FAQs for the 2024 Scholarship & Social Justice Undergraduate Research Conference

The FAQs will be updated as new questions arise and are answered. If anything is unclear, please email Varsha Ghosh at vghosh@fas.harvard.edu

Frequently Asked Questions (General)

What are important dates to remember?

  •  

    Proposal submission deadline: February 12th, 2024

    Decisions communicated to applicants: March 1, 2024

    Deadline for confirming attendance: March 8th, 2024

    Conference dates: Thursday, April 18th and Friday, 19th, 2024 

How much does it cost to attend the conference?

  • The conference is free for students, staff, and faculty at Harvard College and peer institutions (research-extensive universities, research-intensive universities, and liberal arts colleges with a research focus).  The 2024 conference will be a hybrid event. Hosted on campus at Harvard with recordings of all sessions uploaded to our site on the Whova.
  • Friends of participants that are affiliated with Harvard or are a student, administrator, or faculty at other institutions, are all welcome to register.

Who is eligible to submit a proposal to present at conference?

Udergraduate students who are conducting supervised independent research for capstones or senior theses on research focusing on traditionally under-represented or marginalized groups or research areas. 

Students may choose to present in one of two presentation categories: 

 • Panel Presentations (live) 

 • Poster Presentations (asynchronous)

If the research you’d like to present will be complete by the time of the conference (meaning data collection and analysis stages are complete), please apply to present for either the Full Panel Presentation or the Poster Session. 

All research involving human subjects must indicate that their institution's Internal Review Board has given approval.

Graduates students and faculty are ineligble to send in a proposal for this conference.

 

If you have questions, please contact vghosh@fas.harvard.edu

Are students outside of Harvard eligible to submit a proposal?

  • Yes, the conference is open to students attending institutions other than Harvard. 

How do I submit my proposal to present at the conference?

The Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released in December 2023

My research study is in progress. Can I still submit a proposal?

You may apply to make a presentation of your work as as long as your data collection and analysis is complete, ready for submission to your faculty advisor, by April 1, 2024.  

 

Can you give me examples of what research you are looking for?

We are primarily interested in research that focuses on groups, communities, or issues underrepresented in research.  Below are some examples of previous successful proposals.

  • The Politics of Representation: A Study on the Impact of Electoral Systems in the United States- Mills College
  • Incorporating Native Hawaiian Knowledge, Community, and Culture in Health Research: The Challenges of Multicultural Settler Colonialism- Harvard College
  • Speaking for Ourselves: The Evolving Activism of Black Psychiatry from Integration to Black Power- Harvard College
  • Whose Schizophrenia? How Race, Class, and Gender Intersect with Conceptions of Psychiatric Diagnosis- Wesleyan University

Can you provide me with an example of a proposal abstract?

I don’t know how to write an abstract. Where can I get help?

If you are a Harvard College student, you could seek assistance from one of the Writing Tutors in your college house. You might also consider making an appointment with the Academic Resource Center for some assistance. If you are not attending Harvard College, you may wish to go to the Writing Center at your college. Your academic advisers might also have suggestions for where to get assistance.  We also recommend these online resources:https://history.ncsu.edu/grad/conference_abstracts.php and https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/abstracts/ 

I've worked on a collaborative research project. Am I eligible?

Yes!     

Will there be any recognition for research presentations?

Participants will be noted on our public website and can be included on your curriculum vitae (CV)

What is the difference between the types of presentations?

This year there are two types of presentations:  live presentation on a panel with other undergraduate researchers and a poster presentation (asynchronous) . If your research project is complete (data collection and analysis is complete) ,which means you consider yourself done with the research and would submit it to your department;  you may choose which type of presentation you prefer.  Please  note that the poster presentation will be asynchronous;  you will pre-record your presentation for conference attendees to view and submit questions via the Whova website.  

Who is sponsoring this conference?

  • This conference is currently being co-sponsored by the Center for Public Service and Engaged Scholarship and the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations at Harvard College, Undergraduate Office for Research and Fellowships with support from the Global Health Initiative, Ethnicity, Migration & Rights and Campus Compact for the Southern New England Region. Funding is provided by the Dean of Harvard College.

I have additional questions. How do I contact you?

Poster Presentation FAQ

What kind of poster materials should I use?

For 2023, the poster presentations will be pre-recorded to be viewed asynchronously via the Whova platform.   Posters can be created using Powerpoint or Google Slides to create a graphic illustration of their project accompanied by a recording that is played during the video.  

The information that is included in your presentation remains the same as a traditional poster presentation, please refer to the guides below for more informatiion: 

To make a poster presentation and voiceover recording with PowerPoint: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/record-a-presentation-2570dff...

To make a poster presentation and voiceover recording with Google Slides: https://myelearningworld.com/add-voice-over-to-google-slides/ (this one is a bit more complicated)

It is strongly suggested you attend the Q&A Session on March 26th, 2023, 7pm. Links to register for the zoom were mailed to all presenters. 

Do I need to prepare a presentation?

For 2024, all poster presentations will be pre-recorded. Attendees will view the prsentation asynchronously and submit questions via the online platform. 

 

PANEL PRESENTATION FAQ

What is the presentation like?

  • For 2024, presenters will have the opporutnity to present in person or remotely via Zoom. If we cannot secure the right set-up, the conference will be virtual.  the conference will be on an online platform, Whova.  Presenters will have the option of being in person or remote.
  • You will be grouped with three other presenters in a concurrent session with a chair and a discussant, and any conference attendees.
  • The chair will monitor the session on time and the discussant will give you feedback on your study, as it was presented and moderate the open discussion with the audience.  Each presenter will have no more than 10 minutes to present their research paper. The chair will give you 5-minute, 2-minutes, 1-minute, and “time’s up” reminders to show to presenters. You will have to end your presentation at 10 minutes.
  • At the end of all your research presentations, the discussant will give you feedback and may ask you some questions about your research before opening the floor for discussion. 

What should a research presentation look like?

  • Please practice your presentation to fit within the 10-minute timeframe. Your faculty advisor, tutors, and graduate assistants may be able to give you additional advice about presenting at a research conference.
  • These presentations are generally accompanied by a visual aid, usually PowerPoint slides. You may use other formats, (like Prezi or video), but you will need to tell us in advance so we can be prepared for your presentation to go smoothly
  • This is a good guide to academic presentations: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/network/publishing/research-publishing/writi...