Research Week 2022 Submission Guidelines

The portal for abstract submission will open on Nov. 1, 2021, and will close on Feb. 25, 2022. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance three weeks after the submission of their final presentation product.

Abstract submissions have a size limit of 10MB and the only file types that are accepted are Word, PPT, and PDF.

The final products (poster presentations, oral presentations, 3MT presentation slides, program notes, script/score, performance review, list of equipment, digital images, research notes, and/or entry information) will be due on March 16, 2022.

For more questions and guidance on Research Week, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions.

Abstract Submissions

Submissions will be accepted from both residential and online students (graduate or undergraduate) with the approval of a faculty sponsor (required). The approval process for your self-selected faculty sponsor is embedded in the submission portal which will be available here when the call for submissions opens. Students must submit an abstract using the abstract template through the Research Week submission portal for all presentations. Researchers may compete in the physical or online poster, oral, three-minute thesis, juried art, and/or performing arts presentations as detailed here:

Physical Poster Presentation (Residential or Online Students)

Print poster presentations must conform to the poster presentation guidelines for graduate students and undergraduates. Please follow the templates provided. Please choose landscape orientation or portrait orientation and review the information on how to cite images in your final presentations. Students must be physically present to compete. Please be prepared to select one of the following five research subtypes when submitting your proposals (descriptions below):

• Basic
• Applied
• Theoretical Proposal
• Textual or Investigative
• Creative and Artistic

A Remote Oral Presentation (Online Students)

Remote presenters must have access to these technological requirements. PowerPoint presentations must be created following the oral presentation guidelines using any of these 16×9 PowerPoint background slides. Presentations should be limited to 15 minutes with an additional 5 minutes for questions and answers. Be prepared to select one of the following five research subtypes when submitting your proposals: Basic, Applied, Theoretical Proposal, Textual or Investigative, or Creative and Artistic (descriptions below).

Please review this video created by the Jerry Falwell Library on Best Practices for Giving Virtual Presentations, and review the information on how to cite images in your final presentations.

A Remote Poster Presentation (Online Students)

This category is designed to give online students who cannot physically attend Research Week the opportunity to present a poster. Remote presenters must have access to these technological requirements. Posters still need to conform to poster presentation guidelines for undergraduate and graduate students. Please follow the templates provided. Please choose landscape or portrait orientation. When presenting online, students should give a brief 2-3 minute synopsis of their research and then allow the judges to ask questions. Students should be prepared to select one of the five research subtypes when entering their presentation: basic, applied, creative or artistic, theoretical proposal, textual or investigative (descriptions below).

Please review this video created by the Jerry Falwell Library on Best Practices for Giving Virtual Presentations, and review the information on how to cite images in your final presentations.

Juried Art Exhibition (Residential or Online Undergraduate SADA Students)

All submissions must be original artwork (2-D, 3-D, Graphic Design) produced by the student. All juried artwork must follow the Juried Art Exhibition guidelines. Awards will be given for first place, second place, third place, and judge’s choice. All presentations will be judged based on the Juried Art Exhibition Rubric.

Performing Arts Presentation (Residential Students)

A music performance, theatre performance, or film. The music performance may be an existing composition or a new composition. The theatre performance may be based on an existing script or a new script. The film must be a new original film. The performance or film may be up to 15 minutes in length, with 5 additional minutes for questions. All presentations must follow the Performing Arts presentation guidelines. All presentations will be judged based on the Performing Arts Rubric.

Three Minute Thesis Competition (Residential Students)

An 80,000 word Ph.D. thesis would take 9 hours to present. Your time limit… 3 minutes. The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. This will be an opportunity for students to concisely summarize and clearly communicate a well-conceived thesis/dissertation project, compelling data collected, and a novel story to share. The ability to do this in three minutes or less allows the student to develop academic, presentation, and research communication skills. Graduate or undergraduate students must be near to or already completing a thesis or dissertation. They must also be physically present to compete. Please review the information on how to cite images in your final presentations.

• Rules and judging criteria

Rubrics

Submissions will be accepted for oral and poster presentations based on the following five research subtypes (descriptions provided) and will be judged based on corresponding rubrics.

• Basic Rubric
  Research in this area seeks to identify and develop a fundamental research question regarding the nature of one’s field of study (e.g., human behavior or genetic manipulations of E coli). These studies successfully experiment with one or more manipulated variables, then analyze the collected information to answer the research question. Typically, these studies will employ the experimental method and are often conducted in a controlled, laboratory environment. Students from LUCOM and the School of Health Sciences (Biology/Chemistry Department) typically compete in this subtype.
• Applied Rubric
  Applied research studies aim to better understand or solve real-world problems. They employ quantitative, qualitative, or mixed research designs to answer a research question/problem. These studies often utilize quasi-experimental, correlational, qualitative, or case study research designs and will lead to implications for practical application. Alternatively, these studies use discipline-appropriate research methods to define a problem and explore solutions to the problem to ultimately provide a possible solution or partial solution to the problem. Students from the School of Health Sciences, School of Education, and School of Engineering typically compete in this subtype.
• Theoretical Proposal Rubric
  Theoretical research provides a synthesis of guiding theories and extant empirical literature, artifacts, or other evidence to develop new frameworks for future research. Theoretical proposals may include basic, applied, textual or investigative, creative, and artistic research. Research has not been conducted in this category, but suggestions for future areas of research should be included.
• Textual or Investigative Rubric
  Research that investigates texts, artifacts, and documents without changing any variables. Typically this research critically engages texts, artifacts, or documents to prove a thesis, association, pattern, relationship, or previously unobserved significance. Sample fields may include History, Philosophy, English, Biblical Studies, Humanities, Theology, Journalism, Law, and Government.
• Creative and Artistic Rubric
  Research that discovers and critically evaluates source material in an art project for a public audience. Researchers typically work systematically to create new forms of articulation and expression. Sample fields may include Digital Arts, Worship, Music, Cinematic Arts, FACS, Theater, and Communications.