NCUR 2019: Submitting Abstracts

Abstract Deadline: December 4, 2018

Watch a 16-minute video on writing NCUR Abstracts here! (accompanying PowerPoint slides can be downloaded here)

KSU is hosting the 2019 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) April 11-13, 2019. We encourage all students engaged in original research to consider submitting an abstract. According to the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), original research is defined as: “An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline.” 

An abstract is a short (300-word maximum) summary of a research project. There are several purposes for the abstract: 

  • The abstract will help reviewers decide if the project represents quality research that should be presented at the conference. Not all abstracts are accepted to NCUR, so submitters need to carefully follow the guidelines to increase their chances of getting accepted.
  • All accepted abstracts will be posted on the NCUR website. Attendees often read abstracts to decide which presentations they would like to attend. It's important to craft a well-written, interesting abstract so that attendees will want to come to the presentation.

Guidelines for submitting abstracts can be found here. Reviewers will evaluate each abstract according to the following criteria: 

  1. Clearly state the central research question and/or purpose of the project. 
  2. Provide brief, relevant scholarly or research context (no actual citations required) that demonstrate its attempt to make a unique contribution to the area of inquiry. 
  3. Provide a brief description of the research methodology. 
  4. State conclusions or expected results and the context in which they will be discussed. 

Note that your project does NOT need to be completed by the abstract deadline (Dec. 4, 2018). You may submit a proposal for your abstract and then complete the project in the spring before the conference. 

We recommend that submitters search the NCUR Abstract Archive for abstracts in your discipline. The archives consist of all accepted NCUR abstracts from 2008 to present. Examine the archives and get a feel for how abstracts in your discipline are written. See if you can determine whether the abstracts contain all four of the criteria listed above. 

Excellent NCUR abstracts typically have the following characteristics: 

  • The titles are descriptive enough to let the reader know what the study is about
  • They are close to 300 words without going over
  • They follow general conventions for abstracts in their field (consult with your faculty advisor for more information)
  • They are well written, with few or no grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors
  • They make a case regarding how their research makes (or will make) an original contribution to the literature in their area

Abstracts that are not accepted typically have the following characteristics: 

  • They are missing one or more components of the required four criteria.
  • They are jumbled, poorly written, and/or unorganized
  • They are very short (below 200 words) or exceed the word limit (300 words)
  • The project does not seem to adhere to the definition of undergraduate research.

You can find step-by-step instructions for submitting an NCUR 2019 abstract here.

The Office of Undergraduate Research is offering free workshops to help students craft a good abstract; register here

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