New this year: Apply for the Poster Colloquium Library Showcase, a juried poster exhibition
Applications due May 6, 2024
Judges will attend the URCA Week Poster Colloquium at Corwin Pavilion and select 15 posters to be reprinted and displayed. Priority will be given to posters that follow design best practices with cover letters that express their research process. Posters will be displayed in the Library's West Mountain Gallery from Summer 2024 - December 2024.
To be considered for the showcase, applicants will submit the application form and submit a one-page letter addressing the prompt on the application page. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the library workshop on visual literacy.
If you are unable to attend the workshop, information on the Poster Colloquium Library Showcase and the slides from the workshop will be avialable on the library research guide after the event.
To ensure a range of disciplines will be represented in the exhibit, posters will be judged in one of the three following divisions: Humanities and Fine Arts; Social Sciences; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
If applying as a group, list the first author as primary contact and submit only one application per poster. We will be contacting the accepted presenters via email, so please check your email regularly for additional information.
Poster Judging Rubric
At the event, posters will be judged on the following criteria with a 10-point scale for the following aspects
- Clarity: Does the poster provide enough background knowledge and context to make the talk understandable and compelling to a general audience?
- Organization: Are viewers able to understand the presenters' motivations and progression of the work?
- Delivery and Presentation: Does the poster engage the audience? Do graphic elements enhance the presentation and help to emphasize the primary points of the research? Are visuals well designed?
- Intellectual Significance: Does the poster explain why the project matters (for example, its significance to the academic discipline)?
While presenters may engage with judges at the Colloquium, posters will be judged with the expectation that they can stand on their own with no supplemental presentation or clarifications.
Application Letter Prompts
In a one-page cover letter, address how you found and selected sources for your research, along with the research assistance you received for this project by addressing the prompts provided to you below. Please consult the provided rubric to aid you in composing the letter.
Finding and Selecting Sources
How did you find sources for your research? How did your search process change along the way? For example, was there a source that connected you to other helpful sources? Did you encounter difficulties finding or getting access to what you needed? If so, what did you do to circumvent these challenges? How did you decide what sources were most appropriate for you to cite for this resaerch project?
Research AssistanceWhen you encountered difficulties with your research, who did you consult and why? How did the provided information or support influence your understanding or the outcome of this research project? How did their background or expertise influence you to consult them?
Holistic Letter Rubric
Emerging
Finding & Selecting Sources: The student identifies tools used (such as, Google, UCSB Library Search, or a Library Database) in their search. The student expresses why they selected these tools and lists criteria they used to select relevant sources, which may include topical or methological relevance.
Research Assistance: The student identifies individuals, resources, or tools they consulted.
Meets
Finding & Selecting Sources: The student articulates use of specified library and/or openly available tools (e.g., Google) to find information based on their topic or research methodology. At least two search tools are named along with how their search processes were adjusted based on the tool they were using and the information they needed. Beyond topical or methodological relevance, students express what criteria they used to determine that sources were suitable to use for their research project. .
Research Assistance: The student identifies individuals, resources, or tools they consulted with to help them during their research process. Explanations are given as to why they sought out these people or materials and how they perceive this assistance shaped their research process.
Exceeds
Finding & Selecting Sources: The student articulates use of a variety of library and openly available tools (e.g., Google) to find information based on their or research methodology. Three or more library or openly available tools are named along with a description of why these search tools were selected and used in their search process. Beyond topical or methodological relevance, students express what criteria they used to determine that sources were suitable to use for their research project. Using one example from their reference list, students list two or more criterion that made that source authoritative, credible, and reliable for their research.
Research Assistance: The student identifies individuals, resources, or tools they consulted with to help them during their research process. Explanations are given as to why these people or materials were sought out and how they perceive this assistance shaped their research, providing at least one example.