Original Research Option

Students in the library

Why pursue original research?

Students who, upon entering the program or during their first term, have a strong interest in LIS research may wish to consider the MLIS original research options.

While original research options are particularly useful for those students intending to pursue doctoral study upon completion of their MLIS degrees, experience with original research also may be highly beneficial to those students seeking employment in organizations where a research element is now a component of many positions, such as in academic libraries, certain special libraries, health care settings and information retrieval organizations.

The goals of the original research options are to:

  1. allow students time for independent reading and thought as a means to develop their interests in LIS research;
  2. further students’ understandings of specific theoretical frameworks, research processes and methodologies;
  3. give students first-hand experience with various elements of independent original research, such as literature searching and review, research question development, ethics review if appropriate, data collection and analysis, and scholarly writing;
  4. enable students to participate in scholarly communication through the preparation of peer-reviewed research articles for conference presentation and/or journal publication.
Students may choose from the following options:

Guided Research

Guided Research course option students may undertake a small research project under the supervision of a full-time FIMS faculty member. Unlike the Individual Study, the Guided Research course is not designed as an advanced reading course, but must include an original research component, with the formulation of sound research questions and appropriate methodologies to address such questions. 

General Requirements:

  1. Only regular FIMS faculty members can supervise Guided Research studies, and normally no faculty member will supervise more than two student projects in any one term;
  2. Part-time faculty may volunteer (outside of their collective agreement responsibilities as instructors) to be a co-supervisor on an Guided Research study if appropriate, but the full-time faculty member is the one with primary responsibility for ensuring the study is valid, academically rigorous, and conducted according to sound methodological principles. No actions should be taken with respect to the study without the involvement and consent of the full-time faculty member;
  3. While the content of Guided Research study may incorporate topics dealt with in other courses, it must differ significantly from any course currently listed in the calendar,

Ethics Requirements and Procedures:
Ethics and Procedural information is available on the Intranet.

Individual Study

An Individual Study may be undertaken for a one-course credit under the supervision of a full-time FIMS faculty member. The purpose of the study is to enable the student to explore some aspect of the profession or discipline not covered through regular courses.

An Individual Study usually does not involve original research per se but rather allows the student to examine issues in the literature or in practice and complete a paper or project on that topic. However, in some instances, an Individual Study may encompass a small focused piece of original research, such as an exploratory or feasibility study.

An Individual Study must be completed within one term. In the term preceding the desired start of the Individual Study, the student must find a full-time FIMS faculty member who is willing to supervise the proposed project and who will work with the student to ensure that the project is achievable within the time allowed. The student then must develop a proposal in consultation with the faculty supervisor. The proposal must be approved by the supervisor so that work can commence at the start of the next term.

General Requirements:

  1. Only regular FIMS faculty members can supervise Individual studies, and normally no faculty member will supervise more than two student projects in any one term;
  2. Part-time faculty may volunteer (outside of their collective agreement responsibilities as instructors) to be a co-supervisor on an Independent Study if appropriate, but the full-time faculty member is the one with primary responsibility for ensuring the study is valid, academically rigorous, and conducted according to sound methodological principles. No actions should be taken with respect to the study without the involvement and consent of the full-time faculty member;
  3. An Individual Study is NOT a means by which a student can take a regular course that is not being offered during a particular term;
  4. While the content of Individual Study may incorporate topics dealt with in other courses, it must differ significantly from any course currently listed in the calendar.
  5. The study should not make major time demands of the supervising faculty member and would typically involve directed readings, some sort of term project, and a final report of 25-30 double spaced pages or something equivalent.
  6. An Individual Study usually does not involve original research whereby ethics approval would be sought (such as in the case of surveys, interviews, focus groups or other participation by human subjects). 
Original research courses do not normally count toward an MLIS Program Content Area. Students who wish to have one of these courses considered for eligibility for a Program Content Area can talk to the Manager, Graduate Student Services on a case-by-case basis.