LIS 489 Scholarly Paper (30 points) Topic must be approved by the instructor; suggested topic is the history, services, and programs of the library where the practicum is located. Since this is a capstone course, a 4,500-5,000 word scholarly paper is required; it is expected that content will include scholarly sources as well as information gathered on-site and from organizational documents and Web sites. This is a formal writing assignment so avoid contractions and personal pronouns (see Grammar Checklist below). The paper should be the student s own original work. Papers will be checked for originality with Turnitin software. Grading will be based on both content and format (see grading rubric below). Paper Format: Title page with appropriate title, image of the library, student name & e-mail, date Insert page numbers (Insert/Page Numbers) Use 11 or 12 point font and double-space or single space with a space between paragraphs May use scholarly Web sites such as the library s Web site; do not use Wikipedia as it is not a scholarly or reliable source Use topics and subtopics to organize paper (suggested format: center and bold main sections/topics; left-align, bold, and italicize subtopics as indicated below) Use any style you wish but be consistent: APA or MLS (or Turabian with footnotes - Insert/Reference/Footnotes in top menu of Word). Introduction Begin the paper with an appropriate quote about libraries, books, or literacy, and cite properly Introductory paragraph should include a general background and description of the library. Purpose of the Study General research problem (purpose of the study) such as: The purpose of this study is to document the history, organization, and services of Library. Research Questions Specific research question examples include: R1. When was the library founded and what it its mission? R2. What is the organizational structure of the library? How many work there and in what capacity? R3. How is it funded? What is the annual budget? R4. Does the library have a collection development policy? If so, what is it?
R5. How large is the collection? R6. What programs and/or services are offered by the library? R7. What information is available on the library s Web site? Importance of the Study Closing paragraph of Introduction should articulate the importance of the study what this study may add to the body of LIS research; how it may be useful to scholars or librarians. Literature Review History of Public Libraries (or School Libraries, or Academic Libraries) Use scholarly sources to review the history of the type of library related to this study (may use reference sources, scholarly books, scholarly Web sites, or scholarly articles). Library Historical Case Studies Review previous studies related to library history, or similar case studies, or comparative studies of library services/programs (these reviews should be in chronological order to show a progression of the research that leads up to this research). Use either parenthetical references (Welsh, 2009) or footnotes and list each source cited in a bibliography or works cited list of citations at the end. Methodology Methodology may include historical narrative, which tells a story in proper order, and/or descriptive analysis. Detail methods of data collection and analysis. Data collected for this type of study could include gathering of data on-site as well as from relevant library documents and Web site. No direct human research (such as in-depth interviews) will be done, but students may request relevant documentation or information from a librarian just as any other patron might do so. Results Restate each research question then answer that question. R1. When was the library founded and what it its mission? Library was founded in etc. Discussion Summarize and discuss findings of the study.
Close with a paragraph that recommendations for further study (could recommend further study using formal, in-depth interviews with present or former librarians). Works Cited or Bibliography May use any bibliographic style but be consistent (see Cook Library style guides: http://lib.usm.edu/help/style_guides.html). Grammar Checklist 1. Do not use contractions in formal or scholarly writing, especially when writing formal reports or research papers. 2. Possessive its is not a contraction and does not contain an apostrophe. 3. Do use bulleted lists in scholarly writing to improve readability. 4. Be sure that items in a bulleted list or a listing in a sentence all begin with the same part of speech, e.g. a noun, a verb, adjective, adverb. Using this method is an example of parallelism. 5. Do not use punctuation at the end of each bulleted list item; instead, use ending punctuation at the end of the last item. 6. Use two spaces after periods, colons, and question marks when writing scholarly letters and documents. 7. Be sure an independent clause precedes a colon. However, lists introduced by a verb should not have a colon. 8. Personal pronouns may be used in reflective, informal writing but avoid using first-person or second-person pronouns in scholarly or formal documents. These documents should have an objective tone and use third-person pronouns. a. First person pronouns include the words I, me, my, we, our. b. Second person pronouns include the words you, your. c. Third person pronouns include the words he, she, they, their, him, her, it. 9. Avoid ending sentences with prepositions, e.g. Where is the meeting at?
10. Use a comma with the word which in a sentence as this word introduces nonessential information; do not use commas with the word that as this word introduces essential information. 11. Capitalize proper nouns that are names of specific persons, places, or things. Do not capitalize words that are not proper nouns. Use italics or underlining for placing special emphasis on words. 12. Within the text of a document, enclose article titles in quotation marks; book titles, journal titles, and database titles should be underlined or in italics. Acronyms of journal titles should also be underlined or in italics (JASIS). 13. Internet is now a proper noun and should be capitalized; e-mail and e-journal are not capitalized. 14. Web is now a proper noun and the words Web site and Web page should be written as two words with the word Web capitalized. 15. Use an en dash (not a hyphen) to denote the term through, e.g. (1999 2000). 16. The words thank you should be hyphenated when followed by a noun, e.g. thankyou note. [Rule: Two adjectives preceding a noun are hyphenated, e.g. allimportant fact.] 17. Use appropriate in-text references; include page number(s) for a direct or indirect quote. 18. Be careful about subject-verb agreement, particularly with Latin words: datum is singular, data are plural; medium is singular, media are plural; analysis is singular, analyses are plural; criterion is singular, criteria are plural; thesis is singular, theses are plural; hypothesis is singular, hypotheses are plural. 19. Tables (data in columns and rows) and figures (charts, graphs, images) should be appropriately numbered and titled (capitalize major words in title) and should be referenced in the text (Table 1). 20. When creating tables, remember that numbers are right-aligned and text is leftaligned.
LIS 489: Scholarly Paper Rubric (30 points) Student Name: Student ID: Date: Paper Title/Topic: Criteria 1 Unacceptable 2 Minimally Acceptable 3 - Proficient 4 Advanced Score Central idea/purpose is Central idea/purpose is Central idea/purpose is Central idea/purpose is not stated; content is stated; content is accurate clearly stated; content is vividly stated; content is Content erroneous or irrelevant; but not always relevant; accurate and relevant; accurate, thorough, and 40% support for assertions is support is offered but credible support is provided directly on point; strong (0-12 points) largely absent. inadequate for some for each assertion. support is provided for assertions. each assertion. Use of Research and Documentation of Sources 20% (0-6 points) Needed research is absent or material is used but not cited. Adequate research is included and sources are cited, but there are errors in formatting several of the citations. Research is incorporated well and sources are cited accurately with one or two minor errors. Research is thorough and incorporated well. All sources are cited accurately. Organization (Intro, Lit Review, Methodology, Discussion) 20% (0-6 points) Language 10% (0-3 points) Little or no structure present. Paper is frequently confusing to the reader because of lack of organization. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage are severely deficient. Identifiable structure is present but inconsistently executed; may contain several statements out of place and occasionally deviate from the topic. Isolated errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and/or usage reduce clarity and credibility. Identifiable structure is present and consistently executed with few statements out of place. Free of serious errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage. Identifiable structure is presented in a purposeful, interesting, and effective sequence and remains focused. Free of errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage. Word choice aids clarity, vividness, and credibility.
Adaptation to Assignment Requirements 10% (0-3 points) Paper does not adhere to important aspects of the assignment. Paper adheres to all but a single guideline or constraint. Paper adheres to all aspects of the assignment. Paper meets or exceeds all aspects of the assignment. Total Grading Scale 28-30 A 25-27 B 22-24 C 19-21 D Below 19 F