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2009 ICPSR Undergraduate Research Paper Competition

ICPSR is sponsoring two undergraduate research paper competitions in 2009. The first competition, sponsored by the general archive at ICPSR, requires a research paper supported by quantitative analysis of any dataset(s) held within the ICPSR archive or any of its special topic archives.

The second competition is sponsored by the Minority Data Resource Center (MDRC). The paper must address issues relevant to underrepresented minorities in the United States including immigrants, and data must be drawn from the MDRC. A separate committee will be formed to judge this competition.

With the exception of the dataset and topic requirements, the competitions are identical in awards, eligibility, and preparation requirements as described below. Students will indicate which competition they are entering on the Application/Publication Release form.

Purpose & Objective

The purpose of the competition is to highlight the best undergraduate student research papers using quantitative data.

The objective is to encourage undergraduates to explore the social sciences by means of critical analysis of a topic supported by quantitative analysis of a dataset(s) held within the ICPSR archive and presented in written form.

Awards

  • Up to three cash prizes will be awarded for each competition. The winners of the ICPSR and MDRC Undergraduate Paper Competitions will each receive a monetary award of $1,000. Second place receives $750 and third place $500.

  • Each winner will receive a plaque (one per paper) and a certificate (one per author) in recognition of the award.

  • On request, ICPSR will provide letters of achievement to the student and to faculty, departments, or deans at the student's institution.

  • The first place papers will be published in ICPSR's Bulletin and all winning papers will be published on the ICPSR Web site.

  • Coauthored or multiple authored winners will share the specified monetary awards.

Competition Timetable

  • Deadline for submission of paper/package (May 31, 2009)

  • Notification of finalists (July 2009)

  • Publication of papers on ICPSR Web site (August 2009)

  • Prizes awarded date (September 15, 2009 - or first business day after)

  • Publication of first place paper in Spring ICPSR Bulletin (Spring 2010)

Eligibility

  • Only students currently or previously enrolled at or sponsored by ICPSR Member Institutions are eligible to participate. The Member Institution must be in good standing. The competition is open to both US and non-US (international) students at US and non-US member institutions.

  • Students must have completed the paper while actively enrolled (part- or full-time) in undergraduate study. Students who have graduated with a bachelor's degree prior to January 1, 2008 are NOT eligible to participate.

  • There is no limit to the number of undergraduates that may submit papers from one member institution.

  • Each student is limited to ONE paper submission, whether the student submits the paper as the sole author or as part of a group of a multi-authored paper.

  • Students must select only ONE competition for entry for the academic year - either the general ICPSR competition or the MDRC competition - and indicate so on the Application/Publication Release form. If you have any questions about whether a paper topic is eligible for the MDRC competition, please contact Felicia LeClere, Director Minority Data Resource Center at fleclere@umich.edu.

  • The paper must be an original composition developed by the author(s). Submission of the paper to the ICPSR competition does not preclude the author(s) from submitting the content to other competitions; however, the paper must not have been published or copyrighted previously.

  • Paper submissions that are not prepared as directed and/or do not arrive as instructed will not be eligible for judging. Due to the quantity of submissions received, ICPSR will not contact authors to request missing materials or to request reformatting of contents. All materials must arrive in one package on or before the May 31, 2009 deadline outlined above.

Preparation Guidelines/Rules

The paper must adhere to the following guidelines:

  • The paper should not exceed 30 (8.5 x 11) pages in length, including charts/graphs, table of contents and any appendices.

    • Font should be Times New Roman - point size 12

    • Margins of 1 inch (2.5 cm) all around

    • Single spacing

    • Include a table of contents

    • Charts/graphs are to be inserted within the text of the document close to where the exhibit is mentioned in the text

    • Chart/graphs should be 'stylized'; that is, exhibits should be developed, formatted and inserted into the document appropriately - cutting and pasting direct output from statistical software into the document is not satisfactory

    • The paper must be submitted in English

    • All datasets and publications used to support the paper must be properly cited; see ICPSR's guidelines for Citing Electronic Data Files; see American Psychological Association Bilbiographic Style, 5th Edition (PDF 128K) or MLA Bibliographic Style, 5th Edition, 2001 (PDF 116K) for guides on citing publications.

