Purpose
To foster international research experiences for student members of NASPSPA.
Eligibility
Only current student members of NASPSPA are eligible. Applicant must also be a student actively seeking a graduate degree at the time of the application. The type of international travel is for presenting a paper at a conference outside of North America. There will be three competitions a year (September 30, January 31 and May 31).
Nature of the Award
The travel could be conducted up to one year after having received notification of the award. A check for $700 will be provided once the Secretary-Treasurer of NASPSPA has received receipts associated with the travel. The recipients of the award should attend the annual NASPSPA conference the year following award presentation to speak at the student meeting about their experience. The award will not necessarily be presented at each competition. In the event that an award is not given during a particular competition, the unclaimed award(s) will be carried forward and be available in the following competition within that year. A maximum of three (3) awards will be awarded during any single calendar year. Finally, the student is required to recognize the award and NASPSPA at the presentation of the research at the conference attended providing the NASPSPA website address. Wording for the acknowledgment shall be: "Travel to this conference was supported by a grant for international travel provided by the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA). For more information, refer to the NASPSPA website: www.naspspa.org" Only the approved NASPSPA logo may be used on any presentation at the international conference.
Criteria for evaluating the research and applicant
1. The research question should be original, innovative, and important.
2. The researcher observed appropriate standards for the treatment of participants. That is, a statement certifying that ethical treatment of participants was followed in conducting this research should be included. (Note: These criteria are modified from the evaluation of research guidelines, pages 5-6 of the APA Publication Manual, 5th edition)
3. The student must be the primary investigator and author of the research project.
4. The researcher demonstrates the potential benefits to her or his education and future/current collaboration prospects.
Guidelines
1. The Graduate Student Awards Committee will consist of representatives of each area (motor development, motor control/learning, sport and exercise psychology) who will serve for three (3) calendar years. This committee will evaluate applications and determine who will receive the award. The President will recruit individuals to serve on this Committee, avoiding conflicts of interest.
2. The applicant should submit the following materials to the NASPSPA President:
a. A short abstract (as described for the proposed international conference).
b. A long abstract (no longer than 5 pages, double-spaced, 12-pt. font, including figures). This abstract should include: the research question, a rationale for the importance of the question, methods, results or predicted results (including selected figures if appropriate), and a discussion of the findings and their significance.
c. A short letter (no longer than one page, single-spaced) describing the significance of the research to be presented at the conference. The location and society hosting the meeting must be indicated in the letter. The letter should also indicate that the research was independently conducted by the student, or that the student was the lead investigator of the project, and that the research was approved by a review board for the protection of human participants.
3. For the graduate student advisor: A letter of nomination for the award must be written by the advisor indicating why this student’s research is worthy of the Graduate Student Award for International Conference Travel. This letter should address the criteria being used by the committee to evaluate the research (see earlier). The letter should also include a statement indicating that the majority of the work done for this research was completed by the student. In the case of multi-authored publications, the advisor should indicate the individual contributions of each author.
Other clarifications:
Students may win the award only once. The NASPSPA website will include a listing of award winners. Information about awards will appear in each Newsletter. The Student Column in the each Newsletter will include information about the award. The award will not be "named."
