NCUR 2012: Preparing Your Abstract

Submission Deadline: November 15, 2011

Please note that NCUR has a competitive abstract review process, so you are strongly advised to work with your mentor and the ATP coordinators or the Director of Undergraduate Research in preparing your abstract. Abstracts that do not follow the specified guidelines will be rejected by NCUR. Late submissions are not accepted. An abstract-writing workshop will be held Tuesday, October 25 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the Office of Undergraduate Research, 200 Maxwell Library.

Note that NCUR abstracts must be 250-300 words in length (including title and the names of all authors). NCUR requires the following information in an abstract: "Abstracts must include sufficient information for reviewers to judge the nature and significance of the topic, the adequacy of the investigative strategy, the nature of the results, and the conclusions. The abstract should summarize the substantive results of the work and not merely list topics to be discussed." Historically, the abstracts that received the best reviews from NCUR contained the following components:

1. A clear statement of the research question or hypothesis or the creative theme.
2. A brief comment about the relevance and uniqueness of the work.
3. A clear description of the methodology used to explore the question/hypothesis/creative theme.
4. A statement of progress to date, preliminary results, or expected outcomes.

Examples of submitted abstracts from previous NCUR conferences can be found in the Office of Undergraduate Research, 200 Maxwell Library.

Once you have finished reading this information, go on to the Submitting your Abstract page.

Last Modified: September 28, 2011