The MPACT Project
The MPACT Project is an ongoing project devoted to defining and assessing
Mentoring as a scholarly activity. Based at the School of Information and Library
Science's Interaction Design Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, the project's current focus is collecting data on dissertations and
dissertation committee service. We invite participation of others to augment the
MPACT database and develop new MPACT metrics and theory.
Publications
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Terrell G. Russell, Cassidy R. Sugimoto (2009). MPACT Family Trees: Quantifying academic genealogy in library and information science. Journal of Education for Library & Information Science, 50(4), 248-262.
Abstract: Academic genealogy is valuable because it provides context, history and has the potential to predict future trends in a particular discipline or field. However, it is most commonly done casually and without the rigor to provide a platform for discussion beyond the anecdote. This paper presents a novel technique for calculating genealogical scores for individuals and academic "families." This data-driven technique provides a platform for greater contextualization and insight into an academic's legacy. Implemented widely, this technique could provide significant insight into mentorship as a valued addition to the traditional academic metrics of teaching, scholarship, and service.
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Cassidy R. Sugimoto, Terrell G. Russell, Sheryl Grant (2009). Library and Information Science Doctoral Education: The Landscape from 1930-2007. Journal of Education for Library & Information Science, 50(3), 190-202.
Abstract: To anticipate future trends for doctoral education in library and information science (LIS), we examine the historical progression and current landscape of doctoral degree programs in the United States and Canada. By providing a comprehensive rendering of the history and current state of LIS doctoral education, this work provides data not previously available. Data for this work comes from MPACT, a database that provides listings of 3,014 LIS dissertations conferred by 38 ALA-accredited schools between 1930 and 2007. This work discusses degrees offered and focuses on changes in the landscape within the last ten years, in addition to an evaluation of schools that produce future faculty for ALISE institutions. Results confirm the health and activity of LIS doctoral programs in North America.
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Terrell G. Russell, Cassidy R. Sugimoto (2009). MPACT Family Trees: Quantifying academic genealogy in library and information science. ALISE. Denver, CO. Jan 2009. Winner of the 2009 ALISE Best Paper Award.
Abstract: Academic genealogy is valuable because it provides context, history and has the potential to predict future trends in the field. However, it is most commonly done casually and without the rigor to provide a platform for discussion beyond the anecdote. This paper presents a novel technique for calculating genealogical scores for individuals and academic "families." This data-driven technique provides a platform for greater contextualization and insight into an academic's legacy.
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Cassidy R. Sugimoto, Terrell G. Russell, Lokman I. Meho, Gary Marchionini (2008). MPACT and Citation Impact: Two Sides of the Same Scholarly Coin? Library & Information Science Research, 30(4), 273-281.
Abstract: This article provides the first comparison of citation counts and mentoring impact (MPACT) indicators - indicators that serve to quantify the process of doctoral mentoring. Using a dataset of 120 library and information science (LIS) faculty members in North America, this article examines the correlation between MPACT indicators and citation counts. Results suggest that MPACT indicators measure something distinct from citation counts. The article discusses these distinctions, with emphasis on differences between faculty ranks. It considers possible explanations for weak correlations between citations and mentoring at the full professor rank as well as implications for faculty activity analysis and broader institutional evolution.
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Gary Marchionini, Paul Solomon, Cheryl Davis and Terrell Russell. Information and library science MPACT: A preliminary analysis. Library & Information Science Research, Volume 28, Issue 4, Winter 2006, Pages 480-500. Winner of the 2007 ALA Jesse H. Shera Award for Distinguished Published Research.
Abstract: Dissertation advising is an important form of mentoring. To investigate the impact of dissertation advising over time, advisor and committee member names were collected for 2400 dissertations completed over a 40-year period (1964-2004) in 32 North American information and library science schools. Several mentoring impact metrics are reported for a subset of the data, including the number of dissertations advised, the number of dissertation committees served on, the ratio of advising to committee membership, and the fractional "mpact" that weights advising and committee membership. The subset consists of data for six schools that produced at least three dozen dissertations and for which complete data is available. The data and resulting "mpact" metrics offer new ways to assess faculty impact and to investigate the nature and growth of a field.
Related/Derivative Work
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Yong-Mi Kim. A Preliminary Social Network Analysis of MPACT. Poster. ASIS&T 2007. Milwaukee, WI.
Abstract: A preliminary social network analysis of the MPACT dataset is presented. The current MPACT measures only take into account direct advising or committee relationships. But a mentor may also have indirect impact in the productivity of a mentor's direct mentees. Proximity prestige is examined as one such measure. Visualization of mentoring networks can also uncover different facets of mentoring impact. This short paper presents work currently in progress.
Presentations
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Terrell Russell. MPACT Family Trees: Quantifying academic genealogy in library and information science. Presentation at ALISE. Jan. 22, 2009. Denver, CO. (Slides - pdf - 724kB)
The MPACT Project is given a quick overview and status report, followed by a proposal for seven new metrics for quantifying academic genealogy — A, A+C, T, D, G, W, and TA. These allow for insight into an individual's influence on a discipline, disciplinary lines of inquiry, and cultural shifts in research and mentoring practices over time.
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Terrell Russell. MPACT at CNI - Identity in Scholarly Discourse. Presentation. Feb. 25, 2008. Washington, D.C. (Slides - pdf - 139kB)
MPACT was presented as a first-wave project dealing with the mapping of identities in scholarly discourse. While other representatives presented their systems with millions of records, MPACT shows how leveraging this new type of dataset is possible. With shared and linked data, the type of synthesis and analysis that MPACT is working on may go even faster.
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