UCARE Evaluation Rubric | Undergraduate Research & Fellowships

Evaluation Rubric
	Project Description	Significance of Research	Feasibility of Design	Benchmarks	Overall Recommendation
Exceptional 5	Purpose statement is clear, concise, and easy to understand; project contains several innovative or creative aspects.	Clearly linked to broader scholarly field at local, regional, or national level. Scholarly impact is very significant.	Procedures and processes aredetailed, well statedand appropriate; there is a thoughtful plan for execution.	Benchmarks are significant, clearly described, and measurable and/or observable; expectations are clearly defined; time line for completing benchmarks is clearly presented and suitable.	Highly recommend awarding proposal.
Very good 4	Purpose statement is clear, concise,and easy to understand; project contains some innovative or creative aspects.	Clearly linked to broader scholarly field at local, regional, ornational level. Scholarly impact is significant.	Procedures and processes areoutlined and well stated; there is a plan for execution.	Benchmarks are clearly described, measurable and/or observable; expectations are clearly defined; time line for completing benchmarks is clearly presented.	Highly recommend awarding proposal
Good 3	Purpose statement is clear; project contains some innovative or creative aspects.	A clear link is made to the broader scholarly field. Scholarly impact is moderately significant.	Procedures and processes areoutlined; there is aplan for execution.	Benchmarks are described and are measurable and/or observable; time line for completing benchmarks is presented.	Recommend awarding proposal.
Average 2	Purpose statement is generally easy to understand with few exceptions; few innovative orcreative aspects.	A link is made between the proposed research and the broader creative or research field. Scholarly impact is somewhat significant.	Processes and procedures follow from the research question	Benchmarks are described; timeline may not be clearly presented.	Recommend awarding proposal (please provide comments)
Below Average 1	Purpose statement is not well described; few innovative or creative aspects.	Benefits or impact of proposed research are not clear.	Processes and procedures are unclear, do not follow from research questions.	Benchmarks are minimally described; timeline for completion of benchmarks is not clearly presented or appears to be unreasonable.	Do not award
Poor 0	Unclear what is being proposed; lacks innovative or creative aspects.	Contributions of the proposed research are not clearly stated or are nonexistent.	Processes and procedures are either omitted or are inappropriate for the proposed project.	No benchmarks are included; expectations are not defined; timeline for completion of benchmarks is not described.	Do not award.

Evaluation Rubric
	Exemplary	Developing	Beginning
Significance	Clearly states purpose of research or problem to be solved. Significance of research is well stated. Answers the questions: “Why does this research need to be conducted?” Clearly describes how research will solve problem or fill gap in existing knowledge.	Statement of problem is complete, but significance or research is unclear Does not state why proposed research is needed.	Statement of problem is incomplete Does not specify research topic clearly Significance of research is not stated.
Validity	Provides rationale for the research Scope is well-defined Outcomes are identified Lists specific hypotheses, objectives, or questions guiding the research. Outlines instruments to be used or describes experimental procedures	Describes research design Does not list specific hypotheses and/or research questions	Lacks hypothesis Scope of research unclear Methodology not clear
Reliability	Outlines general plan for collecting data Specifies how data will be collected and analyzed	Limited description of how data will be collected and analyzed	Description of how data will be collected and analyzed is unclear.
Credibility	Clear listing of resources needed to complete the project Project’s scope matches researcher’s abilities	Unclear how researcher will get some resources Research possibly within researcher’s abilities	Does not account for howresearcher will get resources Research surpasses researcher’s abilities

Review Information

Applicants were provided with a variety of resources to write their proposals. Use this information in your review.

In your proposal, address the following seven items:

Statement of purpose of the research or the problem to be solved. What problem are you going to investigate or explore?
What research question(s) will you ask in seeking an answer or solution to your research problem?
Describe why this research is important or significant. How will this research contribute to the field?
What method(s) of data will you use to gather or test the hypotheses?
Briefly describe how the data will be analyzed in order to reach conclusions or answer the research questions.
What benchmarks will you be expected to meet to complete this research project? (For example, IRB certification, library research/review, data analyses, producing a work of art/installations, weekly lab meeting update/progress reports, writing a research paper, presenting research at a conference, preparing a poster presentation, etc.)
If this is a community-based research project, list the name of the organization(s).

Review Information

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