Junior Scholar(s) in Youth Sociology and Youth Research Competition 2006-2010

Submissions: October 31, 2009

The Research Committee on Sociology of Youth RC34 of the International Sociological Association (ISA) announces the second worldwide competition for junior scholar(s) engaged in youth research. The winner(s) will be invited to participate in the XVII World Congress of Sociology which will be held on July 11-17, 2010 in Göteborg, Sweden. The winner’s paper will be considered for presentation at RC34 presidential session and for publication, subject to editorial decision and revision, in a publication of the RC34.

Eligibility
By Junior Scholar(s) it refers to people below 35 years of age on November 1, 2009. In case of joint or multiple authorships, this rule applies to all authors of the paper submitted. Participants should hold at least Master's degree (or an equivalent graduate diploma) or a PhD in sociology or in a related discipline.

Submissions
Candidates must send an original paper that has not been previously published elsewhere. It should be no more than 6,000 words typewritten double spaced on one side of the paper with margins of 3 cm and the pages numbered. Notes and the bibliography should appear at the end of the text. Papers which do not conform to these rules run the risk of being rejected. RC34 prefers papers focusing on socially relevant youth issues.
The phenomena examined may be social, economic, political, cultural or of any other kind, but their interpretation or analysis must show a scientific orientation (for instance, through methodical processes to explore the underlying social phenomena or youth issues under scrutiny, critique of commonsense interpretations or of well established theories, etc.). Empirical based research papers must go beyond descriptive reporting of results to broader, analytical interpretations.

Papers may be written in one of the three official languages of the ISA: English, French or Spanish.

One hard copy and one electronic copy of the paper should be sent to:
RC34 Sociology of Youth
Attention: Professor Ngan-pun NGAI
Department of Social Work
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Shatin N.T.
Hong Kong, China
Email: npngai@cuhk.edu.hk
Additional electronic copy of the paper should also be sent to the RC34 Organizational Secretary, Howard Williamson howardw@glam.ac.uk

The paper should be postmarked October 31, 2009, at the latest or reach Professor Ngan-pun Ngai before November 10, 2009.

Selection process
A Jury of the RC34 comprising the President, Ex-President, Organizational Secretary, all Vice Presidents, and one or two members of the Advisory Board will decide which paper is awarded the prize by the end of March 2010. Papers will be judged according to perceptiveness with which issues are treated, the quality of data analysis and the empirical materials presented, the consistency with which an analytic framework is used, the originality of ideas, and the clarity of writing style. Extensiveness of referencing or the use of advanced statistical methods will only be considered secondary importance, so as to provide participants throughout the world with as equal an opportunity as possible.

Prize
The winner of the award will be invited to participate in the ISA World Congress on July 11-17, 2010 in Göteborg, Sweden. His/her (the first author of the paper) conference fees will be paid by RC34 and a travel grant (not less than US$500) will be awarded.
No travel grant will be awarded if the winner (1) does not hold a membership of RC34, and/or (2) does not present the paper personally at the ISA World Congress of Sociology.

Additional information may be obtained from RC34 President Ngan-pun Ngai (see address above).