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Student Researcher Award

Student Researcher Award

 

Calling all students! Do you have a great research paper, project, or annotated bibliography from a course you took during 2024 Fall or 2025 Spring? Consider applying for our first every Oakton Library Student Researcher Award. 

Who is eligible?

  • Any Oakton student who was enrolled in any class during 2024 Fall or 2025 Spring that had a research component.

What do you need to apply?

  • A research paper, project, or annotated bibliography to submit with the application. 
  • All projects require a works cited or bibliography. 

When do you need to apply by? 

  • Wednesday April 9, 2025

What is the award?

  • Two students will be selected to receive a certificate and $100 gift card.

When will winners receive the award?

  • On May 1, 2025 the Student Research Award recipients will be invited to the Student Scholar Showcase event at the Des Plaines Campus.  

Questions? Contact Sylvia Rosillo, Student Engagement Librarian, srosillo@oakton.edu or Michelle Oh, Librarian for Open Access and Equity, moh@oakton.edu. 

 

Instructions for Applying

Any enrolled Oakton student may submit a paper, project, or annotated bibliography for consideration. This can be work completed for a class or a new project during the 2024-2025 academic year. There is no page requirement for submissions, but your work must demonstrate the effective use of library resources, such as materials pulled from Oakton Library databases, research guides, or other library materials.

While there is no required number of resources that need to be cited, a Works Cited/Bibliography page must be included with your submission. The bibliography should be formatted in a standard citation style (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago) and must list all the resources you utilized during your research.

In summary, your submission should:

  • Reflect the use of a variety of reliable and scholarly sources from the library.
  • Include a properly formatted bibliography that adheres to the chosen citation style.

Apply here!

Application Rubric

  Developing (1 point) Proficient (2 points)

Extends Beyond (3 points)
 
Library and Research Engagement  Engagement with library resources and services (e.g., databases, research guides, librarian assistance) is limited.
 		 Engaged with library resources and services (e.g., databases, research guides, librarian assistance) for research.
 		 Significant engagement with and variety of the library’s resources and services (e.g., databases, research guides, librarian assistance).
 
Source Selection Sources lack a strong relationship to the research topic. Types of sources not appropriate to academic research (e.g. sources that are not edited or written by unknown/unreliable authors).
 		 Most sources are relevant, scholarly, and have a connection to the research topic. Some sources may be outdated or less comprehensive.
 		 All sources are relevant, scholarly, and have a strong relationship to the research topic and include a wide variety of sources (e.g. websites, scholarly articles, books).
 

Works Cited or Bibliography

 Bibliography contains formatting issues, multiple errors, or incomplete citations in style used (MLA, APA, Chicago).
 		 Bibliography is mostly organized and formatted correctly, with minor errors in citations in style used (MLA, APA, Chicago).
 		 Bibliography is organized and formatted correctly, shows little to no errors in the style used (MLA, APA, Chicago).