ALISE/Bohdan S. Wynar Research Paper Competition

Previous Winners

(DEADLINE - July 15, 2010)

The Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) is now accepting proposals for its 2011 Research Paper Competition. The purpose of this award is to further stimulate the communication of research at ALISE annual meetings. Research papers concerning any aspect of library and information science are eligible. This competition is not limited to research regarding LIS education. Any research methodology is acceptable. Up to two winning papers may be selected; an honorarium of $2500 will be awarded to the author(s) of each paper. In cases of joint authorship, one honorarium will be awarded for the paper. At least one applicant in a group must be a personal member of ALISE as of the deadline date.

Only one research paper will be considered from each entrant; multiple entries by the same author will not be accepted. The same author may submit for both the Research Grant Award and the Research Papers Competition; however, the same work cannot be submitted for both categories.

1. Papers must represent completed research not previously published. However, the manuscript may have been submitted and be in process for publication.
2. Papers, including abstract and references, must not exceed 35 double-spaced pages (approximately 10,000 words), should have one inch margins and be in 12 point font.
3. Research papers completed in the pursuit of master's and doctoral studies (e.g. theses, seminar papers, and dissertations) are not eligible for entry. Research utilizing data gathered by a master's or doctoral student is eligible unless the research report is taken directly from a paper submitted for degree requirements. Papers which are spin-offs of such research are eligible for entry.
4. Papers generated as a result of a research grant or other source of funding are eligible for the competition.
5. Two title pages must be sent. One with, and one without, author names(s) and institution. Both title pages should carry the name of the competition for which the paper is being submitted.

Judging

The papers will be judged by the Research Committee with the assistance of additional ALISE members in those cases where the research topic or methodology warrant. All reviewing is blind. Research papers will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Significance of the research problem.
2. Presentation of the relevant literature.
3. Design of the study (i.e., appropriateness of methodology, selection of specific techniques and/or tests).
4. Conduct of the study (i.e., application of methods of data collection).
5. Analysis and presentation of the data (i.e., quality of analysis, logic of findings).
6. Appropriateness of the conclusions.

Papers will be disqualified if they exhibit one or more of the following:

Lack of adherence to submission requirements
Submission of paper for the wrong award
Poor quality in the writing
Poor organization of material

The winner(s) of the award are expected to present a summary of their paper at the 2011 ALISE annual meeting.

Papers must be received no later than July 15, 2010. They should be emailed as an attachment in Word format to

Claudia Gollop

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Chair, ALISE/Bohdan S. Wynar Research Paper Competition

Previous Winners