About the Awards

Two Research Awards of $200 each will be awarded yearly. These awards were created to highlight the value of good research techniques, reward scholarly research that develops a thoughtful and methodical approach to the research process, and demonstrate how scholarly research develops the critical thinking, reading, writing and speaking skills that are an integral part of a liberal arts education. The awards are given in memory of our much-missed library director, Dr. James J. Kopp, who taught in the Core program for many years and was an impassioned researcher and scholar in his own right.

Evaluation Criteria

The Research Awards will be open to projects 1) produced in the second semester of Exploration and Discovery and 2) satisfying the evaluation criteria (below). Successful candidate projects will:

• Make explicit and significant use of library research resources, services and collections.
• Demonstrate an ability to identify, locate, select, evaluate, and synthesize information from scholarly research resources.
• Evince explicit critical methods of research and inquiry.

The evaluation committee will consider overall quality and whether and to what degree a project fulfills the above criteria. Research projects may include a wide diversity of methods, topics, genre and approaches. For example, projects may incorporate not only written but oral work, posters, and digital media. The committee may evaluate both single projects and portfolios.

Timeline

Completed applications are due Saturday May 18, 2013. The optional Faculty Letter of Support is due on Friday May 31, 2013. The evaluation committee, consisting of two librarians and two faculty members, will evaluate the submitted work during the summer. Winners will be notified and an awards reception will take place in the 2013-14 academic year.

Publicity, Award Display and Archive

The Library will promote the award on its website, in instruction sessions in E&D classes and in communication with faculty teaching E&D. Watzek Library may put the winning entry on display in the Library, and may also add a digital copy to the library collection and make it available online. Electronic access to the project will be restricted to current students, faculty and staff of Lewis & Clark College.

Application Instructions

First-year students must apply online via the library website http://library.lclark.edu/reference/researchaward/

Required application materials must be received by Saturday, May 18 and include:

• The application form
• The Research Paper and Research Summary that describes the applicant's library research process and how the paper or project meets the evaluation criteria. Please submit both in pdf format.
• Research Paper/Project digital copy, EITHER
  

  a. A digital copy of the Research Paper/Project uploaded online. The online application form will allow upload of Word or PDF documents.
  OR
  b. Digital copies of the Research Project hand-delivered to the Watzek Library Circulation Desk. If the project is not a reproducible as a PDF or a Word doc, please submit via DVD or CD the audio and/or video and/or images that will serve as a copy of the project. We will need 4 (four) copies of the disc(s). Please label each with the following information: Watzek Library First-Year Research Award, Applicant name, Paper/project title, Applicant email, Applicant phone number. Missing or inadequate labeling may result in lost materials and/or disqualification.

• Permission to display the winning paper or project in the library and also to add a copy of it to the Library Collections and make it available online. Electronic access to the project will be restricted to current students, faculty and staff of Lewis & Clark College.
• Optional: Additionally, applicants are encouraged (but not required) to solicit a Faculty Letter of Support from their E&D instructor. Applicants should discuss this with their instructors beforehand and may elect, during the online application process, to have an email sent to their instructor that will invite them to submit the letter of support.

Contact

Questions or comments regarding the James J Kopp First-Year Research Award may be directed to either:

Kate Rubick, Instruction Services Librarian Aubrey R Watzek Library 503-768-7338

Dan Kelley, Faculty Outreach Coordinator Aubrey R Watzek Library 503-768-7338