University of Delaware Chapter of Sigma Xi

Undergraduate Thesis Award Review Procedure

Review Procedure

A review committee will be established by The University of Delaware Chapter of Sigma Xi. It will consist of an odd number of reviewers, minimally three but preferably five or seven, who collectively have some expertise in the breadth of topics that are likely to be represented by the approximately twenty departments that may submit nominations. Volunteers will be solicited from among the membership of Sigma Xi before nomination packages are received. Reviewers who are not members of Sigma Xi may serve is approved by the Awards Committee. Individuals who are involved in the nomination of a senior thesis may not serve on the committee.

A single review session will be scheduled so that the entire committee can attend and arrive at award determinations in an 'NIH-study-section format'; Members of the review committee will read the nomination letters and peruse the Thesis documents and then independently rank the thesis packages. Committee members will base their rankings on the award criteria stated in the Award Announcement (and repeated below). A collective ranking will be determined and this will be followed by a discussion among the committee that focuses primarily on those packages for which there is poor consensus (i.e., that receive widely disparate rankings). The purpose of the discussion will be to improve consensus on the final rankings.

The discussion and review procedure will be directed by a review committee chair. This could be the Chair of the Sigma Xi Awards Committee, or another individual determined by a majority vote of the review committee. This chair, or an appropriate designee at the review session, will keep a record of the review proceedings, but will not rank the nominees, except as a tie-breaker.

Award Criteria

The review committee will consider the following award criteria:

• Scientific merit: The thesis should be a substantial research effort that either advances knowledge of a scientific or mathematical topic, or synthesizes existing areas of knowledge in a new way. Both immediate and potential impact will be considered.
• Exposition: The thesis should be a substantial effort to communicate scientific results in a way that is meaningful to both specialists and a general scientific audience.

The review criteria shall have equal weight. However, not all thesis topics are equal. Reviewers shall weigh the degree to which theses advance the Sigma Xi mission: 'To enhance the health of the research enterprise, foster integrity in science and engineering, and promote the public's understanding of science for the purpose of improving the human condition.'

Please direct comments or requests to sigma-xi@udel.edu "http://www.udel.edu/sigma-xi/thesis-award-review.html" Last updated 12 February 2009.