A master's thesis is a requirement of the Master of Arts degree in the CSP program. A thesis is a demonstration of the student's research competence. Both as a requirement for the M.A. degree in CSP and as a formal research exercise, the thesis includes design of a study with relevant and appropriate reviews of the literature, analysis of data and presentation of results, and discussion and interpretation of findings.
CSP master's theses are quantitative, positivistic in nature, rather than interpretive and qualitative. An essential professional competency is to read and understand quantitative research and empirical methods. The college requires one statistics course for all masters students as an example of this importance. This expectation of a quantitative, positivistic study relates also to the lack of expertise of master's students in qualitative/ interpretive research, the limited availability of qualitative/ interpretive courses, and the relatively short period of time for master's students to undertake and complete a thesis, rather than to the program faculty's philosophy about qualitative/ interpretive research.
A CSP master's thesis may be original research, or a replication or quasi-replication study. Students may collect their own data for the research study, or may use archival data with permission of the individual or office who "owns" the data. All proposed research, whether using archival data or collecting original data, must have approval of the University's Institutional Review Board prior to proceeding with data collection and data analysis.
A thesis is comprised of five chapters. The first three chapters are the proposal for the thesis and include an introduction to the research, a review of the relevant literature, and the methodology proposed for the study, including limitations which can be identified in advance of the study. Specific guidelines for a thesis are provided in a related document entitled "Dissertation/thesis Proposal Guidelines July 2001." Chapter IV is a presentation of the results of the research. Chapter V is a discussion/ interpretation of the results, relating the findings to previous research and literature and identifying limitations of the study, implications for practice, and recommendations for future research.
A thesis is guided by a three-person faculty committee. Two of the three members must be regular tenured or tenure-track graduate faculty of the University of Maryland (e.g., budgeted full-time faculty). Affiliate faculty can direct a thesis and can serve as the third member of any thesis committee.
Seminar Paper:
A seminar paper in the CSP master's program is the development of a research proposal without conducting the actual research. A seminar paper is comprised of chapters I, II, and III as described for the thesis and in the related document entitled "Dissertation/thesis Proposal Guidelines July 2001." In addition, a CSP seminar paper includes a chapter IV, which is a presentation of hypothetical findings from the proposed study and a discussion of what such findings would mean, how they could be used for practice, what future research might be suggested, and possible limitations of such a study. A seminar paper is directed by a faculty member, usually but not necessarily the student's academic advisor. Examples of titles of recent seminar papers are given in the list below.
Click here for the titles of some recent seminar papers.
Titles of Recent Seminar Papers
The Relationship Between Service-Learning Involvement and Racial Identity Development Among Asian Pacific American College Students: An Exploratory Study (Bessie Chuang, advisor Marylu McEwen)
Relationships of Perceptions of Support to Satisfaction with College and Academic Performance for Black Women at Community Colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Predominantly White Institutions (Rashida Hiba Govan, co-advisors Zina Evans and Marylu McEwen)
The Relationship Between Non-Cognitive Variables and Academic Help-Seeking Behaviors of African-American College Students (Desira B. Holman, advisor Lisa Kiely)
Racial Identity Development and Academic Self-Efficacy Among Gifted Black College Students (Kimberly Hutchinson, advisor Vivian S. Boyd, )
The Relationship Between Parental Attachment and College Student Adjustment Among Asian Pacific American College Students (Jennifer Ann Jimenez Maraña, advisor Marylu McEwen)
Help-seeking Behaviors of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender College Students and the Relationship with Sexual Identity Development (Mark Mason, advisor Greig Stewart)
The Effects of Religious Upbringing and Athletic Participation on Women College Students' Self-Esteem (Amy Sandler, advisor Jim Osteen)
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Exploring the Relationship Between Resident Assistant Leadership Styles and Student Satisfaction in the Residence Halls (Drew Adelman, chair Susan Komives)
The Influence of Spirituality on the Career Development of College Seniors: An Examination of Work Values (Jennifer Dudeck, chair Karen Kurotsuchi Inkelas)
The Relationship of Religiosity, Spirituality, and Alcohol Use Among Jesuit College Students(Vivian Garay, chair Marylu McEwen)
Asian Pacific American Student Attitudes toward African American Students (Irene W. Kao, chair Marylu McEwen)
Post-Graduation Career and Education Plans for Student-Athletes Who Participate in CoCurricular Activities (Steve Mencarini, chair Linda Gast)
Academic Dishonesty: Student and Faculty Perceptions (Ashley Mouberry, chair John Zacker)Distinguishing racial identity between South Asian American and Other Asian Pacific American College Students (Dharma Naik, chair Marylu McEwen)
The Relationship of Upperclass Students Perceived Change in Leadership Traits and Faculty Support (Amanda Suniti Niskode, chair Susan Komives)
The Influence of Living-Learning Programs on the Effect of Alcohol Use by Gender (Nicki Schuessler, chair Patricia Mielke)
