Dawn Gilpin, director of research and doctoral studies.
By Kasey Brammell
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication will hold its inaugural Cronkite Research Symposium on Feb. 20 as an opportunity to showcase and award academic research by current Cronkite graduate and undergraduate students.
The hybrid event will take place in the Elizabeth Murphy Burns and Richard Burns Theater, with the option to attend online via Zoom. The symposium will also feature a keynote speaker, to be announced.
Submissions of academic research, without assistance from any faculty or staff of the Cronkite School, are open to Cronkite graduate and undergraduate students and will be accepted through Jan. 22.
This inaugural symposium does not have any limits on the number of students who can submit research, nor are there limits on the number of projects selected. “We want everyone who is carrying out excellent research to have a chance to share it with fellow members of our Cronkite research community,” said Dawn Gilpin, director of research and doctoral studies.
Gilpin’s goal is for students to have the opportunity to present their research and get feedback before submitting it to larger conferences for presentation or academic journals.
Submissions that are accepted will be presented in 10-15 minutes with slides to accompany their work. There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions about the work during follow-up Q&A sessions.
Undergraduate students and those presenting work in progress will take part in a virtual poster session to showcase research and answer questions from visitors in their breakout rooms.
Each research paper will be scored to assess the originality, rigor, contribution and writing of submissions to determine which will receive the Top Paper award, which comes with a cash prize of $500. The reviews, completed by doctoral students, faculty, and alumni, will be blind to reduce bias.
Gilpin first suggested the research symposium when she was approached by former dean Chris Callahan about taking on the role of research director. Her idea started to take shape last summer.
“Academic research can be a lonely pursuit, requiring hours of data gathering, analysis, reading of relevant literature and writing,” Gilpin said. “Most of all, it’s important to have an opportunity to share this work with each other, be inspired by what our peers are working on, be prompted to consider new questions and approaches, and be reminded that we are all part of a vibrant, engaged community of scholars trying to understand the role of journalism, media and communication in our society and the world.”
For more information, you can contact Dawn Gilpin at dgilpin@asu.edu.