  • An ABSTRACT of no more than 150 words must also be submitted on a page by itself - the abstract page is not included in the page count above. The abstract should be found on the second page of the paper document prior to the table of contents and labeled accordingly.

  • The TITLE PAGE must include the author's name, institutional affiliation, expected degree title and graduation date (month/year) and email address.

    • The FOOTER of the paper should contain page numbers and the title of the paper. Headers/footers must NOT include the author(s)' names or their affiliated institutions to ensure an anonymous review of papers by judges.

  • Only papers written while the author(s) is an undergraduate student or affiliate at the member institution are eligible for participation.

  • Papers must include an original analysis of a dataset(s) currently held within the ICPSR archive or one of its topical archives.

    • Students may use a dataset they accessed from another source other than ICPSR provided ICPSR holds a copy of the same dataset - an example is the General Social Survey

  • The paper must be an original rendering from the author(s) and must properly cite supporting datasets or articles/reports in footnotes or a bibliography.

  • All papers should be submitted electronically along with application/publication release form to the following address:

    Electronic Submission to: undergradpaper@icpsr.umich.edu

    Email submissions must include the title "ICPSR Undergraduate Paper Competition - LAST NAME" where the LAST NAME is the lead author's last name (one last name for multi-authored papers) in the Subject Line.

    The content of the email must also include:

    Student/Author Name(s):
    Email Address:
    Telephone Contact:
    School Affiliation:
    Title of Paper:

    The attached paper must be in Word or PDF format. Please submit only one attached file that incorporates all sections of the paper (in addition to the application/publication release form).

    (Note that winners will be asked to submit all documents in Microsoft Word for publication purposes.)

  • Electronic submissions must be received by midnight Pacific Standard Time, May 31, 2009.

  • For information and questions, please contact shodge@umich.edu

  • The application/publication release form (DOC 68K) may be downloaded from the ICPSR website.

  • A complete submission includes the research paper and the application/publication release form in ONE email. You must copy the mentor listed in the application form and any co-authors listed on page 4 of the application form.

  • Once all materials have been received successfully, a confirmation email will be sent to the student author(s) and the academic advisor/mentor listed on the application form. The ICPSR Official Representative at the institution may also be copied on the confirmation email.

  • Note that after the award of the three winners, ICPSR will only retain electronic copies of the winning authors' papers and application/publication release forms. All other submissions will not be retained.

Judging Criteria

A panel of judges will review all eligible papers anonymously; that is, the student name and institution will not be shared with the judges during the review process. The judges will utilize standard scholarly criteria including thesis development and purpose of the paper, supporting arguments for the position, and links to the conclusions. The abstract will also be included in the review.

  • Paper topics can cover a broad array in the social sciences but must include analysis of a dataset currently held within the ICPSR archive or one of its topical archives.

  • There will be a minimum of three judges consisting of ICPSR staff and faculty from ICPSR member institutions or affiliates. The number of judges may vary depending upon the quantity of submissions received.

Promotional Materials

ICPSR encourages the early promotion of this competition. Please share the materials below with your campus community.

  • The student flyer (PDF 1.2MB) is appropriate for sharing and posting to make student authors aware of the competition.

  • The faculty flyer (PDF 1.2MB) is appropriate for sharing with teaching faculty who may be aware of papers suitable for submission.

Application/Publication Release Form

The application/publication release form is found below. The form should be edited electronically. Please see the file naming instructions on the form.

2008 Award Winners

Congratulations to the 2008 ICPSR & MDRC Undergraduate Research Paper Competition award winners! The winners, abstracts, and full text are found on the 2008 Award Winners page.

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