Missouri Society of Radiologic Technology

ESSAY/SCIENTIFIC PAPER Competition Rules


I.  AWARDS


First, second, third place, and honorable mention awards will be offered in both graduate and student technologists categories.  Awards will be made at the discretion of the judges.


II. ELIGIBILITY

  1. Graduate technologist category:  Only active or graduate bridge members of the Missouri Society of Radiologic Technologists (MSRT) are eligible to compete.  Student members may be designated as co-authors if they have made a significant but secondary contribution to the work. Your category should directly correlate with your membership status.  If you hold any sort of imaging/therapy credential(s) you are considered a technologist, even if you are still in school for another modality or advanced degree.
  2. Student technologist category:  Only student members of the MSRT are eligible to compete.  The paper must be the sole work of the student member(s). Your category should directly correlate with your membership status.
  3. Essays submitted for competition at any other state and/or national radiological or technologist meeting or which have been accepted for publication prior to the MSRT conference are not eligible.
  4. Entries must be original manuscripts by the author(s).
  5. The president of the MSRT, the essay/scientific paper chairman, and the judges are not eligible to compete.
  6. Author(s) may only submit one essay per annual competition.

III. RULES FOR PRESENTATION OF AN ESSAY

Subject Matter

  • Subject matter will be chosen by the author(s).
  • The subject matter must be pertinent to the science and/or practice of radiologic technology.  For this purpose the term radiologic technology shall include all those modalities employed in the field of radiology for the diagnosis and/or treatment of disease.
  • Subject matter should be of educational and/or practical value to other technologists.

Mechanics

  1. All applications for essays must be completed using the electronic form provided on the MSRT website (www.mosrt.org) no later than midnight (11:59pm) on the date of the deadline listed below.  Applications submitted after the deadline will be disqualified
  2. All applicants must be a current member of the MSRT.  Membership status will be verified by Chairman upon receipt.
  3. Essays must be double-spaced, 12pt font, Times New Roman.
  4. Essays must be submitted in a specific format, either pdf, Microsoft Word, or Rich-text.  Other word processing formats are not permitted.
  5. Essays should be at least one thousand five hundred (1,500) words in length.
  6. Essays must include a reference page.  References and quotes must be cited using an established referencing criteria, such as but not limited to, APA, MLA, etc.  Failure to cite references and/or to include a reference page will be construed as plagiarism, and will immediately disqualify the paper.
  7. When used, illustrations must be incorporated into the text. They must be properly numbered and labeled to correspond with information in the text.  The illustrations used must not show any images or marking which could identify the author(s), patients, or institution in any way. Again, references must be cited.
  8. Two (2) copies of the essay must be uploaded to the MSRT website with:
    • The first copy will include the following:
      • Author’s Name and credentials, if applicable
      • Technologist or Student classification 
      • School/Place of Employment
      • Title of Essay
      • Essay
  • The second copy for judging purposes will be free of all personal identification. Include only the following information:
    • Title of Essay
    • Essay

IV. JUDGING AND AWARDING OF PRIZES

  1. Three judges will be selected by the essay/scientific paper chairman with the approval of the president of the MSRT.
  2. Any manuscript that does not meet the stated criteria will be ineligible and will be disqualified.  The essay chair will notify the author, of the reason for the disqualification. Any protests regarding eligibility and/or rule violations must be lodged with the essay/scientific chairman, in writing, prior to the conference.  The essay chair will consult with the MSRT President in determining a resolution.  No protests will be heard after the conference begins.
  3. Awards shall be made only to those essays receiving a minimum score of seventy (70) on a scale of one hundred (100) points from the average of the judges’ scores.
  4. Any contestant who challenges the results of the competition must do so, in writing, to the essay chairman within one week of the announcement of the winners.  The essay chair will make all judging score sheets available to the MSRT President to review.  The President and the Executive Committee will decide what, if any, action needs to be taken. Essay contestants will NOT have access to the judge’s scoring sheets.  The Committee’s decision will be final.
  5. By submitting an essay, applicants give the MSRT consent to publish essays, in whole or in part in the MSRT Radiographer, MSRT Website or as an ECE reading for the MSRT membership.
  6. Awards shall be announced to the membership during the Annual Conference and prizes will be awarded at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
  7. Prize amounts will be decided on a yearly basis by the MSRT Board of Directors.


V. JUDGING CRITERIA



1.  EDUCATIONAL VALUE                  (POINT VALUE:  0 – 40) 

  • Contribution to higher standards.
  • Illustration of new or unusual technology or practice.
  • Treatment of current technology or practice so as to be better understood. 
  • Treatment of current technology or practice from a historical perspective. 
  • Value to technologist with little experience or limited facilities.

2.  ORIGINALITY     (POINT VALUE:  0 – 20)

  • Development of a new technique or idea.
  • Improvement of existing methods or practices. 
  • Evidence of original investigative effort.
  • Originality of essay concept.

3.  PRACTICAL VALUE     (POINT VALUE:  0 – 20)

  • How well can the information illustrated by used by most technologists to which the paper applies.
  • Ease of application under current state-of-the-art.
  • Will the essay improve practice or standards as it is applied?

4.  TECHNICAL QUALITY AND PRESENTATION         (POINT VALUE: 0 – 20)

  • Organization:  Is material orderly and place in logical sequence?
  • Visual Material:  Do visual materials effectively promote understanding of the paper?
  • Text:  Is the text neat, clear, easy to read and free from error?
  • References:  If applicable, are quotes, research results and all references properly acknowledged?
  • Style:  Is the writing style used appropriate to the content of the essay and consistent throughout?

VI. DEADLINE


All applications must be completed and essays uploaded to the MSRT website no later than midnight (11:59pm) on January 31st *.  Essays uploaded after this date will be disqualified. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE!


VII. DISCLAIMER


By submitting an essay, applicant attests that all information is true and accurate and that aforementioned eligibility, rules, and criteria have been satisfactorily met.


VIII. SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Please fill out the application form and upload your essays by:

January 31st   (11:59pm)  to:   www.mosrt.org

* Submitting well in advance of the January 31st  deadline will ensure that if there is a problem with submission, ample time will be available to remedy the situation.  Submitting at the last minute may put you at risk for disqualification.

Questions?  essay@mosrt.org

Click HERE for a downloadable copy of the Essay/Scientific Paper Competition Rules.

Click HERE for the Essay/Scientific Paper Application.