Call for Nominations: Division C 2018 Graduate Student Research Excellence Award

Deadline: January 20, 2018

Division C of AERA invites current and recent graduate students to submit papers (a journal length empirical study) for the 2017 Division C Graduate Student Research Excellence Award. This award represents Division C’s continuing efforts to promote and support the professional development of its graduate students and to recognize excellence in graduate student research. The award winner will be recognized at the division’s annual business meeting at the AERA conference in San Antonio, TX and will receive a stipend of $500 and a commemorative plaque.

To be eligible for the award:

1) papers must already be officially accepted by Division C for presentation at the 2016 or 2017 AERA annual meeting in Washington, D.C. or San Antonio, TX;

2) research must have been conducted while nominees were graduate students in 2015 or 2016; 3) the candidate must have been the primary researcher and, if a paper is co-authored, the candidate must be the first author: and

4) the candidate must be a member of Division C.

The following criteria guide paper award selection:
* importance of the problem,
* relation of the study to previous work in the field,
* clearly stated research questions or hypotheses,
* appropriateness of the methodology (e.g., sampling procedure, study procedures employed),
* appropriateness of the analysis(es) conducted,
* clear interpretations of the study results,
* acknowledgment of study limitations,
* clear description of the importance of the study findings
* and formatting adheres to APA style, 6th Edition

To submit a paper for consideration, please assemble and submit the following materials electronically (only electronic submissions will be accepted):

1) SEPARATE COVER SHEET: A cover sheet as a separate document that includes: 1) paper title, 2) author’s/authors’ name(s), and 3) first author’s address, phone, and email.

2) PAPER: Include the presentation paper prepared for blind review (as a .pdf file), following APA 6th Edition style guidelines. Papers must not be more than 30 pages double-spaced, including text, tables, and figures, but excluding references and appendices. Papers exceeding the maximum page length will be disqualified.

3) RESEARCH ADVISOR/MENTOR LETTER: A brief letter as a separate document from the research advisor/mentor acknowledging that the author was the primary researcher, that the student’s research was conducted in 2015 or 2016, and that the student is a member of Division C. (The academic advisor/mentor may send this letter separately by email or as a .pdf attachment.)

4) AERA, DIVISION C ACCEPTANCE LETTER: An electronic copy of the AERA, Division C acceptance letter for the April 2016 annual meeting in Washington, D.C. or 2017 annual meeting in San Antonio, TX

5) Please send all electronic materials by email to Rayne Sperling (rsd7@psu.edu) with the header “Grad Student Award.” Deadline for paper submissions is Friday, January 20, 2017.

Please forward any questions about the award or the nomination process to this year’s chair, Dr. Rayne Sperling (rsd7@psu.edu)