The Library Research Scholars Program (LRSP) is a multi-semester paid experience designed to provide undergraduate students with an opportunity to conduct an original research project alongside a faculty mentor. I have co-led this program since 2021, and have helped develop curriculum and organize weekly sessions to introduce scholars to research methods and best practices. To date, I have directly mentored four different students within the program who have performed original research, written article manuscripts, created exhibitions, presented at conferences, and competed in research competitions.
Within the 2022/2023 cohort I mentored Inaya, an undergraduate student from the SJSU Department of Psychology. Her research examined the relationship between self-efficacy and social isolation among undergraduate students in the Bay Area during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role this relationship played in students’ academic success. My mentorship included assistance with her research question, literature review, and survey, along with overseeing her IRB application, survey distribution, data analysis, a research poster, and a presentation.
During the program, Inaya presented her research at a campus-wide event hosted by the library, and presented a poster at the Spartan Psychological Association Research Conference. I continued to work with Inaya the following year, and supported her in the SJSU Research Competition and the CSU-wide Student Research Competition for which she was announced a winner and received an honorable mention, respectively. The project was also invited to be included in SJSU’s Celebration of Research, for which we created the research poster included below.
Within the same cohort I additionally accepted a second mentee, Eleanor, after a re-org. I supported Eleanor with research outputs as data analysis was largely completed at this point. This support included feedback and practice for a university-wide presentation held at the library, along with concept ideation for a graphic essay of their research findings. The latter went hand-in-hand with her undergraduate studies as an Animation & Illustration major in the SJSU Department of Design. Since Eleanor’s completion of the LRSP, I have provided additional support for a research output in the form of a condensed version of their graphic essay. I worked with Eleanor to submit a proposal to the California Library Association’s Graphic Novels & Comics Interest Group Zine, which is published annually.
My mentee for the 2024/2025 cohort was Neal, an undergraduate student in the Digital Media Art program within the SJSU Department of Art and Art History. For his project, Neal researched how educators use art-based activities as a means to build community and belonging for children with autism in K-12 settings. I worked with Neal to scope his research question, develop his literature review, test his interview script, and draft his IRB submission. Neal’s research output was an exhibition hosted in the university library that walked through visitors through his literature review. The exhibition presented best practices, commonly held beliefs, and experiences of persons with autism inside classrooms.
My current mentee is Andrew, a graduate student in the SJSU Department of Psychology. For his project, Andrew is researching how peer norms and instructor norms affect feature usage within classrooms, along with the role of social anxiety as a moderator. Andrew has developed an IRB-approved survey that asks participants to respond with their likely behavior when presented with vignettes, and is currently collecting data.
Michael J Aguilar 