2008 West Lakes Meeting of the Association of American Geographers: Student Paper Competition

DETAILS ON 2008 STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION

At the 2008 meeting in Bloomington, Indiana, the West Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers (WLDAAG) will award a maximum of $1000 as prize money to undergraduate and graduate students as part of the student paper presentation competition:

·         Best paper (Ph.D. student) $350

(runner-up) $150

·         Best paper (M.A./M.S. student) $200

(runner-up) $100

·         Best paper (Undergraduate) $125

(runner-up) $ 75

The procedures for the assessment of student paper presentations area outlined below:

1)      At the time of registration, student participants at undergraduate, M.A./M.S. and Ph.D. levels should indicate their intent to participate in the WLDAAG Student Paper Presentation Competition. Students will not be required to submit a formal paper. Competition judging will be based (see below) on the quality of the public presentation of research.

2)      Each student paper presentation shall be reviewed by at least two least judges.

3)      Paper presentations will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

a.       Organization of the presentation

b.      Clarity of the presentation including graphics (if applicable)

c.       Significance of the research

d.      Ability to respond to questions

4)      Student presenters shall receive a score between 5 and 10 on each of the criteria above, for a total score between 20 and 40 points.

5)      For each student participating in the competition, scores from judges reviewing the presentation shall be summed and averaged.

6)      A Student Paper Presentation Panel, comprised of the competition judges, shall have the responsibility for tallying these scores and selecting prize recipients as specified below.

7)      At each level (undergraduate, M.A./M.S., Ph.D.), the student receiving the highest average score shall receive the “ Best Paper” award; the student attaining the second highest average score will be awarded runner-up. In the event of a tie of two or more students, the panel shall have the discretion to allocate prize monies equally to two (or more) students.

8)      In the event that the WLDAAG student paper presentation competition does not receive sufficient applications during a given year or the quality of student presentations is not deemed “meritorious” by student paper presentation judges, the panel shall have the discretion to refrain from awarding some or all of the allocated prize monies.