Statement on Faculty-Student Collaboration and Co-Authorship

 

Allen Dieterich-Ward

on behalf of KJUR Shippensburg Editorial Team

 

The purpose of the Keystone Journal for Undergraduate Research is to stimulate undergraduate research across the PASSHE universities by providing an outlet for completed projects and thus helping to add value to students’ overall educational experience.  According to the Council on Undergraduate Research, faculty mentors are “pivotal in ensuring the success of the student [research] experience.”  Consequently, a primary goal of the KJUR is to promote faculty-student collaboration at each of our member institutions.  Papers submitted to the journal will list an undergraduate student (or students) as primary author/s Faculty mentor/s will have the option of being listed as a co-author/s or as the faculty mentor. The following are a list of expectations for undergraduate student authors and faculty mentors adapted from the Council on Undergraduate Research publication “How to Mentor Undergraduate Students” by Carolyn Ash Merkel and Shenda M. Baker.  While this list is intended to be neither comprehensive nor universally applicable, it should provide a baseline for structuring the collaborative undergraduate research experience at the heart of KJUR”s mission.

 

Expectations for Students (Primary Authors)

 

  1. Students should expect to do the majority of the development and execution of the research program under the supervision of their faculty mentor/s, and all student authors must contribute to the presented research in a substantial way.  A meaningful undergraduate research experience requires a significant commitment on the part of the student researcher/s; consequently students have the right to expect a reasonable commitment of time and attention on the part of the faculty collaborator.  Both parties should plan to set up and maintain a regular meeting schedule throughout the duration of the project.

 

  1. Students should expect to work closely with their faculty mentor throughout the entire project from inception through article revision and publication. Project conception and development may take place in a variety of settings (class projects, independent studies, UGR grants, etc.), but reaching the level of sophistication required for publication in KJUR will require close supervision by faculty collaborators, particularly during key decision-making periods of project conception, planning, and manuscript preparation and revision. To be eligible to submit an article to the journal, student authors must have completed their projects in collaboration with a faculty mentor.

 

  1. In consultation with their mentors, students should be prepared to work independently and to spend a significant amount of time on their research projects outside of normal class preparation throughout the duration of the project.   According to KJUR guidelines, the journal “seeks articles written by students who have had the opportunity to conduct research outside of their formal classroom experience and within their major field of study.”  Class assignments such as term papers or research projects can yield meaningful experiences and may serve as a starting point for independent research.  However, they generally lack the insight or depth of understanding that the editors of  KJUR feel is appropriate for publication in this journal.

 

  1. Students should understand that while undergraduate research is first and foremost an educational activity, the point of undergraduate research is to introduce and immerse students in the professional activities of their field.  Consequently, the results of their research should correspond to the standards of their discipline and contribute meaningfully to the broader body of knowledge.  Students can expect faculty mentors to explain the expectations of the discipline in which they are conducting research and writing and should endeavor to respond constructively to any critiques.  

 

  1. The goal of the KJUR is to accept only the highest quality undergraduate research projects.  In order to accomplish this, students should understand that the process of revising their papers for publication may take a significant amount of time and require multiple rewrites. Students have up to one year after graduation to submit an initial manuscript to the journal and may have additional time to complete any additional revisions required during the editorial review process.  

 

  1. Authorship of research projects (represented by the manuscript) should not be treated lightly as it reflects one of the highest accomplishments in the academic community. To be considered an author of the manuscript each person should have made a significant contribution to the project from start to finish. Determining authorship can become an issue when more than one person is working on the project. The complexity of group dynamics within particular research settings sometimes makes it difficult to determine an appropriate threshold for assigning coauthorship.  While determining authorship is ultimately up to the student researchers and their faculty mentor, it is an important life-lesson to realize that not fulfilling the expectations of participation could result in having ones’ name dropped as an author. If a student helps occasionally by entering data into an Excel sheet or passing out survey forms, for example, it may be more appropriate to mention that student in the acknowledgments section rather than listing them as an author.

 

Expectations for Faculty Mentors (Co-Authors)

 

  1. Faculty mentors should understand that mentoring students is first and foremost an educational activity.  According to the Council on Undergraduate Research, “undergraduate research is an apprenticeship [through which] the mentor teaches through example and coaching, and students learn by doing.”  Consequently, while keeping an eye on specific end results (publication, conference presentation, etc.), faculty mentors should also bear in mind that the process of student research and writing itself is perhaps the most effective means of teaching students professional standards and critical thinking

 

  1. Mentors should plan to accommodate students with varying levels of preparation, skills and knowledge coming into the research project.  Undergraduate research collaborators generally require a relatively structured environment for their projects as this is probably the first time they have undertaken such a lengthy and intellectually challenging project.  Bearing this in mind, mentors should consider how best to guide students in their projects and set clear, reasonable expectations for each stage of the project.

 

  1. A meaningful undergraduate research experience requires a significant commitment on the part of the student researcher; consequently students have the right to expect a reasonable commitment of time and attention on the part of the faculty collaborator.  Both parties should plan to set up and maintain a regular meeting schedule throughout the duration of the project. 

 

  1. Faculty mentors should be prepared to work closely with students at all stages of the project. However, the type of involvement will most likely vary over time and with consideration to the type of project undertaken. Students will most likely require significant input from their faculty mentor during the writing process.  Faculty mentors should be responsible for guiding students through the writing and revision process. Many if not most students struggle with writing professionally and they need particular guidance with this aspect of the project. The mentor should be prepared to function as the editor of the student manuscript before it is submitted for publication consideration in KJUR. Additionally, most students will not be familiar with the concept of peer review and may be surprised by the extended process of revision required before publication. Mentors should make sure student collaborators understand that the process of revising their papers for publication may take a significant amount of time and require multiple rewrites.

 

  1. The faculty mentor must decide if they want to be listed as a coauthor of the manuscript or as a mentor without claiming authorship. According to the KJUR editorial guidelines, “the working relationship between the student and faculty member must be one whereby the faculty mentor can ethically claim to be an author of the research.”  While the notion of coauthorship can vary significantly across disciplines, the spirit of this guideline is clearly on the side of significant involvement by faculty mentors in the final research outcome.

 

It is important for everyone to understand that the manuscript submitted to KJUR for publication should represent the very best work that our students can produce. This manuscript reflects on all who are involved in the process.

 

Sources

Carolyn Ash Merkel and Shenda M. Baker, How to Mentor Undergraduates (Washington, D.C.: Council on Undergraduate Research, 2002).

 

Keystone Journal for Undergraduate Research, http://www.lhup.edu/journal/KJUR.htm