Case Study – Part I

							                                          Linda’s Dilemma
Linda Fisher, an M.A. student in communication, has finished her first year of course work in
communication and is developing her thesis proposal. The chair of her thesis committee is
Professor Henrietta Tern. Linda came to Western in part because she wanted to work with Prof.
Tern and has been happy that Prof. Tern has taken on the role of mentor. Their relationship has
been a good one. Linda’s own methodological ideas and research interests in many ways
resemble those of her mentor, perhaps as a result of having worked with her. But now Linda is
troubled. Professor Tern seems to be directing Linda toward topics that fill in gaps in her own
work, while Linda wants to pursue some different approaches. Professor Tern studies group
dynamics in organizations; her research articles examine various factors influencing effective
decision making. She wants Linda to work on gender differences in how groups process
information, while Linda wants to study the impact of membership changes on bona fide groups.
Linda thinks that she has some important contributions to make to the field and is afraid of
becoming a clone. Having come this far, however, Linda is afraid to rock the boat.

Has Prof. Tern overstepped the limits of a proper relationship between mentor and
student? Has she done enough for Linda within the expectations of that relationship?

Adapted from Case 3 in Penslar, R.L., Ed. (1995). Research ethics: Cases & materials. Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press, 184.


                            Selected resources on mentoring
The Division of Minority Affairs runs a mentor/mentee program that includes a helpful handbook.
Contact Minority Affairs at 387-3323.

The Ronald E. McNair Program also provides a handbook for faculty mentors. Contact Program
Coordinator Wendy Williamson at wendy.williamson@wmich.edu.

The Web site for the Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science at Case Western Reserve
University has links to research ethics cases, including some on mentoring relations:
http://www.onlineethics.org/reseth/scenarios.html.

A web version of handbooks on mentoring developed for faculty and graduate students at the University
of Michigan can be obtained at : http://www.rackham.umich.edu/StudentInfo/Publications/index.html.

A handbook on mentoring that is part of North Carolina State University’s research ethics initiative is
available under “Instructional Modules in Research Ethics” at: http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/Grad/ethics/.

A draft document spelling out graduate students’ rights at Western Michigan University has passed the
Graduate Studies Council and now goes to the Faculty Senate for approval. A copy can be requested from
the Graduate Student Advisory Committee at gsac@wmich.edu.

A handbook was prepared by a study group on mentoring last year as part of the research ethics
fellowship program at WMU. It is available at: