O n l i n e . L e a r n i n g . S u p p o r t
Department of Information and Library Science
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515
Fax: 1.203.392-5780 / Phone: 1.203.392-5781
Toll Free: 1-888-500-SCSU, then press 4

WORK TO BE SUBMITTED

CRITIQUE OF THE FINAL PROJECT PAPER:

Each student should critique (in a narrative form) his or her paper. You should use the criteria suggested in Unit VII under Lecture Notes. A summary of these criteria are:

1. EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION
   Are tables, figures, and statistics presented effectively?
2. IMPLIED READER
   Does the paper seem to have a specific audience and is the entire paper written to that audience?
3. TITLE
   Does the title summarize the main idea of the paper simply and with style?
4. ABSTRACT
   Is the abstract a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the paper? Hint: The abstract should contain the following:
   • the problem under investigation, in one sentence if possible
   • the subjects, specifying pertinent characteristics, such as number, type, age, sex
   • the experimental method, including the data-gathering procedure
   • the findings, including statistical significance levels
   • conclusions and the implications or applications
5. INTRODUCTION
   Does the introduction present the specific problem under study and describes the research strategy?
6. METHOD
   Does the method section describe in detail how the study was conducted?
7. RESULTS
   Does the Results section summarize the data collected and the statistical treatment of them?
8. DISCUSSION
   Does the discussion evaluate and interpret the results and their implications, especially with respect to your original hypothesis or goal?
9. REFERENCES
   Do the reference citations document statements made about the literature? Do all citations in the text appear in the reference list? [See the instructor's website for a brief guide to APA style for citations and references.]
10. APPENDIX
    Is appropriate use made of the appendix?

Email your critique to the instructor. Begin each critique with the citation, for example:

Brown, M. E. (2001). Crossing the divide: Empowering the Have-Nots in the Information Age. Unpublished manuscript, Southern Connecticut State University, Department of Information and Library Science, New Haven.]

Final Exam

All students will take a final examination. The final exam will cover research principles and methods, including statistics.

BACKGROUND NOTES

A PARADIGM OR UNIFYING PRINCIPLE FOR LIS

Bierbaum (1990, p. 18) argues that LIS needs a unifying principle or paradigm to guide research and applications of professional practice. Having such a paradigm would help us "ask the right quesitons," summarize "truths," and unite research and practice. Her candidate principle is the Principle of Least Effort, as formulated by Zipf (1949). The principle of least effort "governs the use made of libraries and other sources of information and is, in fact, a major determinant of their use." Furthermore, this principle should be "taken into account in planning of library buildings, in the allocation of storage space, and, perhaps most importantly, in the planing of new and innovative services" (Lancaster, 1977, p. 319).

References:

Bierbaum, E. G. (1990). A paradigm for the '90's. American Libraries, 21 (January 1990), 18-19.

Hernon, P. (1991). The elusive nature of research in LIS. In C. R. McClure & P. Hernon (Eds.), Library and information science research: Perspectives and strategies for improvement, pp. 3-14. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Lancaster, F. W. (1977). The measurement and evaluation of library services. Washington, D. C.: Information Resources Press.

Zipf, G. (1949).Human behavior and the principle of least effort. Cambridge, MA: Addision-Wesley Press.

Devise a study to test Lancaster's assertions. Give your study a title; introduce your study with 1-2 sentences of background; state the question you would like the research to answer; give a brief description of the methodology to be used; describe how you would go about analyzing the data. (100 point(s))