2020 SWAAG Meeting: Student Poster and Paper Competition Guidelines
There will be separate competitions for graduate and undergraduate students and for papers and posters.
Research must have been completed recently, during the author's undergraduate or graduate studies and can include thesis and dissertation topics. At the time of presentation, the applicant must still be a student. Papers and posters must be produced entirely by the applicant; however, thesis and dissertation advisors may be co‐authors on the papers.
The SWAAG Treasurer will appoint a panel of judges composed of members of SWAAG.
Each student who wishes to enter a student competition must submit both a regular abstract on the SWAAG registration website and an extended abstract via email addressed to Dr. Jennifer Koch, SWAAG Treasurer. The extended abstract cannot be more than 500 words in length. Extended abstracts need to indicate whether the entry is for the graduate or undergraduate competition and whether it is for the paper or poster competition. Both the regular and the extended abstracts are due by 5:00 pm CST on 04 November 2020. Late abstracts will not be eligible for the student competitions. Failure to abide by any of these guidelines will also disqualify you from the student competitions.
You must copy your advisor in your email described under 4) and acknowledge in the email body that “My advisor has reviewed this extended abstract and approves its submission for the student competition.” In this email, you must also list your advisor’s name and email address. The SWAAG Treasurer will then send your advisor a link to a form in which they assess your project. This “Advisor’s Form” must be submitted by your advisor by 5:00 pm CST on 06 November 2020. Late advisor forms will not be accepted and failure to submit the advisor form on time will disqualify the student from the student competitions.
The SWAAG Treasurer will send all qualified extended abstracts to the judges. Each judge will have five days to review the extended abstracts and convey his or her ranking of them to the SWAAG Treasurer. Ranking will be based on the following criteria: originality and significance of the research; strength of the problem statement and research objectives/hypotheses/questions; appropriateness of the methodological approach; quality of the results, discussion, and conclusions; depth of engagement with the literature; and clarity of the presentation.
Based on the rankings of the judges, the SWAAG Treasurer will identify up to ten entries as finalists and convey this decision to the SWAAG Meeting Program Committee. Judges must not evaluate entries from their departments. Rankings for students from a judge’s department will be determined based on the remaining judges’ rankings.
Students who are not selected as finalists will present their papers or posters in regular sessions but will not be considered for the student awards.
Students who are selected as finalists will present their papers or posters in special sessions. Judges will attend these special paper and poster sessions and rank the presentations based on the extended abstract criteria listed above as well as the following criteria: Paper: time management; delivery (voice, tone, body language, eye contact, language, attitude, enthusiasm); overall presentation (quality, attitude); and response to questions from the audience. Poster: legibility; writing; use of graphics; overall visual appeal; and student’s engagement with audience.
Following the competition sessions, the SWAAG Treasurer will organize a meeting with the judges to determine the winners of the student paper and poster awards.
Competition winners will receive a cash award and an award certificate. Student awards will be announced and presented during the SWAAG final session on Thursday, 19 November 2020.
SWAAG Student Competitions: Best Graduate Student Paper at a Regional Division Meeting (AAG $1000) Graduate Student Paper Competition: 1st $250, 2nd $100, 3rd $50 Graduate Student Poster Competition: 1st $250, 2nd $100, 3rd $50 Best Undergraduate Presentation at a Regional Division Meeting (AAG $1000) Undergraduate Student Paper Competition: 1st $250, 2nd $100, 3rd $50 Undergraduate Student Poster Competition: 1st $250, 2nd $100, 3rd $50 Individual Geo-Bowl: 1st $250, 2nd $100, 3rd $50 Team Geo-Bowl: Trophy & bragging rights.
