Exemplary Research Award

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Each year the Carl B. Ylvisaker Library recognizes excellent student research with our Exemplary Research Award. The award consists of 2 categories:

  • Research Paper
  • Multimodal Composition - include combinations of text, images, motion, or audio presentations. Posters, videos, and websites are just some examples of a multimodal composition. 

A $500 award will be presented to the student or students who submit the best project in each category. The winning project in each category is announced each year at the Celebration of Student Scholarship (COSS). Selected essays are included in New Voices and Concordia’s digital archives. 

Award Criteria

  • Applicants must be currently enrolled sophomores, juniors, and seniors at Concordia College.
  • Submitted academic papers or compositions must have been completed during the sophomore, junior or senior year in conjunction with coursework at Concordia College.
  • If group work is submitted, all students who originally submitted the paper must be included. 
  • Group submissions will split the $500 prize equally. 
  • A complete application portfolio will include the original academic paper or composition, an annotated bibliography and a research process essay.
  • A complete application portfolio will be submitted online by the application deadline.

Applicants may chose the Research Paper OR Multimodal Composition option:

  • The successful applicant or applicants will submit a library research-based academic paper or a multimodal composition with a complete bibliography that exemplifies thoughtful, reflective attention to the research process.
  • The cited sources should be gathered from both primary and secondary literature and should reflect appropriate use of library research tools.
  • Information from these sources should be integrated with the applicant's original thoughts in a logical manner that substantiates claims and arguments or provides context.
  • Papers or Compositions should incorporate a minimum of five information sources that are appropriate for the discipline and subject matter of the research paper.
  • Each source must be cited correctly according to the rules of the citation style selected for the paper or composition.

 

The successful applicant or applicants will submit annotations for three to five of the best sources used in the paper.

  • Each selected source must be cited correctly according to the rules of the documentation style selected for the paper.
  • Annotations should include an original summary that demonstrates an understanding of the author’s intent, argument, and purpose of the source.

If you have questions about preparing an annotated bibliography, this document provides basic information.

The research process essay should reveal an understanding of the research process and demonstrate significant personal knowledge of methods of research and inquiry.

  • The essay should describe specific library tools used, search strategies employed, and resources consulted. Examples include library databases, initial search terms, and additional terms discovered. The essay should evaluate how resources and strategies were or were not successful.
  • The essay should demonstrate how information from a variety of sources were brought together to substantiate the author’s claims. 
  • It should acknowledge sources that provided a contradictory position, and describe how that information informed a revised hypothesis or led to further inquiry.
  • The essay should acknowledge the importance of the ethical use of information (e.g. describes the importance of citing sources, details the ways in which sources are incorporated and documented, etc.).

Evidence of these reflections must be apparent in the research paper.

 

View the research paper evaluation rubric.

View the multimodal composition evaluation rubric.

Apply

Applications are open now and can be accessed here. The deadline for applications is March 26, 2021.