undergraduate students and provide two case studies to show the merit of these collaborations and how they work in practice.

Kuh, G., O’Donnell, K., & Schneider, C. G. (2017). HIPs at Ten. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 49(5), 8–16. https://doi-org.proxy.binghamton.edu/10.1080/00091383.2017.1366805

Abstract: 2017 is the anniversary of the introduction of what are now commonly known as high-impact practices (HIPs). Many of the specific activities pursued under the HIPs acronym have been around in some form for decades, such as study abroad, internships, and student-faculty research. It was about ten years ago that, after conferring HIPs at Ten with Carol Schneider, George Kuh used the phrase "high-impact practices" in his essay introducing the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) annual report. This article reflects on the evolution of HIPs as a demonstrably powerful set of interventions to foster student success. The authors briefly summarize what HIPs are and why they matter. They explain what has fueled HIPs' rapid, widespread acceptance, and they discuss some of the lessons learned from campus-based efforts to increase the number of students who participate in an HIP, including the attendant institutional challenges. The authors provide a glimpse of the future and a nod to other activities and practices that have HIP-like properties that, with some intentional tweaks, could also provide unusually developmentally powerful experiences for students.

Fischer, A. E., Immel, K. R., Wilkum, K., & Lee, L. R. (2021). Taxonomy for Developing Undergraduate Research Experiences as High-Impact Practices. The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 21(1), 84-106.

Abstract: The call to increase student participation in high-impact practices (HIPs) to improve student learning, satisfaction, and retention is being answered in a multitude of ways. Faculty and staff involved in undergraduate research see this as validation of their efforts, which it is. However, Kuh & O’Donnell’s (2013) work challenges research mentors to reevaluate their efforts in order to intentionally provide an even richer and more engaging research experience. Making undergraduate research a high-impact practice requires thinking inclusively about how the research experience can be scaled across the curriculum, adjusted to increase student engagement, and adapted to student preparation and desired learning outcomes. This article presents the work of a statewide multi-disciplinary faculty team that developed a scalable taxonomy for incorporating high-impact practices into student learning experiences and to serve as a roadmap for designing and assessing undergraduate research experiences. The authors offer a layered taxonomy, with milestones of increasing engagement, that establishes what sets a HIP undergraduate research experience apart from other HIP experiences and what distinguishes good practices from high-impact teaching. Aligning undergraduate research experiences with best practices across disciplines, types of research opportunities, and student achievement level was a key goal in the taxonomy development. We present cases where the taxonomy was applied to research opportunities embedded in general education courses across disciplines and different modalities. In these vignettes, the utility of the taxonomy as a tool for assessing course design and teaching effectiveness is examined and common challenges in development, implementation, and assessment of student learning experiences are also explored.

High-Impact Practices (from the American Association of Colleges and Universities)