Goal IV.b
Students will identify opportunities for research and develop plans for research in applied settings in library and information science.
Artifact 1: Accelerated Reader Research Proposal: AR: Is It Worth the Cost?
Artifact Overview
This collaborative research proposal examines whether Accelerated Reader meaningfully supports literacy development in Hillsborough County Public Schools and whether its continued use aligns with professional library values. The proposal identifies a real applied problem: AR is used inconsistently across schools, ranging from flexible guidance to restrictive leveling practices that may limit student choice, motivation, and equitable access to books. The project proposes a mixed-methods study using student, teacher, and media specialist surveys alongside district reading achievement data to evaluate both perceptions and outcomes.
I selected this artifact for Outcome IV.b because it demonstrates the process of identifying a researchable problem in an applied school library setting and developing a plan to investigate it. The proposal includes a statement of need, literature review, research goals, research design, survey plan, expected sample, timeline, budget, and policy implications. It also connects research design to professional practice by asking whether AR should be standardized, modified, or discontinued based on evidence rather than habit, vendor claims, or inconsistent site-level practices. My contribution included drafting the Statement of Need and Significance of the Study, compiling and formatting the literature review, organizing references, and transcribing the survey into the appendix, while also working within a collaborative research team structure.
Project Note: This research proposal was completed as a collaborative group project for LIS 6271. For portfolio publication, I edited the document to protect my classmates’ privacy by replacing their names with general identifiers such as Student 1, Student 2, and so on. The portfolio version preserves the substance of the original project, including the contribution section, while removing personally identifying information for other group members.