Outstanding Dissertation Award

The award, which comes in the form of a plaque, recognizes a high quality doctoral dissertation that addresses narrative ways of knowing and/or employs narrative research methods. The outstanding dissertation will be selected by a committee of at least three SIG members with one such member serving as Chair. Members of the committee will be appointed by the SIG Chair in consultation with the SIG Co-Chair. The recipient will receive a plaque at the annual Narrative Research SIG Business Meeting. The award will be conferred annually, providing members of the Outstanding Dissertation Committee agree on a suitable recipient.        

The following criteria will be used to evaluate and select the recipient of the Outstanding Dissertation Award:

• The dissertation is an exemplary example of narrative research/narrative inquiry in the use of methods and in the kind of research text created;
• The dissertation as a whole makes an original contribution to the knowledge of the subject with which it deals, including advancing wider knowledge and understanding;
• The dissertation provides a sufficiently comprehensive study of the topic appropriate to the degree in the discipline area, or in related interdisciplinary areas;
• The methods adopted within a narrative inquiry are appropriate to the subject matter and are appropriately applied;
• The research findings are suitably set out, accompanied by adequate exposition/theorizing and are discussed in a larger social, cultural or practical context;
• The dissertation was completed and the doctoral degree conferred within the 2-year period preceding receipt of award (e.g., individuals eligible for the 2012 Outstanding Dissertation Award must have completed their dissertations and had their degrees conferred between January 1, 2010 and January 1, 2012).  

The guidelines for nominating an outstanding dissertation will be posted on the Narrative Research SIG website by November 1 of the year prior to the award announcement. These guidelines will solicit nominations, establish the
due date (December 16), name the Committee Chair and membership, and request that an electronic copy of the nomination letter and dissertation be forwarded (by December 16) to the Outstanding Dissertation Award Chair. The Outstanding Dissertation Award will only be granted if outstanding dissertation research is evident. The Outstanding Dissertation Award Chair will oversee the award review process that will take place between December 19 and February 1. The Narrative Research SIG Chair will notify the recipient of the award by February 10.   

The current Chair for the Outstanding Dissertation Awards Committee is Dr.Vera Caine. Please forward your nominations to vera.caine@ualberta.ca by December the 16th, 2011.