Office of Sponsored Programs

• Note: Multiple authors are allowed in either format; however, a primary author must be designated. A student may only serve as the primary author on one project. 

---

ABSTRACT GUIDELINES FOR PARTICIPANTS

• Prior to completing the abstract submission form, students should obtain their advisor’s approval of (1) the abstract and (2) selection regarding whether or not the abstract should be published in the online journal, Proceedings of Student Research and Creative Inquiry Day.
• Advisors will receive a notification of each abstract submission for which they are listed as faculty advisor; they will be asked to sign off on the submission through DocuSign or can opt out of signing and can download a copy of the submission. 
• The abstract should be a concise summary of the work being presented. It should be carefully prepared and proofread to avoid mistakes. Note: Abstracts will not be edited.
• Abstracts should be limited to 250 words or less.
• Upon abstract submission, a confirmation email will be sent to the primary author. If this confirmation email is not received, the abstract has not been successfully submitted. If this occurs, the student should resubmit or contact Research & Economic Development (researchday@tntech.edu) on or before the abstract submission deadline of March 11, 2025
• All Research and Creative Inquiry Day communications will be sent to the email provided for the primary author during submission, so please double-check the accuracy of that email address when completing the abstract submission form. 

---

 Proceedings

• An electronic version of the typical printed proceedings will be made available to all participants and the campus community in late April. For those who selected yes on the abstract submission form, abstracts and posters will be published in the online journal, Proceedings of Student Research and Creative Inquiry Day.

---

Judging

• As stated on the abstract submission form, all posters will be grouped according to your research advisor’s department, and winners will be selected from each participating department, with separate selections made for undergraduates, master's and Ph.D. winners. In an effort to recognize more students for their efforts, additional winners will be selected in categories with more than 10 entries.
  
  
• Each poster will be evaluated by two judges based on the following evaluation forms for the types of submissions:

Research Project | Literature-Based Study |
Paper Presentation

---

ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES

Paper Presentation Guidelines

• Each paper presentation will be 12-15 minutes in length. 
• Each paper should have been previously submitted in an English course.  The abstract should identify the course for which the paper was originally written.  

Poster Guidelines

• Effective poster presentations typically include: (a) introduction; (b) description of the method or technique used; (c) results obtained; (d) discussion of results; (e) conclusion/recommendation(s); (f) references; (g) acknowledgement of support.

---

Poster Design 

• Content from previous years' poster workshops is available in an online video: Designing Research Posters: Basic Design Tips (53:16).
• Additional poster-design information, including templates, can be found on the Library's website.  As always, if you would like individual assistance with your poster or have questions about poster instruction, contact Holly Mills (Public Services Librarian, Assistant Professor) for a virtual or in-person session.
• Poster content should be developed in landscape format. An example poster template is available here.  Only the 36 inches x 48 inches (landscape) template would be appropriate for the poster used for this event.

• 2025 Research & Creative Inquiry Day Abstract Submission Form

 Judge registration link

• Judges Registration

Please see the Archive page for previous years' Research Days.