Two SILS master’s students are the recipients of the Elfreda Chatman Fund Award, an award given to master’s students who demonstrate creative and scholarly vision in their research proposals.
This year’s winners are Adam Mack, whose proposal is entitled “Real-time query expansion and search query behavior,” and Julia Steed, whose proposal is called “A Study of Donor Information as a Tool for Effective Nonprofit Fundraising.” The annual award is presented by the SILS Alumni Association to two recipients. Each student receives a $150 cash prize to help offset the costs of research.
“I'm deeply honored to have been chosen to receive the Chatman student research award, especially knowing how many other excellent proposals have been written by my fellow students,” said Mack.
The proposals are submitted as part of the course, Research Methods (INLS 780). The two best paper proposals are selected by a faculty committee with a representative from the SILS Alumni Association. The committee weighs each proposal based on creativity, originality, clarity, validity of methodology and significance to the field.
“I'm excited that the committee is interested in my research,” said Steed. “I'm honored to receive an award intended to perpetuate Dr.Chatman's legacy and I hope more students at SILS will consider research related to traditionally under-served populations.”
The award was created by the SILS Alumni Association in 2003 to honor Dr. Elfreda Chatman's interest in original research. Chatman, who joined the SILS faculty in 1983, earned her Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley. Her dissertation, "The Diffusion of Information: A Study of the Working Poor," earned the American Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Best Dissertation Award in 1984.
