A Library Dissertation Boot Camp That Works: Takeaways from Dissertation Service Industry

Start Date

3-16-2020 11:15 AM

End Date

3-16-2020 11:45 AM

Author(s) Bio

Kyung Kim is Social Sciences Librarian at Florida State University. She earned a Ph.D. in Library & Information Science at Rutgers University. Prior to joining the FSU Libraries, Kyung worked as a medical librarian, then FSU’s iSchool faculty. She is leading Doctoral Support Special Interest Group at FSU Libraries. Her research interests include innovative information services for faculty and graduate students, scholarly communication, curriculum development, embedded librarianship for distance learners, and future of academic libraries. She is a member of the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL). Dan 'Brew' Schoonover serves as the subject librarian for Anthropology and the Director of the Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities team. He joined the Florida State University Libraries in 2008. Brew received his M.A. in Religion from Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL and his Masters in Library and Information Studies at Florida State University. He is a member of the Anthropology and Social Sciences Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries.

Keywords

dissertation boot camp, library workshop, doctoral students, dissertation service industry, contact cheating, academic integrity

Description of Proposal

Dissertation service industry is on the rise in higher education. Some of their common offerings include “free reference page,” “free table of content,” “collaborative writing,” “progressive delivery,” 24/7 support,” and even “free plagiarism check” for which they typically charge around $30 per page. Not only the assistance in the technical side of the dissertation research and document production, but also life coaching tips such as time management, stress management, and self-disciplining are on their menu. The service appears to have good selling points to the doctoral students on this stage, especially to those local students who are not aware of the campus resources (including library services) available to them or those who do not have ready access to the services, such as the students at a distance. However, it is not well known to the both groups alike that what it appears to be a convenient use of such “consulting” service or co-writing with a “shadow scholar” is a violation of academic integrity. It is called “contract cheating,” the action of having someone complete an academic work for another (Clark & Lancaster, 2007).

To understand the phenomenon of the contract cheating and to come up with ways to help the dissertation writers finish their dissertation within the landscape of academic integrity and research originality, it is important to identify their pain points on the dissertation journey first. With the better understanding of the dissertation practice, and the needs and wants of the dissertation writers, libraries can serve as helpful touch points for the dissertation writers. Given that a number of doctoral degrees awarded per year is an important measure of the university rankings and evaluation, providing such the much needed support to the doctoral students is libraries’ significant contribution toward the advancement of the educational mission of their institution.

In the presentation we will fist analyze some of the common offerings by the dissertation service industry, and then compare their fee-based repertoire against the free (or low-cost) services and resources that Florida State University Libraries and their campus partners provide. Florida State University Libraries has hosted dissertation boot camps since 2017, which has been well received and attended by the doctoral students. We will also present how to brand the library workshops into a dissertation boot camp, how to work with our campus partners for the boot camp, and other helpful tips to assess the boot camp.

What takeaways will attendees learn from your session?

  • Learn about the dissertation journey and its pain points for dissertation writers
  • Understand why contract cheating is a violation of academic integrity
  • Get familiar with the dissertation service industry
  • Compare the industry’s offering against the campus resources for dissertation writers

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Mar 16th, 11:15 AM Mar 16th, 11:45 AM

A Library Dissertation Boot Camp That Works: Takeaways from Dissertation Service Industry

Dissertation service industry is on the rise in higher education. Some of their common offerings include “free reference page,” “free table of content,” “collaborative writing,” “progressive delivery,” 24/7 support,” and even “free plagiarism check” for which they typically charge around $30 per page. Not only the assistance in the technical side of the dissertation research and document production, but also life coaching tips such as time management, stress management, and self-disciplining are on their menu. The service appears to have good selling points to the doctoral students on this stage, especially to those local students who are not aware of the campus resources (including library services) available to them or those who do not have ready access to the services, such as the students at a distance. However, it is not well known to the both groups alike that what it appears to be a convenient use of such “consulting” service or co-writing with a “shadow scholar” is a violation of academic integrity. It is called “contract cheating,” the action of having someone complete an academic work for another (Clark & Lancaster, 2007).

To understand the phenomenon of the contract cheating and to come up with ways to help the dissertation writers finish their dissertation within the landscape of academic integrity and research originality, it is important to identify their pain points on the dissertation journey first. With the better understanding of the dissertation practice, and the needs and wants of the dissertation writers, libraries can serve as helpful touch points for the dissertation writers. Given that a number of doctoral degrees awarded per year is an important measure of the university rankings and evaluation, providing such the much needed support to the doctoral students is libraries’ significant contribution toward the advancement of the educational mission of their institution.

In the presentation we will fist analyze some of the common offerings by the dissertation service industry, and then compare their fee-based repertoire against the free (or low-cost) services and resources that Florida State University Libraries and their campus partners provide. Florida State University Libraries has hosted dissertation boot camps since 2017, which has been well received and attended by the doctoral students. We will also present how to brand the library workshops into a dissertation boot camp, how to work with our campus partners for the boot camp, and other helpful tips to assess the boot camp.