FAQs About Being a Reviewer for an APSSC Competition

What competitions does the APSSC have to offer?
What does being a reviewer entail?
How does the reviewing process work?
Is this reviewing process different than previous years?
What are the benefits to being a reviewer?
Who can become a reviewer?
How do I become a reviewer?
How can I get more information about a specific competition?

What competitions does the APSSC have to offer?

The APSSC is pleased to offer three different competitions for Student Affiliates. These competitions include the Student Grant Competition, the Student Research Award, and the RiSE-UP Research Award. Submissions for the Student Grant Competition are due in November, while submissions for both the Student Research Award and the RiSE-UP Research Award competitions are due in January.

  • The Student Grant Competition offers funding for research by undergraduate and graduate students. Applicants must turn in a set of materials in the form of a research proposal (complete with Background, Methods, etc.) that does not exceed 3,000 words in text. Applicants may submit additional pages for references, tables, and/or figures. Students who are awarded grant funding will be recognized at the annual APS convention.
  • The Student Research Award offers recognition for excellence in research from any field or area of psychology. Winners will have the opportunity to present their research in address format at the annual APS convention; they will also receive a monetary award to help defray travel costs related to convention attendance. Applicants consist of undergraduate and graduate students who have submitted an overview of their research. Submissions will include a research summary of up to 1,000 words (approximately three pages plus an abstract), with additional pages available for references, tables, and/or figures.
  • The RiSE-UP Research Award offers recognition for excellence in research related to underrepresented populations such as aging, disability, ethnic minorities, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered individuals, women’s issues, and working class individuals. Winners will have the opportunity to present their research in address format at the annual APS convention; they will also receive a monetary award to help defray travel costs related to convention attendance. Applicants consist of undergraduate and graduate students who have submitted an overview of their research. Submissions will include a research summary of up to 1,000 words (approximately three pages), with additional pages available for references, tables, and/or figures.

What does being a reviewer entail?

Student Affiliates can volunteer to review for the Student Grant Competition, the Student Research Award competition, and/or the RiSE-UP Research Award competition. It is possible to review for more than one competition, but the reviewer must be completely sure he or she has the necessary time to commit to each competition. The Student Grant Competition review process will occur during the months of November and December, but the Student Research Award and RISE-UP Research Award review processes will both occur during the months of February and March.

APSSC reviewers will read student submissions for the competition(s) that they volunteer to work on. For each submission, the reviewer will evaluate the merit of the proposed research using a pre-established scoring system. In addition, it is expected that the reviewer will provide some feedback about the submission (i.e., positive comments and constructive criticism). A sample submission and review will be provided for the reviewers to serve as an example of what the reviews should entail.

For reviewers, the real difference between the competitions is the length and quantity of submissions to be reviewed. The Student Grant Competition entails reviewing a more substantial submission (up to 10 pages). However, reviewers will not likely have to read more than 2 or 3 submissions. On the other hand, reviewing for either the Student Research Award competition or the RiSE-UP Research Award competition involves reading through shorter submissions (up to 3 pages), so reviewers may be asked to review several proposals (e.g., 5 or 6). Therefore, serving as a reviewer for any of the three competitions will probably take a roughly equivalent amount of time, but that time will be divided differently depending on the competition.

How does the reviewing process work?

Applicants for the Student Grant Competition and the Student Research Award competition will email their submissions to the Graduate Advocate, and applicants for the RiSE-UP Research Award competition will email their submissions to the RiSE-UP Coordinator. Once all of the submissions have been received, the respective coordinator for each competition will assign each reviewer with a number of submissions (the number of submissions divided by the number of reviewers). Reviewers will only receive submissions from the competition(s) for which he or she volunteered. Reviewers will receive their assignments along with scoring criteria and a sample submission and review via email. They will be expected to review and score each submission by a set deadline (roughly sometime in November or December for the Student Grant Competition and sometime in February or March for the other two competitions).

Is this reviewing process different from previous years?

Yes—for the most part. There have been minimal changes made to the application process and the reviewing process for the Student Grant Competition, although the competition has been moved from the Spring to the Fall. Several changes, however, have been made to both the Student Research Award competition and to the RiSE-UP Research Award competition. In order to give reviewers more information by which to evaluate the submissions, the application process now has a few more requirements. In the past, students entered these competitions by checking a box when submitting a poster abstract to the overall convention. Starting with the 2006-2007 year, students are required to submit a more substantial overview of their research (up to 3 pages in length with additional pages available for references, tables, and/or figures).

There are some changes to the review process as well. Previously, reviewers for the Student Research Award and RiSE-UP Research Award competitions logged into an electronic reviewing system and conducted their reviews online. However, starting with the 2006-2007 year, reviewers receive their assignments via emailed attachments from the coordinator of the competition for which they are reviewing. Reviewers can read through the submissions in their own time without having to be online. When they are finished with their reviews, reviewers will simply email their scoring sheets and comments back to the competition coordinator.

What are the benefits to being a reviewer?

Serving as a reviewer on an APSSC competition has several benefits. Foremost of these benefits is the experience gained in critically evaluating peer research and providing constructive criticism. This experience will translate to potential future job responsibilities, such as evaluating students, reviewing for professional journals, writing grants, etc. Another benefit to reviewing is the addition of an esteemed position to your CV for a relatively small amount of work. Employers, faculty, and admissions officers take notice of such activities and regard them highly. Finally, an additional benefit is the ability to provide support for fellow students and help them to improve their research by giving them constructive feedback.

Who can become a reviewer?

Undergraduate and graduate Student Affiliates are eligible to be reviewers for an APSSC competition. Although prior reviewing experience is appreciated, it is not a prerequisite for becoming a reviewer. Students interested in becoming reviewers must be able to commit enough time to adequately review several submissions. The number of submissions assigned for review will vary from year to year and from competition to competition, but the time commitment should not exceed 10 hours overall.

How do I become a reviewer?

  1. Make sure that your APS Student Affiliate dues are current. You can check the status of your membership by logging in using your last name and 5-digit member number at www.psychologicalscience.org. Once you’ve logged in, there will be a message in the top right-hand corner letting you know when your membership expires. If you are not yet a Student Affiliate, now is a great time to become one! You can join online at www.psychologicalscience.org/join.
  2. Fill out the Reviewer Information Form with all of your information, making sure to clearly indicate which competition(s) you wish to review for.

How can I get more information about a specific competition?

If you have further questions about any of the APSSC competitions and awards, please refer to the APSSC awards page for more information.

For additional questions about the Student Grant Competition or the Student Research Award competition, please contact the Graduate Advocate, Ewa Szymanska

For additional questions about the RiSE-UP Research Award competition, please contact the RiSE-UP Coordinator, Shu-wen Wang.