Purpose of These Awards:
Students at Lone Star College-CyFair often put considerable effort into researching, writing, or presenting material for their classes. The library would like to recognize the best student research projects that find, evaluate, select, and communicate information from library resources effectively.

Submission Information:
The nominating faculty will complete and submit the Faculty Nomination Form online and attach the student's project to the nomination form. The student is responsible for completing and submitting the Student Information Form. Any faculty or student encountering issues with the form can contact Tracy.Williams@LoneStar.edu for assistance.

• Faculty Nomination Form
• Student Information Form

Deadlines for Submissions:
The submission deadlines are:

• Fall Semester – Wednesday, December 22, 2021
• Spring Semester – Wednesday, May 18, 2022

No late or incomplete submissions will be reviewed.

Faculty Member Submissions:

• Faculty who have graded a project during the summer 2021, fall 2021, winter 2021/22 mini-term, or spring 2022 semesters may submit it to the award committee.
• Faculty must submit Faculty Nomination Form and have student complete the Student Information Form before the award deadline.

Project Requirements:

• Only projects using at least 3 library sources (books or articles in print or library databases) completed during the summer 2021, fall 2021, winter 2021/22 mini-term, or spring 2022 semesters are eligible.
• Projects must include a bibliography or works cited in MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, or AMA format based on the assigning faculty's preference.
• Sources must be cited within the project using in-text citation associated with the specific citation style used or, if submitting a multimedia project, other appropriate means of citing sources within the project (e.g. citing in the notes field of a PowerPoint presentation, verbally stating sources in a video, or using subtitles to provide source information).
• Students may only submit one project per year.
• The project must be nominated and submitted by the assigning faculty member.
• Submitted papers must be at least 3 pages.
• Submitted speeches or multimedia projects must include a transcript or detailed notes of the content included. A video or audio file of a speech or multimedia project may accompany the transcript but is not required.
• No group projects will be accepted at this time.
• A student must electronically sign an academic integrity statement on the Student Information Form verifying that the project is a product of his/her own work only. Papers will be submitted to Turnitin.com for an originality check. Projects found to be plagiarized will be disqualified.
• Complete application packets must be submitted by the stated deadlines for each semester. No incomplete submissions will be reviewed.
• Upon receipt of submission, both student and faculty will receive a confirmation email.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Demonstrated skill in selecting and synthesizing research materials from library materials and databases and other authoritative sources.
• Demonstrated ability to capture the reader's interest in the topic, provide appropriate support for the topic, and convey the information in an exceptional style.
• Effective use of a variety of sources.
• Sources properly cited using in-text and bibliography/works cited formats.
• Overall quality of project.

Evaluation Committee
The committee will evaluate the projects using a blind review process. The committee evaluating the entries will be comprised of at least 4 full-time reference librarians.

2020-2021 Award Recipients

• First Place: Diana Tran
  "Creating a Cost-Benefit Analysis Guideline from Ecological Economics: How Can this be Applied to Landfill Mining?"
  Professor Aurora Lugo, ENVRH 1402
  Excerpt: "The infusion of socially conscientious and ecologically sustainable decisions can be added to anything as long as the person is willing and there is ingenuity when thinking of solutions. If something is considered waste, that just means a new use for it has not been found yet or the effort required to reuse the material has been deemed too much from a human profitable perspective. Mutual benefit is one of the best incentives there is to change mindsets and operating practices."
• Second Place: Joseph Flores
  "Submit to Sin: Contextualizing the Roman Empire in Augustine’s Detailing of Sexuality in Confessions"
  Professor Laura Taggett, ENGLH 2332
  Excerpt: “Sin, for the Bishop, is predicated on the action itself. Regardless of what materializes from the action, sin can be as inconsequential as focusing one’s attention on the world’s pleasures and thrill rather than God.”
• Third Place: John Lentz
  “The Moral Engineer: Applying Kantian Deontology to Engineering Ethics Within the Scope of Identity”
  Professors Laura Taggett & Mark Thorsby, ENGLH/PHILH 1301
  Excerpt: “Engineers play a major role in the advancement of society. They are responsible for the design of everything from buildings to space shuttles. However, along with this responsibility for the design comes the ethical responsibility for the safety of the public that are expected to utilize said design. The interplay between these two responsibilities gives rise to an ethical dilemma in which the natural risk associated with emerging engineering designs conflicts with the engineer’s responsibility to public safety.”

Previous Student Research Award Winners: