LAURE: Library Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence: How to Apply

Your submission for this award will be made up of four items: 1) a research story essay, 2) an abstract, 3) your research paper or project files and 4) contact information for the faculty or staff member sponsoring your application. These will be uploaded as separate files. The contact information for the sponsor is submitted through the online form.

1. Research Story Essay: The critical piece of your application is a 750-1,000 word essay describing your research strategies and use of library tools, resources, and services. This essay should provide the reviewers with a basic overview of your project, information about your process, the way you approached your research, responded to challenges, and redirected inquiry as necessary. Reviewers are not interested in why the library is great or a laundry list of the databases you used. Tell us what you know and have learned about the process of doing research and why you made the choices you did. Review sample essays and find more information about your essay on the Evaluation Criteria tab of this site.​​ Your story essay should be in .pdf format and include a title and your name. The title of your research story essay should be different from the title of the underlying research project (effective 2023).

• Please name your file using the following convention: LastnameFirstname_essayLAURE.fileExtension (e.g. DoeJohn_essayLAURE.pdf)

2. Abstract: Submit an abstract of between 150-250 words outlining the research question, methods, conclusion, and significance of your underlying research project.

• Please name your file using the following convention:  LastnameFirstname_abstractLAURE.fileExtension (e.g. DoeJohn_abstractLAURE.pdf)

3. Project Files: Provide evidence of your work by submitting the project file(s). Your file(s) could include a literature review, research paper, a PDF of a poster you presented, a link to a website, etc. We do not need raw data files. If you have physical objects, you are encouraged to photograph them and submit the photo files. See Project File Formats to the right for additional information on project files. If your project cites research it should include a works cited or bibliography section.

1. Please name your file using the following convention:  LastnameFirstname_project1.fileExtension (e.g. DoeJane_project1.mp4)
2. If you have additional project files, please label them following the example above but replace the number 1 with the appropriate number.
3. Note: if you are submitting as an individual, you cannot submit a group project.

4. Contact information for the faculty or staff member sponsoring your application

Please note: incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Once you have gathered all of your application materials, go to the submission form at: http://bit.ly/LAURE

A project may be in any format or medium and may include (but is not limited to):

• Research papers
• Lab/clinical research investigations
• Photography, film, or video
• Product or prototype development
• Artwork
• Architectural project or model
• Website creation
• Mapping or GIS project
• Database development
• Field trip or site exploration

Email LAURE@MiamiOH.edu if you have questions about submitting your project in a format not listed above.

"researching from reference" © Jimmie. Used under a CC BY 2.0 license