ACRL Assessment Discussion Group

ACRL EBSS VIRTUAL RESEARCH FORUM – Call for Proposals 

The Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (EBSS) Research Committee invites proposals for presentations at their virtual research forum, to be held online on May 1, 2024. Our charge is to investigate and propose ways for education and behavioral science librarians to share ideas about new directions in education and behavioral science librarianship, research in progress or recently completed, and other current topics of interest. We invite proposals on research projects that are relevant to library work in education, behavioral, or social sciences or to academic libraries in general.

The Research Forum encourages and supports researchers of all levels and offers an opportunity to present research that is complete or currently underway through a 10-minute lightning talk format. Presenters will share their work in a peer-reviewed venue and receive feedback from the ACRL community. Lightning talks are selected via a competitive, open peer review process. Those who are not selected will receive formative feedback from the EBSS Research Committee. 

You do not need to be a member of ALA or ACRL to submit a proposal.

Proposals are due Friday, March 15 at 11:59pm (Eastern time). Applicants will be notified regarding acceptance the week of April 1.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS 

Please submit your proposal via Google Forms: https://forms.gle/D8r55h6S3Hw2wGYo7 

Proposals will be evaluated via rubric by the extent to which they address the following five elements. Upon reviewing your proposal, the EBSS Research Committee will follow-up with any questions.

Please email Jylisa Kenyon (Chair, EBSS Research Committee) with any questions.

Do you have questions about the kinds of topics/presentations we've had in the past? Take a look at our previous EBSS Research Forum presentations!

1. Research Design & Analysis: An excellent proposal clearly describes the research questions, objectives, methodology, and results/findings. It also utilizes project design/methodology that is appropriate to the stated research question(s) and objectives and demonstrates evidence of carefully planned research design and thoughtful analysis (i.e., results/findings). 

2. Relevance & Value: An excellent proposal clearly articulates the relevance and value of the research project to academic librarians in an education, behavioral, or social sciences subject area; or its broad appeal to academic librarians in general.

3. Innovation & Originality: An excellent proposal clearly describes how the research project explores a different avenue, utilizes a different lens (e.g. population, time frame, type of organization/institution), etc. It also discusses how this research project is new or different from the current literature and how it fits within and expands upon the research or projects that came before.

4. Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Lens: An excellent proposal clearly explains how the research project relates to Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (EDI) and/or provides evidence of how the research affects diverse communities. If the research is not specific to EDI, the proposal acknowledges the implications of the project's limited perspective or scope in this regard.

5. Project Status/Timeline:  Completed research will be rated higher, but research can be in progress at the time of the proposal submission so long as some preliminary results/findings are available by the presentation date. The proposal clearly identifies which stages of the project have been completed and estimates a timeline for the remainder of the project. 

• Stages include: 1) Identifying the research problem, 2) Reviewing the literature, 3) Selecting research questions and objectives, 4) Choosing the study design/methodology, 5) Collecting data, 6) Analyzing the results/findings, 7) Research project complete.

• NOTE: Research that has been accepted for publication or previously published within one year of the Research Forum date will also be considered.

Thanks,

Robin