Date: March 10, 2017

To: Theresa Liedtka

Dean of the Library
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
From: Maria Brink
Subject: Proposal for Student Involvement at the library

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to find out whether adding therapy dog sessions to college

libraries will help students lower their stress levels.

Summary

The University of Tennessee both Knoxville and Chattanooga campuses have implemented new

programs to help students relieve stress. One of the programs that they have begun running is the

HABIT therapy dogs. The program allows HABIT trained canines to mingle with students who

are stressed or just want a break from studying.

Introduction

During final exams at The University of Tennessee, students at campus have one thing in

common, stress. Stress is caused by the exams, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and worry.

Managing stress is something that students may find very difficult and allow it to take over them.

At UTC, the librarians have decided to introduce a new type of stress relief, dogs. The University

of Tennessee at Knoxville introduced a program into the school called Human-Animal Bond In

Tennessee or H.A.B.I.T. for short. Their program is to help establish a valuable bond between

animals and people. The program targets nursing homes, hospitals, and college students.
The library at UTC is full of books, studying students, and helpful librarians. The librarians at

UTC work to make studying a more attractive yet fun thing. The librarians heard that The

University of Tennessee at Knoxville used the H.A.B.I.T. program to ease the stress of students

and decided to try it at their campus. Bringing the H.A.B.I.T. program to UTC has already

happened. I am going to investigate whether it helps with stress.

Annotated Bibliography

Castellano, Jill. Pet Therapy is a Nearly Cost-. n.d.

Pet Therapy is a Nearly Cost-Free Anxiety Reducer On College
Campuses. 6 July 2015. 5 March 2017.
The article will be used as a basis for gathering information as to why a
university would or would not use dogs as therapy for stressed out students.
The article explains the costs that a student or university would
incur. Those numbers will help so that I am able to include numbers into
my report. The author uses a standard pie graph to highlight various
cost as well as a pro/con to bringing dogs to campus. The author is a grad
student who is studying interactions between humans and animals.

Dreyfuss, Anne. "VCU study finds college students feel less stress prior to
exams after visits with therapy dogs." 15 March 2016. Virginia College.
5 March 2017.
This article goes hand in hand with my research. It has various survey
questions that will give me ideas on just how to approach creating my
questions for research. The article has an in-depth explanation regarding
animals and the benefits that they impose onto
college aged students.

Wallace, Anthony. "Dog Time." 17 March 2015. "Puppy Rooms" to stressed

out students. 7 March 2017. <http://dogtime.com/trending/16765-
puppy-room-to-help-stressed-out-college-students>.
This article is a great source because it is based on the author's
research into his own school. The article contains valuable information
about how stress leads to lower grades and how in the long run, it
hurts universities. I am using this article due to the authors first-hand
experience in owning a dog and allowing his friends to spend time with his
dog before testing.

Proposed program

With the approval of Mrs. Liedtka, I would like to complete the following tasks to create the
most information for my proposal so that I can have a well-established research project.

Task 1. Meet with librarian

For me to begin my research, I will need to meet with a Mrs. Liedkta to discuss the H.A.B.I.T

program that UTC offers to the students. I will need to do more research within the H.A.B.I.T.

program to fully understand their goals and missions.

I have begun to find articles to help me attain information about the H.A.B.I.T. program. I plan to

use that information to have a face to face conversation with Mrs. Liedkta. To be successful with

my research, I will take the time to write down the pros and cons about bringing dogs into the

library and their effect on students. I am

Task 2. From focus group

I want to make sure that I fully understand if students have less stress from the H.A.B.I.T.

program. I am going to create a focus group of 15-25 individuals so that I can one on one with

them and discuss the H.A.B.I.T. program. Their answers will be included in my research so I can

review and develop my report.

Task 3. Survey

To find out whether the H.A.B.I.T. program helps students with stress or not, I will create a ten-

question survey. I will send it through email to the library dean and ask that it is sent to every

student. I will entail that the survey is voluntary and it will take less that 5 minutes to complete. I

am going to use the quantitative Likert scale to evaluate the responses effectively.

Task 4. Analyze data

After gathering all my data and responses, I will begin to analyze the data. I want to look at if

students thought that the program has helped them in the past as well if they see it as a good

program or not. My data analysis will allow me to begin my final step, finalizing my report.
 Task 5. Finalize report

I am going to compile my findings and create a report that will be posted at the UTC Library

website so anyone can review my findings. I want to have time that allows others to review my

work and direct me to the revision process. I will revise and finalize my report so the university

can use my findings to decide if the stress levels of students can be affected by this program.

Qualifications/personnel

I,
Tasks Dates of tasks (by week)
Meet with librarians
Form focus group

Survey

Analyze data

Finalize report

13 20 1 8 15 22 9 `6
March April May

Figure 1.
Maria Brink, will be leading this research project. I have previously researched the effects of

animals on humans and presented it to Honors Science Club at The University of Tennessee at

Knoxville. I am a Junior and have a been a member of the FFA for over 5 years.

I have worked with various organizations around Lawrenceburg, TN to establish a animal

interaction with school aged students to help with productivity. I currently am still involved with

that research.

Schedule

Figure 1 is the schedule that depicts what tasks will be completed on a weekly basis.
 Budget

Currently, this research will be done without a budget since I will not need any money to

complete the research. The budget is set at $0.00. There are no costs that are foreseen at this

moment;