Distinguished Dissertation in Qualitative Inquiry Award

This award recognizes distinguished dissertations that addressed a topic in the field of qualitative research methods.

Award recipients attending the APA convention will receive the following:

• An invitation to present at the subsequent APA convention (length varies by award).
• An honorary one-year membership to Div. 5.
• An awards plaque and a place in history.

The annual deadline for this award is the first Friday of December.

Questions about the awards, nominations and the review process can be addressed to Nathan Kuncel. The outcome of the review process will be announced each year in March.

Neither the nominator nor the nominee need be a current or former member of either APA or Div. 5. Both self-nominations and nominations by others will be considered. To be eligible for this award, the nominee’s dissertation must have a dissertation completion date within three years of the submission deadline.

Nomination materials should include:

1. An abstract of 1,000-2,000 words that (a) summarizes the dissertation, (b) highlights its broader theoretical and/or applied relevance and importance, and (c) clearly describes the qualitative methods or methodology used and the contribution of their methods and methodology to the dissertation. Applicants may wish to refer to the criteria in Qualitative Psychology to obtain a sense of what a clear articulation of method entails.
2. A letter of support from the dissertation advisor (or other faculty member from the institution where the dissertation was completed) that describes (a) the significance of the dissertation to the field of psychology and the understanding of the human experience, (b) the implications of the project for future research, (c) the use of methods and methodology and (d) the promise of the nominee for future contributions to research or professional practice.
3. The nominee’s current curriculum vitae.
4. A PDF version of the dissertation.
5. A completed nomination form (PDF, 7.5KB) by the nominator. Please send all requested nomination materials to Nathan Kuncel by the first Friday in December. In your email, please ask for a confirmation that your materials have been received. If you do not receive a confirmation, please follow up to make sure that your materials have been received.

2017

Jonathan Yahalom
William E. Hartmann

2016

Dennis C. Wendt

2015

Shari Goldstein
Dusty Johnstone