The Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) is now accepting proposals for its 2012 Methodology Paper Competition, sponsored by Dialog. The purpose of this award is to stimulate communication on research methodologies at ALISE annual conferences.
The competition is open to all types of methodology. Papers must be limited to description and discussion of a research method or a technique associated with a particular research method. (For example, papers may address such areas as sampling, grounded theory, historical methods, or statistical methods.) Papers must explain the particular method/technique, including methodological implications for library and information science. Examples to illustrate its value can come from LIS-related published studies, proposed studies, and works in progress. Papers that stress findings are not eligible for this competition.
One winning paper will be selected. An honorarium of $500 will be awarded to the author(s). In cases of joint authorship, one honorarium will be awarded for the paper. Methodology papers prepared by joint authors are eligible for entry but at least one author must be a personal member of ALISE as of the deadline date.
Only one methodology paper per entrant will be considered; multiple entries from the same author will not be accepted. Authors may submit papers for other ALISE competitions; however, the same paper cannot be submitted for more than one category.
Authors may not submit papers that have been published or have been accepted for publication. Authors who have won this award within the past five years are ineligible for this competition.
Papers submitted to this competition can originate from a variety of different sources and applicants are encouraged to develop such papers from their research. Methodology papers completed in pursuit of master’s and doctoral studies (e.g. thesis, seminars, dissertation, course work paper) are eligible, as are papers generated as a result of a research grant or other source of funding.
Submission Requirements
Papers, including the abstract and references, must not exceed 25 double-spaced pages (6,000 words), should have one inch margins and be in 12 point font.Two title pages must be sent: One with, and one without, author name(s) and institution. Both title pages must carry the name of the competition for which the paper is being submitted.
Judging
The papers will be judged by the ALISE Research Committee with the assistance of additional ALISE members in those cases where the methodology warrants. All reviewing is “blind.” Methodology papers will be judged on the following criteria:
-Description of the method or technique
-Explanation of methodological implications of the method/technique for LIS
-Examples of actual or potential applications to library and information science research or studies in related fields (i.e., from published studies, proposed studies, and work in progress)
-Appropriateness of the examples to the paper’s focus on method/technique
-Clarity in the writing and in the paper’s organization
Proposals will be disqualified if they exhibit one or more of the following:
-Lack of adherence to submission requirements
-Submission of paper for the wrong award
-Poor quality of the writing
-Poor organization of material
-Lack of attention to study design
The committee reserves the right to select no winning paper if, in its judgment, none of the papers is considered satisfactory.
The winners of the awards are expected to present a summary of their papers at the 2012 ALISE Annual Conference.
The methodology paper, including an abstract of no more than 200 words, must be received no later than July 15, 2011. It should be
emailed as a Word attachment to:
Pam McKenzie pmckenzi@uwo.ca
The University of Western Ontario
Chair, Dialog/ALISE Methodology Paper Competition
For more details, please see http://www.alise.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=55542