researcher grants and awards

The International Association for Computerized Adaptive Testing (IACAT) is an organization that is incorporated exclusively for scientific, educational, literary, and charitable purposes.

IACAT is committed to encouraging scholarly efforts to:

·         Advance the science of adaptive testing in all fields of applied psychological and educational measurement

·         Improve adaptive instruments and procedures for their administration, scoring, interpretation, and use

·         Improve applications of adaptive assessment of individuals and evaluations of assessment programs

·         Develop theory, techniques, technologies and instrumentation available for adaptive measurement in all relevant

          human, institutional, and social characteristics

·         Develop procedures appropriate to the interpretation and use of such technologies and instruments

·         Advance applications of adaptive measurement in individual and group evaluation studies

 

In order to encourage further research and advancement in Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT), IACAT has established the following Researcher Awards and Grants;

·         The Early Career Researcher Award

·         Young Researcher / Student Grants

·         Student Presentation Grants  

 

The purpose of these awards is to encourage especially younger people to engage in and contribute to research in CAT and to participate in the IACAT conferences.

 

1. early career researcher award

The IACAT Early Career Researcher Award is a prestigious award intended to support early career scholars with an interest in CAT. The recipient of this award will receive a trophy/medal from the sponsor, EPEC Pty Ltd, a grant from IACAT of up to USD$2500 so that they can attend the conference at which their award is to be presented. They will be invited to present on their research topic related to CAT during a Plenary Session at the upcoming IACAT Conference.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this award, the applicant should;

·         Have obtained at least a Master’s degree (or be in an advanced stage in completing a Master’s degree) in the field of

          measurement within the last 10 years.

·         Be nominated by a Graduate Faculty Member or Supervisor/Manager for their contribution to the field

·         Be willing and able to present at the upcoming IACAT Conference

Application Procedure

In order to apply for consideration to receive the award, the following needs to be submitted to Prof. John Barnard via email by 30 June 2017:

·         An abstract of up to 500 words on a topic in the field of CAT

·         A letter of recommendation from the nominator and the nominator’s contact details

·         A detailed curriculum vitae of the applicant with special reference to CAT

 

The recipient of the Award will be notified by 15 July 2017 and will need to confirm acceptance within 10 days after notification.

 

Previous Recipients

·         2014 recipient – Dr Chun Wang from the University of Minnesota

·         2015 recipient – Dr Duanli Yan from the Educational Testing Service

 

IACAT has made funding available for Young Researcher / Student Grants of  up to USD$2500 per person to encourage the advancement of CAT. There is no closing date, but the duration of the project must be no more than two years in length. The number of awards made per year is at the discretion of the Awards Committee. The recipient(s) of the grant(s) will be invited to present their research during a dedicated Young Researcher / Student parallel session at an IACAT Conference within the two-year term or the IACAT conference immediately following the term.

Applicants can also apply for a student presentation grant for travel and accommodation expenses to attend the IACAT conference.

 

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for consideration to receive a grant, the applicant should:

·         Provide evidence such as a student identification card or company identification where the applicant is employed

·         Be 35 years or younger

·         Provide status confirmation by a faculty member in the same program at the applicant’s institution or

          supervisor/manager where the applicant is employed

·         Be willing to present at the IACAT Conference within the two-year term or the IACAT conference immediately following

          the term (part of the funding is to be used to attend the conference)

·         The IACAT Board of Directors may also award a Student Presentation Grant to (a) successful applicant(s)

Application Procedure

In order to apply for consideration to receive a grant, the following needs to be submitted to Prof. John Barnard via email;

        ·         A proposal of the intended research related to CAT. The proposal should include:

(i)            Name and title of the applicant

(ii)           Title of the project and an abstract up to 500 words

(iii)          Problem statement (research question(s) and rationale)

(iv)         (Initial) review of the literature

(v)          Research design and method(s)

(vi)         Project schedule

(vii)        Budget

        ·        A letter of recommendation and contact details from the principal Advisor or Supervisor where the applicant will be or is

                 undertaking the project

        ·        A statement that the funds will be used exclusively for the purposes described in the application

 

Successful applicants will be notified of the outcome within 30 days from application receipt and need to confirm acceptance within 30 days after notification.

Applicants will be required to submit a report on the project within two years from receiving the grant – which can be in the form of an article submitted for consideration to be published in IACAT’s official Journal, Journal of Computerized Adaptive Testing (JCAT), and also a report on the expenditure of funds, within 60 days of completion of the project.  If there are funds in the amount of USD$25 remaining unexpended at termination of the project. These unexpended funds must be returned to IACAT.

Students who wish to present a paper at an IACAT conference can apply for a student presentation grant. IACAT has made available up to ten grants (up to USD$1000 each) to assist with travel and accommodation expenses for such students to attend the upcoming conference. The recipients of the grants will be invited to present their papers during a dedicated Young Researcher / Student parallel session at the upcoming IACAT Conference.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for consideration to receive a grant, the applicant should;

·         Be able to provide evidence such as a student identification card indicating they are currently a student

·         Submit a proposal and plan to present at the upcoming IACAT Conference

Application Procedure