ICPSR Undergraduate Research Paper Competition

ICPSR is offering two research paper competitions for undergraduates and one for master's students in 2010. ICPSR invites undergraduate and master's papers analyzing any dataset(s) in the ICPSR archive or its Thematic Collections. The other competition, sponsored by the Research Center for Minority Data (RCMD), solicits papers addressing issues relevant to minorities in the United States, including immigrants. These papers must draw on data in the RCMD archive.

The awards are:

ICPSR Competition for Undergraduates - First prize-$1,000, Second prize-$750, and Third prize-$500.
ICPSR Competition for Master's students - First prize - $1,000 and Second prize-$750.
RCMD Competition for Undergraduates - First prize - $1,000 and Second prize - $750.
Rules
Originality. Each paper must be an original analysis and must be the author's own work. Papers previously published are not eligible.

Data. The paper must analyze data held in the ICPSR archive or one of the Thematic Collections. Students may use a dataset accessed from another source as long as ICPSR also holds a copy of the same dataset.

Authors. All undergraduates and master's students at ICPSR member institutions are eligible. The competition is open to both U.S. and non-U.S. students. The Undergraduate Competition is open to all students who are currently pursuing an undergraduate degree and those students who have recently graduated. The Master's Competition is open to all students who are currently pursuing a master's degree and those students who have recently graduated with a master's degree. Students who graduated before April 1, 2009 are not eligible.

Work Product. The paper submitted to the Undergraduate Competition shall be the product of work towards completion of an undergraduate degree. The paper submitted to the Master's Competition shall be the product of work towards completion of a master's degree.

Coauthors. Papers written by more than one student are permitted. Coauthored or multiple authored winners will share the specified monetary awards. Papers coauthored with faculty are not eligible.

One submission. Students may submit only one paper, whether as sole author or one of the coauthors.

One competition. Students may enter only one competition.

Deadline. All papers must be submitted by January 31, 2010.

Awards
Awards will be announced in April 2010.

Cash prizes will be awarded in each competition as described above.

The first-place papers will be published in the ICPSR Bulletin and on the ICPSR Web site.

Each winner will receive a plaque and certificate in recognition of the award. Letters of achievement will be written to the student, and to the faculty, departments, and deans at the student's institution, upon request.

Judging
Panels. Papers will be judged by panels of at least three judges drawn from the ICPSR staff and member institutions. The number of judges depends on the number of submissions reviewed.

Criteria. Papers will be judged according to scholarly criteria including statement of purpose, thesis development, quality of analysis, and supporting documentation.

Anonymity. The judges will not know the student's name or school.

Preparation Guidelines
The paper must be written in English and adhere to the following guidelines:

Length. The paper should be no longer than 20 pages for undergraduate entries, and up to 30 pages for master's entries. Both page limits include all charts/graphs, references, and any appendices.

Appearance

Font should be Times New Roman - point size 12
Margins of 1 inch (2.5 cm) all around
Double spacing

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/prize/index.jsp;jsessionid=A84DC25C02B02E6A2472FF5284C755B5